Rwanda’s Presidency has revealed that Amb. Nibigira and his delegation were received by President Kagame on Sunday 5th March 2023 where the special envoy relayed the message from Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye to his counterpart of Rwanda.
Also present at the event were Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr. Vincent Biruta and the Head of Defence Intelligence in Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), RDF, Maj Gen Vincent Nyakarundi.
Ndayishimiye is the current Chairperson of the East African Community (EAC).
He sends the envoy at the time when security continues to worsen in eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Meanwhile, Kagame went to Burundi last month to attend EAC Heads of State Summit on security situation in eastern DRC.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Kagame also held bilateral talks with his counterpart of Burundi, Ndayishimiye.
It was considered a great milestone towards normalization of ties between the two neighbouring countries which experienced strained relations at the regime of former Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza.
Burundi accused Rwanda of backing the country’s dissidents while Rwanda accused the neighbouring country of working with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a terrorist group formed by individuals responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Ndayishimiye has shown willingness to mend ties with Rwanda while the heads of state have been exchanged messages at different times.
At the time, the Deputy Spokesperson of the Government of Rwanda, Alain Mukuralinda told IGIHE that Kagame would not have gone to the country had relations been in a bad state.
He explained that bilateral relations are returning to normal where pending issues that might arise can be addressed.
On another note, Manasseh Nshuti, Rwanda’s State Minister for EAC said that the exchange of visits between provincial official between both countries has been a symbol of vibrant relations.
She made the donation during her visit to the hospital on Friday 3rd March 2023 to witness how her previous funding is saving lives of prematurely born-babies.
Rolland founded Maisha Africa after visiting Rwanda in 2000 which has been raising funds for various activities aimed at helping children in Rwanda, especially survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
In 2020, Rolland had donated medical equipment worth Rfw69 million meant to save lives of premature babies at the health facility.
Speaking to IGIHE after the visit; Dr. Philbert Muhire, the Director General of Ruhengeri Referral Hospital said that Rolland has had a great attachment to the health facility for long.
“She has been giving us equipment to improve neonatology services, save lives of premature babies or others born with complications. Today, Rolland was taken on a tour at the neonatology section to witness the impact of her donation and extend the support. She has pledged around 30,000 Euros for the hospital to buy more equipment and improve neonatology services,” he said.
Dr. Muhire also extolled Rolland for her continued support through Maisha Africa.
“We are particularly very grateful for her support. Even though Rolland lives in France, she has roots in Rwanda and attaches great relevance to her bonds with Rwanda as well as our hospital. We thank her for the generosity and willingness to take care of patients,” he noted.
Three years ago, Rolland donated Rwf69 million to Ruhengeri Hospital to buy medical equipment. They included radiant warmers, emergency trolley, monitoring machines, resuscitation kits, ultrasound machine, phototherapy machine and blood gases analysis machine among other equipment for neonatal intensive care unit.
During an exclusive interview with IGIHE, Rolland expressed satisfaction with what she has so far achieved through Maisha Africa and talked about her attachment to Northern Province.
“I have a strong attachment to this region. My mother was from Ruhengeri, my aunt Charlotte worked at this hospital and my grandfather was at this hospital before fleeing during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi,” she said.
“They rescued him because they brought him in a camp. I have a strong bond with this town because it is my mother’s home,” added Rolland.
She explained that provided equipment have helped the hospital a great deal as the support ‘reduced almost a half the deaths of babies’.
“I learnt about it last year. I was very excited because I always want to do more. Besides, there are women who return to thank Maisha Africa because of that. It was a great achievement,” noted Rolland.
Rolland created Maisha Africa in 2001 after visiting Rwanda in 2000 along with her family following her selection as Miss France.
She had left the country in Rwanda in 1990.
“At the time, I met with different non-governmental organizations. I was very touched by orphans of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi heading families when I came to Rwanda,” recounted Rolland.
As she said, the orphans included children of her age. Rolland was 19 years old when she created Maisha Africa Association.
The orphans’ ordeal inspired her to create Maisha Africa to raise funding to improve their wellbeing.
“These orphans had painful stories. I initially created the project to help orphans. The initial project was later expanded to support vulnerable children in general. The project started renovating houses of Genocide orphans in Kimironko and other places. We are glad that these children have become adults today,” said Rolland.
Among others, the charity foundation also rehabilitated the former Gisimba orphanage whose name was changed to Gisimba Memorial Centre and built a nursery school in Ntarama of Bugesera District among others.
“It induces great pride because my association has impacted children in different aspects and contributed to national development and emotional stability of many kids,” observed Rolland.
Currently, Rolland has drawn attention to another project to foster women’s development in Rwanda through beekeeping. It is being implemented through an organization dubbed ‘L’Observatoir Français d’Apidologie (OFA).
