IGIHE

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  • RSE market highlights as of June 1 2011

    The Rwanda Stock Exchange today registered low volumes of transactions compared to yesterdays’ trading and a total turnover of 2’921’000 Rfw was recorded from the sale of 12’700 shares of Bralirwa traded in 4 transactions.

    The price of Bralirwa shares closed at Rfw 230, which has been constant over the past one week. At the close of trading session, there was an outstanding offer of 30’000 Bralirwa shares at 240 Rfw. There were was no bid.

    The KCB and NMG counters did not record any activity. The KCB and NMG share prices remained unchanged from the yesterday’s closing prices of Rwf 175 and Rwf 1200 respectively.

    Bralirwa shares go ex- dividend on 13th of June 2011 and NMG shares are trading ex -dividend effective today 1st of June 2011.

  • Health ministry wants more private sector involvement

    The ministry of health and the private sector are working on a framework to enhance collaboration from both parties with the aim of facilitating better healthcare.

    Though the private sector has contributed to improvement in health activities, the Health Minister Agnes Binagwaho argues more needs to be done to provide health services especially in rural areas.

    She further assured support to the private sector adding that if they for instance put up hospitals, the government would provide them healthcare personnel. “We have to ensure that there is quality healthcare provision within the public as well as the private sector.”

    Jean Nyirinkwaya, the president of the private medical association highlighted that they too have the will do more towards extending better health services to Rwandans. “We’re meeting to find ways of enhancing a relationship between the Ministry Of Health and us and we hope to come with a framework that would confront challenges such as
    manpower and equipment,” he remarked.

  • Expo to underline agric sector’s performance indicators

    This year’s Kigali National Agricultural show is set to highlight among other things the performance strides the agricultural sector has taken.

    The annual show slated to take place from 6-12 June, 2011 at Mulindi Agricultural Show ground in Gasabo, Kigali will bring together farmers and traders countrywide.

    Speaking to journalists Tuesday, Agriculture Minister Agnes Kalibata noted that the show would also showcase the current innovations the government has invested in recently.

    “We have recently been investing heavily in irrigation and mechanization, said Kalibata, adding; “What we plan to do in this agricultural show is to exhibit some of these innovations.”

    “The amount of work that would usually take a whole day could be done in two hours. This is why it is vital for those involved in agricultural practices to be equipped with machinery because it allows them to be more productive while at the same time allowing them to invest their time in other productive activities that go beyond agriculture.”

    The permanent secretary in the ministry Ernest Ruzindaza reiterated that government is targeting to promote the use of new machinery by offering subsidies to the agriculturalists and making these easily available.

    “Machinery that will be used include various tractors and (combine) harvesters and they will be imported tax free” he said, adding that; “we are trying to make these more affordable and accessible to agricultural practitioners that’s why they will be able to purchase them at a lower cost of 25 percent through corporations such as the rural investment facility”.

    The minister observed that the drive towards agricultural modernisation was not only allowing and promoting investment opportunities but “also creating awareness between practitioners of the availability of new and advanced methods of farming and encouraging their use.”

  • Real estate firm risks closure over workers’ salaries

    Gasabo district authorities have given troubled real estate firm DN international has a Friday ultimatum to remunerate all its workers or be shut down.

    The company has about 30 to 40 employees contracted to work on its Green Park Villas project in Rusororo, Gasabo District, Kigali.
    The project, which closed for over nine months since last year resumed operations recently.

    The district mayor Gasabo , Willy Ndizeye, told this reporter that the agreement was reached when the firm’s employees stormed his office this Monday lamenting about nonpayment of their dues.

    “I am following up the matter and in case it persists, we might even stop the construction on their site; the only option is to close them (down) until they pay all the workers,” he said.

    “The challenge we have been having are the sub-contractors who did not pay their workers; so we are now not making payments to sub-contractors without the workers; any payment is going to be paid in their presence,” the Chief Executive Officer of DN international Nathan Lloyd said.

    Lloyd insists that 90 percent of the workers have been cleared and the remaining ones are to be settled soon. But this to the workers is another gambit by the company.

