Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday 8th September 2022. Following her demise, King Charles III was formally proclaimed Britain’s new monarch at a meeting of the Accession Council held at St James’s Palace last Saturday.
Queen Elizabeth II will be buried on Monday in Windsor Castle, about 23 miles west of London, alongside her husband and royal predecessors in St. George’s Chapel.
King Charles III is the first born among four children of Queen Elisabeth II. He had been designated as her successor in 2018.
Through a message posted on his Twitter handle, Kagame has also revealed that Rwanda is committed to work with the new King of UK to deliver on Commonwealth agenda.
“I had the opportunity to express through a phone conversation, my sincere condolences to His Majesty King Charles III for the passing of his mother Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” he tweeted.
“Rwanda looks forward to working together with King Charles III to move the Commonwealth agenda forward in service of all our citizens,” added Kagame.
President Kagame assumed duties as Commonwealth Chair-in-Office for two-year term in June this year as Rwanda hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
He replaced the former UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson who resigned recently.
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 54 independent and equal sovereign states. Its combined population is 2.5 billion, of which more than 60 per cent is aged 29 or under.
The Commonwealth spans the globe and includes both advanced economies and developing countries. Thirty-two of members are small states, many of which are island nations.
The Commonwealth Secretariat supports member countries to build democratic and inclusive institutions, strengthen governance and promote justice and human rights.
Its work helps to grow economies and boost trade, deliver national resilience, empower young people, and address threats such as climate change, debt and inequality.
Once completed, it will be the third cement manufacturer in Rwanda after Cimerwa Plc located in Bugarama of Rusizi District in Western Province and Prime Cement Ltd operating in Musanze District in Northern Province.
The two plants don’t have the capacity to meet the demand which results into hiked cement prices.
However, the issue is set to get a solution through a project run by Anija Prefabricated Construction Rwanda to build a cement factory in Muhanga Special Economic Zone.
Headquartered in Ethiopia, Anjia Prefabricated Construction runs operations in other countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The latter is developing a cement factory in Muhanga on 67 hectares expected to manufacture cement and other construction materials.
The management of Anjia Prefabricated Construction has revealed that the plant is expected to produce 1,000,000 tons per year and create over 1200 jobs after completion.
Construction of the plant estimated at US$100 million (approximately Rwf102 billion) have reached advanced stages and expected to be completed in February 2023, according to contractors.
Muhanga District vice Mayor for Economic Development, Eric Bizimana has told IGIHE that construction activities currently stand at 70%.
“The plant is under construction in a place dedicated for factories. Setting up this plant will cement investors’ confidence to invest in Rwanda, particularly in Muhanga,” he said.
“The plant will also contribute to the creation of new jobs and increase the quantity of locally produced cement,” added Bizimana.
This factory also plans to make a special type of cement used to build bridges crossing water bodies.
Products for cement production are expected to be sourced from Rubavu and DRC where the company has another plant.
With the production capacity of 600,000 tons per year, Cimerwa has been in operation since 1984.
Prime Cement also produces 600,000 tons per annum expected to be increased to 1.2 million tons in 2023.
Figures show that Rwanda’s demand for cement was estimated at 800,000 tons before 2020 yet local plants had the capacity to produce only 480,000 tons per year.
The company is expected to build a luxury wellness resort in Kigali City and Karongi District at the shores of Lake Kivu.
Şahenk has visited Rwanda four times. In March 2022, he was received by President Paul Kagame and discussed investment opportunities in various sectors including hospitality and real estate.
Speaking to the media after holding talks with Premier Ngirente on Tuesday 14th September 2022, Şahenk disclosed that Rwanda attracted him as a favourable investment destination.
He was accompanied by Hüsnü Akhan, the Vice Chairman of Dogus Group; Gur Cagdas, Board Member of Dogus Group and Tolga Akkas, the CEO of Dogus Construction, a subsidiary of Doğuş Group focusing on the construction of roads and residential houses among others.
“First of all, we love the people of Rwanda and the visionary leadership of the President of Rwanda is amazing. We went around Rwanda, we saw the natures, and what Rwanda is offering in the world of hospitality. We were impressed,” he said.
Şahenk explained that they have so far identified three places for investment where businesses are expected to begin in the near future.
“Our first business will be the hospitality in three locations. The first will be in Kigali, the second will be around the beautiful Lake Kivu, and hopefully the third one will be the land of gorillas [at the foothills of volcanoes National Park in Kinigi]. We believe Rwanda will be an amazing destination in coming years and we want to be among the first ones present in Rwanda,” he said.