The incident occurred in the evening of Friday 3rd March 2023.
According to a statement released by Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), the a soldier of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) crossed over from his country at around 17h35 on Friday and shot at RDF soldiers manning the common border between Grande Barrière and Petite Barrière in Rubavu District, in Rwanda’s Western Province.
The statement further reads that ‘RDF soldiers returned fire, killing the FARDC soldier on the Rwandan side of the border’.
“Several other FARDC soldiers fired at the RDF position resulting in a brief exchange of fire. The situation is now calm,” adds the statement.
RDF has revealed that it formally communicated the incident to the Extended Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM).
The latter is among many similar incidents where DR Congo soldiers have been reported to have violated Rwandan territory.
The reason for storming Rwandan territory remains unknown but the incident happens amidst ongoing tensions between Rwanda and DRC which accused the neighbouring country of supporting M23 rebel group in a fighting with FARDC.
Rwanda has repeatedly denied the allegations and advised DRC to solve internal problems appropriately instead of leaning on blame games.
In November last year, another Congolese soldier was shot dead in Rubavu District as he opened fire on Rwandan soldiers while on patrol.
Introduced in 2020 the program is aimed at boosting economic recovery efforts by attracting private sector investments with specific incentives for the manufacturing, construction and real estate development sectors. The sectors were selected given their high potential for increasing private investments, generating export revenues and creating productive jobs.
Since its inception, the program has attracted investments worth over US$ 1.7 billion that will create over 36,000 jobs. This is against the initial target of US$ 1.17 billion investments and 27,000 jobs.
In his keynote address at the forum that attracted over 600 participants on Thursday 2nd March 2023, Prime Minister Ngirente said that the incentives offered under the program are very unique and extensive.
He expressed optimism that they will contribute significantly towards scaling investment projects, exploring additional opportunities within value chains or starting new business ventures.
“Given the positive impact of the MBRP over the last two years, it is evident that we need more of such innovative and targeted interventions to address our unique challenges and achieve our ambitious aspirations,” noted Premier Ngirente.
Clare Akamanzi, the Chief Executive Officer at the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) said that extending the program is crucial for Rwanda’s economy especially in building resilience amid the unstable global economic environment.
“This means that members of the private sector can continue to benefit from the very specialised incentives that this program offers for another two years. The Government of Rwanda remains committed to listening to you and your experiences investing in Rwanda and sometimes even adjusting policies to respond to what you tell them,” she disclosed.
During the forum, members of the private sector shared some of the advantages of the program.
“Investing in real estate right after Covid-19 was not easy but with the incentives [under MBRP], the project became more affordable. And now with the program being extended, we are looking forward to working on a new project,” said Moise Nsengiyumva, Chairman of Wild Urban International Developments Limited.
The forum featured networking and learning sessions with a range of topics discussed including Rwanda’s Investment Code, Special Economic Zones and Export Development, taxation, advantages of trading through the African Free Continental Area (AfCFTA) and project financing.
An exhibition was also held on the sidelines of the forum. It featured a showcase of the top 100 investment opportunities that the private sector can tap into and access incentives under the Manufacture and Build to Recover Program.
The appointment was announced on Thursday 2nd March 2023 through a communiqué released by the Office of Prime Minister.
The communiqué also announced the appointment of Dr. Telesphore Ndabamenye as the Director General of Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) and Ms. Clarisse Umutoni as the Chied Financial Officer at RAB.
Dr. Musafiri has been serving as the State Minister in MINAGRI since August 2022.
Prior to his appointment last year, Dr. Musafiri was the Executive Director of the Strategy and Policy Council (SPC) in the Office of the President of the Republic of Rwanda for 6 years.
Formerly a member of the board of directors of the National Bank of Rwanda since April 2018, he is also an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Rwanda, College of Business and Economics, where he previously served as Lecturer and Head of the Economics Department.
His research focused on development economics and policy, particularly the analysis of poverty and inequality, agricultural growth, and food policy.
Dr. Musafiri earned his Ph.D. in agricultural economics from the University of Bonn (Germany) and a M.Sc. in applied economics from the University of Rwanda.
He becomes Minister at a time when food prices continue to rise in Rwanda.
During the recently concluded National Dialogue Council (Umushyikirano), Dr. Musafiri said that increasing irrigated fields, facilitating easy access to fertilizers, appropriately handling agricultural produce, staying closer to farmers, easing access to loans and insurance schemes would help the country achieve food sufficiency.
Dr. Ndabamenye named Director General of RAB has been serving as an advisor in MINAGRI.
He replaces Dr. Alexandre Rutikanga who held the position for one month since 31st January 2023.
As he interacted with the youth in December last year, Tshisekedi commented on Kagame’s previous statement that DRC crisis emanates from the country’s leadership which always seeks to externalize its problems.