    “We have been patient since last year, we have families and children. They need to eat and go to school and we don’t have money,” complained one of the at the construction site in Rusororo.

    The Executive Secretary of Rusororo sector, Jack Uwimana, said that when Lloyd was contacted yesterday, he told them that there were delays by KCB, the company’s banker who promised to clear the remaining lot of workers this Friday.

    The Managing Director KCB Rwanda, Maurice K Toroitich said he was oblivious of delays by the bank to extend cash to the company but declined to reveal further information to the media.

    “I am not allowed by regulations to discuss issues of my customers,” he said, adding that the bank directly deals with the customer issue on any issue.

    The mayor noted that he is yet to establish whether all the complainants are genuine workers or have been influenced by one Mugabo, a sub-contractor, who was sued by DN International for executing substandard work.

    Mugabo claims that he properly executed his duties as agreed but the company is yet to settle his payment to enable him to remunerate his workers.

    “We are yet to find out the truth whether this sub-contractor is speaking the truth and is not using ghost workers to riot, but we have asked the company to pay workers and take the sub-contractor to court,” the mayor added.

    Lloyd said that the company has lost almost Rwf15m in renumerating all the workers whose wages were defrauded by the sub-contractors, adding that: “The Rwf15m (paid) was out of sheer remorse of the workers and we want to maintain our reputation.”

  • Up, close and personal with Rwanda’s mountain gorillas

    Rwanda’s tourism sector has continued to register phenomenon growth. And one particular spectacle that has become a must-see for any tourist visiting the country is the now revered Rwandan trademark; the mountain gorilla. The forthcoming Kwita Izina ceremony is just but one of RDB-Tourism’s strategies to draw more tourists into the country. IGIHe.com sampled the adventures and experiences of a New Zealand tourist LOUISE HEALY. The article was first published by the Dominion Post.

    “Crouch down and don’t move a muscle,” the guide said with steady unease as the silverback charged towards us, beating his mighty fists against his chest.

    Squatting down in the thick vegetation of the Karisimbi forest in northwest Rwanda with nowhere to run and absolutely nowhere to hide I began to question why I had come here, and paid to come here at that.

    Thankfully, our guide Francis, knowledgeable in the ways of gorillas and particularly the famous Susa family that reside in this massive forest bordering Uganda, made some awkward howling and grunting sounds and averted disaster.

    When we finally got the courage to raise our heads and breathe easy we saw a family of eight gorillas chomping on the greenery ahead of us.

    The sheer size of them was an awesome sight. The 160-kilograms blackback (mother) was nursing her five-year-old twins (Byishimo and Impano – one of only five sets of twins to survive in the history of the Susa family, totalling 41) while their brothers and sisters played on the mounds of leaves and wood as their (now pacified) father glanced between them and us.

    It really was like a throwback to Gorillas in the Mist, the famous film about the life of gorilla conservationist Dian Fossey who went to Rwanda over 40 years ago to work with and protect endangered gorillas from poachers and elements of a corrupt government on a macho killing spree.

    And while the poaching of gorillas has been somewhat curbed, it is just a small part in a bitter past that Rwanda is still trying to recover from.
    Genocide on an unfathomable level hit the country in the early 90s and resulted in the massacre of more than 900,000 people. The core of it was civil, between the Tutsi and Hutu tribes, and stemmed from class warfare, with the Tutsis perceived to have greater wealth and social status (as well as favouring cattle ranching over what is seen as the lower-class farming of the Hutus).

    But when things got complicated and the government backed the Hutus (with the collaboration of the French, in part), thousands of people were butchered in massacres that plagued the whole country. This climaxed in 1994 and, 17 years on, the country is still getting back on its feet.
    Rwanda has an image problem. Say its name and people instinctively think of two things: genocide and Hotel Rwanda, the graphic Hollywood movie about the events of 1994. Contrary to what people may think, however, Rwanda today is an extremely safe country to visit. Tourism is still being developed, and as a result the Rwandese people still see travellers as a relative novelty, and in turn will give their time and help and impart advice to visitors, expecting nothing in return.