“We believe the young generation in Rwanda, girls and boys, can be amazing in hospitality. Some of the chosen young people from Rwanda will be taken to Turkey for training in hospitality and bring them back,” added Şahenk.
He also revealed that the company considers establishing a hospitality school in Rwanda.
“Definitely, with our expansion, you can have land or building but what brings value of the brand and service is people. So, we sought an opportunity from the education ministry or ministry in charge of tourism to invest in the future of tourism and hospitality through young boys and girls,” said Şahenk.
The company has a school in the United Arab Emirates which offers training on preparation of Japanese dish known as ‘Sushi’.
Şahenk affirmed that they want to bring more investment in Africa in the area of construction noting that Rwanda is the best gateway for the company’s entry to the continent.
He stressed that the company which has been running operations for over 70 years received a positive feedback from partners welcoming the idea of investing in Africa, particularly in construction sector.
Doğuş Group is a Turkish company that begun its operations in 1951 and is currently one of the largest private companies in Turkey with a portfolio of 300 companies in six sectors namely; automotive, construction, real estate, energy, hospitality, retail and media.
The company also owns Doğuş Hospitality & Retail Group, a subsidiary which operates in the fields of hotels, events management and luxury fashion among others.
It manages over 200 restaurants and nearly 20 hotels in more than 21 countries across the world. The subsidiary also owns some of renowned hospitality icons including D-Hotels & Resorts and Mytha Hotel Anthology.
The CEO of Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Clare Akamanzi said that the investor has expressed willingness to invest in Rwanda where a good progress has been made so far.
“A company with this caliber choosing to look at Rwanda as an investment destination is very important because it shows that Rwanda is attractive to those kinds of investments.
Choosing Rwanda in the whole world signifies that there is something that we are doing, that the investment environment is doing and we should keep doing that, make it easier and even better for investors to do that in Rwanda. I look forward to the first project getting to completion,” she said.
Doğuş Group currently has operations in 29 countries, with operations in different regions such as the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe and Gulf Countries.
The latter is a ground-breaking initiative between the government of Rwanda and Pfizer inc. which aims to provide patented, high-quality medicines and vaccines available in the U.S. or the European Union on a not-for-profit basis to Rwanda among 45 other lower income countries.
The shipment includes 1,500 treatment packs to treat and prevent life threatening infectious diseases, inflammatory diseases and certain cancers.
Commenting on the partnership, the Minister of Health, Dr. Daniel Ngamije described it as a commendable move expected to improve the lives of patients in Rwanda.
“In partnership with Pfizer and ‘An Accord for a Healthier World’, we are proud to provide rapid and affordable access to these Pfizer medicines and vaccines, which have the power to save and improve patient lives all across Rwanda,” he observed.
Minister Ngamije added: “Working together, we are greatly reducing the health inequities that exist between many lower-income countries and the rest of the world.”
As part of the Accord, the Ministry of Health and Pfizer are also providing professional healthcare education and training, exploring partnerships to support Rwandan medical specialists, diagnostic enhancements and the establishment of a telemedicine consultation platform to connect healthcare professionals in Rwanda with experts around the world.
“Everyone, no matter where they live or their income level, should have access to life-saving medicines and vaccines. This delivery is an important milestone on our journey toward closing the health equity gap,” said Patrick van der Loo, Regional President Africa Middle East, Pfizer.
“But this shipment supply is only a first step. We look forward to working in close collaboration with healthcare officials in Rwanda to help get these medicines and vaccines to patients and communities where they are needed most,” he added.
Rwanda is the first of the Accord countries to receive products through the initiative.
Early insights from initial Accord countries, which also include Ghana, Malawi, Senegal and Uganda, will be shared across all 45 Accord countries to support sustainable access and improved health systems.
{{About An Accord for a Healthier World}}
An Accord for a Healthier World aims to provide all of Pfizer’s patented, high-quality medicines and vaccines available in the U.S. or the European Union on a not-for-profit basis to 1.2 billion people in 45 lower-income countries.
The Accord countries include all 27 low-income countries as well as 18 lower-middle-income countries that have transitioned from low to lower-middle-income classification in the last ten years. Pfizer is working with healthcare officials in Rwanda, Ghana, Malawi, Senegal and Uganda to identify early insights and opportunities to ensure all medicines and vaccines can reach those in need.