Instead of proving him wrong, Tshisekedi overlooked the presence of over 120 armed groups in his country and weak army that failed to annihilate them but started blaming Rwanda.
“Rwandans are our brothers and sisters. They need our help to liberate […] They are brothers and need our support to liberate them against leaders holding them back,” he said.
During a press conference held on Wednesday 1st March 2023, following the 18th edition of National Dialogue Council (Umushyikirano), President Kagame reminisced on Congo’s problems noting that the country continues to retain FDLR under plans to threaten Rwanda’s security.
“FDLR is actually welcome in the eastern Congo. But the rest should go back to Rwanda. The reason why they retain FDLR is because they think they can build around it for so long. They have been trying to do that for a force that would come and destabilize Rwanda,” he stated.
“I think the president of Congo, at one point, it must have escaped from his thoughts. Remember when he said he was going to bring regime change in Rwanda, of course I didn’t take that seriously. He must have been joking and he is allowed to make those jokes,” noted Kagame.
The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) is a terrorist group formed by individuals responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
The Head of State said that the problem of FDLR has existed for long but was overlooked many times yet it is an armed group being supplied with more weapons.
He also recollected attacks plotted by the terrorist group on Rwandan territory in Kinigi in 2019 noting that attackers used weapons received from Congolese government.
Kagame has however disclosed that Rwanda has reinforced security at its border with the neighbouring country and assured citizens that their security is guaranteed.
He made the disclosure during a press conference with members of local, regional and international media following the conclusion of the 18th edition of National Dialogue Council (Umushyikirano).
Kagame highlighted that eastern DRC is not a country where crisis in the area is Congo’s problem, which in turn, affects neighbours.
“In my view there is nothing like eastern Congo’s problem. […] It is actually Congo’s problem and a regional problem, meaning it affects even neighbours. If we are referring to Rwanda, you wouldn’t say Northern Rwanda problem because it is neighbouring with eastern Congo and the spillovers of problems mainly come to the north of the country. That doesn’t make it a northern Rwanda problem. It makes Rwanda’s problem. I want us to understand that eastern Congo’s problem is Congo’s problem,” he said.
“This problem has a very long history in terms of the cause of that. But it also has a long history of how it has been mismanaged from the beginning. That is why it was there for over 20 years. If you look at the attention that has been paid to this so-called eastern Congo’s problem, it is so much that one would think we should have got a solution. So, it has been there for long and has been mismanaged for very long,” added Kagame.
The Head of State further said that the issue was discussed for long during meetings of the African Union, others held in Kenya, Angola and at the level of the United Nations.
“The other day we were supposed to go and meet in Qatar over the same problem. That didn’t happen but, may be, it is going to happen in the near future,” he noted.
Kagame said that the discussions are taking place because the problem was not solved while efforts to handle it were channeled through the wrong way.
“People who want shortcuts, blame it all on Rwanda. But I have not found how it becomes a shortcut because we are still there with the problem,” he stated.
Kagame disclosed that the issue in eastern Congo has roots from colonization given that Rwanda and DRC share colonial history where some people found themselves in another country.
“If there is any country in Africa that does not have people on one side of the border, similar or related to people on the other side of the country, I don’t think there is any,” he said.
Meanwhile, the President said that M23 seems to have become a scarecrow supposed to dramatize the story when people talk about Congo’s problems.
“The so-called M23 is the product of a lot of things mismanaged […] How Rwanda can be blamed for the refugees we have here for over 20 years associated with people in M23. M23 problem started in 2012, when they used some military force to try and resolve problem, some fled to Uganda and others fled here. We have them here in camps,” he noted.
Kagame recalled different agreements that were signed to resolve the problem but ended to no avail until the fighting resumed. The latter is an addition to the presence of over 120 armed groups in Congo.
“How were the 120 groups formed? They are accusing us supporting M23 but who formed over 120 groups? I would suggest to people that they simply need to focus on what should be looked at. The root cause of what we have to deal with is clear. The agreements on how to resolve that were from 2012. How could they not have been implemented? It can’t be because of Rwanda,” he stated.
The Head of State also emphasized that Rwanda was not involved when the rebel group resumed fighting.
“This fighting that started a couple of years ago, had no involvement of Rwanda at all. May be, the ones who started it or wanted it to be there, designed it in such a way that they would blame it on Rwanda. And it’s simple to do that. You just have to distort history. They are saying these are people from Rwanda, meaning the M23 and people we are having here as refugees, who have been here for over 20 years are all called Rwandans. It’s like they are sending them back to where they came from the beginning,” he revealed.