    As part of political efforts to overcome divisions that led to the genocide, the Rwandan Government does not collect data on ubwoko (ethnic groups) and banned its inclusion on identity cards. From the locals I spoke to, it is clear that the effects of the horrendous events that took place almost two decades ago are still at the forefront of most peoples minds, but despite this most Rwandese are trying to put the past behind them. Travelling around the country felt safe and there were definitely no overt signs of ethnic or civil tensions.

    Kigali, the capital, is a hub of activity and is slowly but surely regaining its reputation as Rwanda’s party town. Its main attraction, however, is Rwanda’s genocide museum, the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, which is a must for any tourist as it outlines in detail the events that unfolded to result in one of the most vicious genocides in history.

    The museum is especially worthwhile for those intending to go south to visit memorials at Ntarama, Nyamata or Murambi (the site of one of the biggest massacres – 80,000 people were killed there over two days in April 1994).

    A ride to the museum, which is on the outskirts of town, on a boda-boda (a motorcycle taxi and a tourist attraction in itself) costs about 30 cents. Apart from that there are no other real sights and activities as such to see in Kigali, which makes it an excellent place to soak up the atmosphere and relax before embarking on any trip around rural Rwanda.
    It’s rural Rwanda where the real essence and beauty of the country lies. Known as Les Pays des Milles Collines (Land of a Thousand Hills), Rwanda is a country full of tumbling hills where almost every unprotected piece of land is cultivated; even the sheer mountainsides are edged with countless terraces full of beans, potatoes and millet.
    From a distance, the landscape resembles a large patchwork quilt of deep browns and greens, making it look like something straight out of a Tolkien novel.

    And nowhere are the mountains more vast and stunning than the magnificent Virunga volcanoes in the northwest, where hidden in the dense forests are some of the world’s last remaining mountain gorillas.
    The Parc National des Volcans – a chain of seven volcanoes that border with Congo and Uganda and the definitive place in Rwanda to track these endangered animals – was closed for a time in the 90s due to rebel activity; as a result many travellers chose to see the gorillas at the Bwindi and Mgahinga National Parks in Uganda.

    It re-opened, however, in 1999 and in the last 12 years the number of visitors coming to see some of the world’s 780 rare mountain gorillas has steadily increased.

    Rwanda is a relatively cheap country to visit, but tracking the rare mountain gorillas is not. The cost of a day trip to see the gorillas in Rwanda is US$500. And while that may sound like a high price to pay, the chance of encountering one of these gorillas in all their glory is a once in a lifetime opportunity which no tourist visiting Rwanda should miss. The bonus of visiting the gorillas in Rwanda rather than neighbouring Uganda is that tours in Uganda have to be booked a couple of months in advance, whereas in Rwanda a gorilla tracking tour can be booked just a day ahead through the local ORTPN, Rwanda Office of Tourism and National Parks. And that was exactly what I did.
    OUR GROUP managed to catch a glimpse of the Susa family within an hour of trekking into the Karisimbi forest (some tours can take up to seven hours to find the gorillas). After the short but gruelling hike through mucky undergrowth with rain spilling from the heavens, we came across the creatures that became Dian Fossey’s obsession.

    And it was clear to see why. It was a wet day but when the early morning sun finally broke through the clouds and suffused the sky with gold that shimmered against the surrounding landscape, these creatures looked invincible.

    They playfully bounded over the broken trees and thick vegetation, all the time hollering to each other in ambiguous howls and squeals. Gorillas from the pack encircled us from the sides and behind, but mostly just out of curiosity.

    And the silverback that had been so territorial ended up sitting down and covering up his face from the prying eyes and camera lenses in an act of defiance -obviously put out by tourists invading his homestead.
    As we made our way back down the mountain there was a still silence all around as we contemplated the beautiful sight we had just encountered.

    Even sitting at the beachside resort of Lake Kivu at Kibuye, Rwanda’s new Mediterranean, it was hard to get the image of some of the world’s last remaining gorillas out of my head.

    Rwanda may still be recovering from a bitter past but a visit there will make you feel, at times, privileged to be one of the few tourists exploring the country for the first time.

    It’s the hidden gem in east Africa that hasn’t yet been exploited by mass tourism.

    Get there quickly.

    This article was first published by the Dominion Post

  • US jury skeptical Kobagaya lied about genocide

    A US jury deadlocked Tuesday on whether an elderly Rwandan immigrant committed genocide 17 years ago, convicting him only on a charge that he lied to US immigration officials.

    The verdict, coming at the end of a lengthy, expensive immigration trial, leaves uncertain the future of 84-year-old Lazare Kobagaya.
    US District Judge Monti Belot allowed Kobagaya to remain free on bail while a pre-sentencing report is prepared and defense attorneys file an expected appeal.

    Prosecution witnesses brought from Rwanda had testified that Kobagaya ordered people killed and beaten and their homes burned during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.

    One of two counts against Kobagaya alleged that he lied to US immigration officials when he denied participating in genocide.
    The eight-man, four-woman jury couldn’t reach an agreement on that count.

    Instead, they convicted Kobagaya of lying to immigration officials when he claimed to live in Burundi, not Rwanda, from 1993 to 1995.

    “As I understand it, they didn’t convict him on anything violent at all,” defense attorney Kurt Kerns said as he left the courthouse with Kobagaya and the defendant’s family.

    Kerns said he couldn’t comment further because of instructions from Judge Belot.

    US prosecutors declined comment about whether they intend to re-try Kobagaya on the deadlocked charged or attempt to deport him based on the conviction they obtained.

    According to most sources, 500,000 to 800,000 people were killed in Rwanda during a three-month period, most of them ethnic Tutsis slain by the majority Hutu group.

    Prosecutors claim that Kobagaya, a Hutu, contributed to the deaths of thousands of Tutsi, including personally ordering the murders of at least nine people.

  • Report by Human Rights Watch distorts Gacaca courts

    The government has dubbed a report released by Human Rights as slur to the genocide courts adding that even the title of the report, Justice Compromised: The Legacy of Rwanda’s Community-Based Gacaca Court, “distorts the image of Gacaca” and misrepresented the contents of the report in an attempt to “grab headlines.”

    In a report released by the New York-based advocacy group claims that the system denied some defendants a fair trial and the courts were sometimes corrupt or used for political or personal gain.

    Yet Gacaca reflects a justice sector that is inherently unique even Human Rights Watch itself acknowledges in the report that 1.2 million people have benefited from the Gacaca process, it also recognizes the enormous challenges the government faced after the Genocide in processing the large number of cases, not forgetting that ‘the challenge would have overwhelmed even the world’s most advanced justice system’.

    Without any tangible proof Leslie Haskell a Human Rights Watch’s Africa division researcher and author of the report argued that. “If you have unfair trials whereas a large percentage of the population perceives the trials to have been flawed, or motivated by private interests or even political interests, that doesn’t serve justice in the long term.”

    According to an email statement released by the government, “Rwanda welcomes constructive criticism as it builds a modern, developed justice system but reports which mischaracterize Gacaca are not constructive. We call on Human Rights Watch to find a way in future reports to balance informed criticism with a respect for the enormity of the challenges Rwanda faced in the aftermath of the genocide.

    However the report praises the Gacaca system, saying it provided swift justice, helped families find victims’ remains and encouraged community participation. “Gacaca may have also helped some of victims find a way to live peacefully with neighbors who may have perpetrated crimes against them or their families,” according to the report.

    What is more, Under Gacaca, people have received prison sentences of between five and ten years, life sentences constitute just five to eight percent of verdicts while between 25 and 30 percent of cases have ended in acquittal.

    The community work ruling as an alternative to prison has allowed people to live in their homes and carry out their sentences about twice a week, learning to live together and move on.

    Reacting on the report through an emailed statement justice minister Tharcisse Karugarama insisted that. “Through Gacaca we have been able to judge and resolve more than 1 million dossiers, a great achievement that would have been impossible.”

    “Despite this, Human Rights Watch has chosen to base its verdict of Gacaca by citing a handful of cases which went wrong and then implying that the whole 1.2 million can be assessed in the same light. This is unwarranted and makes a mockery of the efforts of all Rwandans who are working together to promote justice and reconciliation,” the statement said.