Despite the situation, the President said that what is more interesting is that the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) are being retained. FDLR is a terrorist group formed by individuals responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
“FDLR is actually welcome in the eastern Congo. But the rest should go back to Rwanda. The reason why they retain FDLR is because they think they can build around it for so long. They have been trying to do that for a force that would come and destabilize Rwanda,” he stated.
Kagame emphasized that there is no reason that can push Rwanda to storm Congo’s territory or support M23.
The rise in prices has been alarming where the inflation increased by 20.7% in urban areas in January 2023 while the country had registered an increase by 21.6% in December 2022.
The rise in January 2023 was mainly attributed to the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages which increased by 41%. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels increased by 8.3 percent on annual basis and increased by 0.1 percent on monthly basis while transport increased by 12.6 percent on annual basis and increased by 0.5 percent on monthly basis.
Addressing participants of the second day of the National Dialogue Council, Dr. Ngirente expressed optimism that prices will continue to fall in this year.
“I would like to reassure Rwandans that we did not forget them. The government did not ignore Rwandans’ concerns in this situation,” he said.
Premier Ngirente explained that the government has done a lot and subsidized prices in different ways.
“Hadn’t it been the subsidies, the current prices would have doubled. Even the current state is a result of the government’s great intervention,” he noted.
Dr. Ngirente disclosed that petroleum products were also subsidized.
“The prices would have soared further. Possibly, they could have doubled of increased three times, hadn’t it been the subsidy,” he said.
The major drivers for inflation include low agricultural produce amidst increased cost of growing crops. For instance, the prices of agro-inputs increased two times.
The latter pushes farmers to sell their produce at higher prices to prevent losses.
The second reason is the increase in prices of petroleum products which affected transport.
The issues are also related to the war between Russia and Ukraine and the economic recovery from effects of COVID-19.
Premier Ngirente said that the subsidy for petroleum products slightly reduced the cost of transport and expressed optimism that the recent subsidy in the Agriculture Season A is expected to increase produce and result in prices’ drop.
“Considering the agricultural yields in the Season A, we are optimistic that maize produce doubled as is the case for Irish potatoes. Beans’ produce decreased slightly due to experienced drought in Southern Province and part of Eastern Province,” he noted.
“As a result, the price of maize has fallen from Rwf800 to Rwf400. This means, the prices for other crops including Irish potatoes will continue to drop,” added Dr. Ngirente.
The results were announced on Tuesday 28th February 2023 during the closing ceremony of the 18th edition of National Dialogue Council (Umushyikirano).
During the ceremony, ministries, public institutions including Rwanda Governance Board (RGB), Rwanda Development Board (RDB) as well as Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB) signed new performance contracts (imihigo).
Prime Minister, Dr. Edouard Ngirente explained that the first six districts namely; Nyagatare, Huye, Nyaruguru, Rwamagana and Rusizi did not register a difference of more than 2.5 points
Meanwhile, the last six districts including Nyamagabe, Gakenke, Gicumbi, Musanze, Rutsiro and Burera scored below the average.
Premier Ngirente urged leaders to fill the remaining gap to achieve intended results.
He disclosed that the grading considered full implementation of different projects because it was not agreed to achieve performance contracts halfway.
At provincial level, the Eastern Province emerged the best with 79% points followed by Southern Province with 78%.
The Western Province took the third place with 76% followed by Kigali City with 75% while the Northern Province tailed with 70%.
President Paul Kagame blamed the least performing districts and observed that they share the same problems that should be assessed.
“The first possible reason in Burera, is the abundance of Kanyanga [illicit gin]. Please, follow up and prove me wrong. […] Besides, Nyagatare’s best performance might be a result of reduced consumption of Kanyanga. It also used to face the same problem,” he said.
“Leadership is the other likely reason. There might be leadership problems. You also need to assess this issue,” added Kagame.
Kagame has also criticized leaders who choose to turn a blind eye, finding comfort in perpetuating wrongs.
He underscored that it is the same as choosing to sit in dirt, and ‘waiting for someone to come and tell you that you are seated in it’.
M23 sounds the alarm after rights group in North Kivu of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) indicated that over 100 women have been raped within four months in the territory while more than 180 women were killed since the rebel group resumed fighting in November 2021.
The Voice of America has reported that the crimes were committed in Kishishe, Bunagana, Jomba, Kinyandonyi, Bambo and Rugari.
Even though M23 is blamed for the crimes; the rebel group claims that it is part of Congo’s plans to tarnish its image.
The group’s military spokesperson, Major Willy Ngoma has told the media that it was never involved in rape cases.
He explained that its soldiers came from Ugandan cantonments where they were surrounded by beautiful girls in Ankole but ‘the country never accused us of rape’.
Maj Ngoma said that the rebel group lives in harmony with citizens in captured areas noting that Congolese government’s acts to cover rape crimes committed by its army and allies including Nyatura and Mai Mai are ridiculous.