  • RSE market highlights as of 31 May

    Today the market registered slightly more volume and turnover compared to yesterday’s session. A total turnover of Rwf 17,434,000 was recorded from 75,800 BRALIRWA shares traded at 230 in 6 transactions as yesterday.

    The market had recorded a total turnover of 16,307,000 Rfw from the sale of 70, 900 shares of Bralirwa traded in 3 transactions. The Breweries’s shares closed at Rwf 230.

    At the close of business, there were two outstanding offers of 201,000 and 800 Bralirwa shares at Rwf 230.

    The KCB and NMG counters did not record any activity today and their share prices remained unchanged from the previous day’s closing prices of Rwf 175 and Rwf 1200 respectively.

    Bralirwa shares go ex – dividend on June 13, 2011 and NMG shares will trade cum dividend until today 31st May 2011.

  • RBS moves a notch higher to protect consumers

    The Rwanda Bureau of standards (RBS) has equipped its laboratories with new equipments meant to enhance consumer protection as well as facilitate traders to sell high quality products.

    Antoine Mukunzi, the director of Bio chemical Labs encouraged traders to sell genuine products. “Manufacturers can now bring their products for verification if they want to gain their credibility and make better sales.” He further pointed,” among ways of improving sales ones commodity ought to abide with international standards and our role is to recommend quality products.”

    Demonstrating how the machines work, Mark Cyubahiro Bagabe the RBS director general noted that the equipments will also be used to test goods entering the country.

    In this respect, the petroleum unit for instance has been equipped with a petrol distillation machine which verifies the quality of petroleum products. The machine will restrict the sale of replica oil which is commonly a mix of petrol and paraffin; greedy traders use this scam to increase capacity levels.

    In regard to food stuff, the sophisticated equipments are used to test the quantity of atomic elements such as mercury and lead especially in soft drinks.

  • Business concept reforms to spur SME growth in Rwanda

    Rwanda will implement a new set of business reforms aimed at boosting the contribution of small enterprises to the economy.

    The country also wants to make Kigali one of the world’s top investment destinations, and hopes to achieve a higher ranking this year.
    In the latest Doing Business Report 2011, Rwanda moved up 12 positions to position 58 of the top reformers globally.

    The report benchmarks regulations that enhance business activities and those that hamper business. It focuses on business regulation and protection of property rights.

    While SMEs constitute over 90 per cent of the businesses in Rwanda, with a potential of reducing poverty and delivering millions of dollars in revenue, their potential is crippled by the fact that they mainly operate in the informal sector.

    In addition, SMEs still have limited access to finance due to high risk perception by lenders.

    As a result, the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), the government agency spearheading the reforms, has said it will focus on implementing reforms that make it easy for SMEs to formalise their operations this year.

    “We want to improve the way SMEs and other micro businesses do business — bring them into a formal set up,” said Claire Akamanzi, the chief of operations at RDB.

    Ms Akamanzi said that with the first private credit reference now operational in the country, the process of getting credit will become easier.

    New reforms to facilitate the businesses will include reducing further the process of starting a business, including implementing free online business registration.

    It also includes reducing registration fees from Rwf25000 ($41) to Rwf15000 ($25).

    “We want to encourage more businesses to register online and be able to register a business from anywhere without paying a fee,” she said.
    Ms Akamanzi also said RDB has invested in training SMEs throughout the 30 districts in business and management skills.

    “Even if we have some big businesses that contribute a lot to the economy, if we want to grow, then SMEs have to grow. When they grow, they can contribute more to the economy.”

    Last year, the government said SMEs with a turnover of Rwf200 million (about $423,800) or below should declare taxes every quarter, instead of monthly, to create more time for SMEs to concentrate on their business.

    Strong growth in the SME sector is needed to support not only Rwanda’s economic ambition of becoming a middle income country by 2020 but also to meet its development targets, including poverty reduction.

    According to the International Monetary Fund, Rwanda needs an average growth of 8 per cent to meet its development goals, mainly driven by additional private investment.