This will include expertise to support diagnosis, healthcare professional education and training along with supply chain management and other infrastructure enhancements. Learnings from these five countries will be applied to support the roll out for the remaining forty countries.
Pfizer will also collaborate with Accord participants to identify quick and efficient regulatory pathways and procurement processes to reduce the longer amount of time it can take to make new medicines and vaccines available in these countries.
The swearing-in ceremony held on Tuesday 13th September 2022 at Moi International Stadium Kasarani in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya; brought together 20 Heads of State and other dignitaries from across the world.
President Kagame is among leaders who attended the colourful event during which the outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta handed over power instruments to his successor, Ruto.
After attending the event, he sent congratulations to Kenyans for peaceful power noting that he looks forward to more collaboration between the two countries.
“It was a pleasure to join Kenyans and other leaders at the inaugural ceremony and handing over power to my brother Williams Ruto by his predecessor former President Uhuru Kenyatta. Congratulations to both leaders and Kenyans for peaceful transition. Even more cooperation ahead!!” he tweeted.
As he arrived in Kenya ahead of the power handover ceremony, Kagame held talks with Ruto. Following the discussions, Ruto expressed willingness to promote bilateral relations for the interests of both countries’ people.
“Kenya and Rwanda have a long established relationship based not just on geography but mutual interests and long standing partnerships on economic and security issues. We will seek to build and expand our cooperation for the mutual benefit of the citizens of our countries,” he tweeted.
Ruto becomes the fifth Kenyan President since the country obtained Independence.
He won the August 9 elections, with 50.4% votes over his rival Raila Odinga who obtained 48,9%.
Odinga challenged election results and filed an appeal but ended in vain as the Supreme Court confirmed the victory of Ruto.
This garden which sits on nearly 3 hectares, has 15 main features all depicting troubles that victims went through during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
The first section of this garden is named ‘Ubusitani Bwumye’ translated as ‘Airid Garden’.
It is composed of stones representing over a million victims killed in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The garden also has trees that are normally grown in the desert to represent the soldiers of Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPA) that fought the Liberation Struggle and stopped the Genocide despite hurdles they went through.
The other part is named ‘Ubusitani Butoshye’ translated as ‘Flourishing Garden’. It comprises one hundred trees representing the 100 days of the Genocide during which over 1 million victims were brutally murdered.
Of these trees, one was planted by First Lady Jeannette Kagame while others were planted by Rwanda’s friends and the survivors of the Genocide against the Tutsi. All the types of planted trees hold a great significance to the history of Rwanda.
They include Ficus thonningii used by Rwandans to make different household items.
Other trees include Erythrina planted as a sign of defense and beauty among others.
This garden also features artificial water bodies including rivers and swamp to depict the ordeal endured by Tutsis who were dumped in rivers and others who survived from their hiding places in swamps among others.
Sorghum field is another feature of the garden representing hiding places for Tutsis during the Genocide.
The garden also has a mass grave in memory of Tutsis killed and dumped in holes across the country and a venue for commemoration activities with the capacity to host 6000 mourners.
The inaugural ceremony of this memorial garden was attended by different dignitaries including First Lady Jeannette Kagame who provided funding for its construction, the Minister of the National Unity and Civic Engagement, Dr. Jean Damascène Bizimana and the Mayor of Kigali City, Pudence Rubingisa.
The idea of building this garden surfaced in 2000 but the implementation delayed owing to efforts to gather more ideas to reach the best outcome.
{{Intervention of French visual artist and photographer}}
The idea to construct this garden was introduced by Bruce Clarke who visited Rwanda for the first time as a photographer. Arriving in the country, he got inspiration to show the real image of Rwanda after the Genocide against the Tutsi to the world.
The French photographer and visual artist was also among participants of the inauguration ceremony. The project was implemented in collaboration between relevant stakeholders.
Speaking at the occasion, Clarke revealed how the idea to establish the garden came to his mind.
“I visited Rwanda for the first time in August 1994. That time, I was a photographer. I had been mandated by a certain number of civil societies coordinated by Rwandan community in France to make photo reportage of what life was like after the Genocide,” he said.
Clarke went on to explain that he was sent to Rwanda as a photographer because there was still confusion about the image of Rwanda after the Genocide.
“In Europe, we were getting a lot of images of the aftermath of the Genocide. However, these images weren’t taken in Rwanda. They were coming from Congo, Tanzania and other places outside Rwanda and were basically of the families who escaped with the killers,” he said.
“That is why it is so important to document what was happening inside Rwanda at that time because what we saw from the images coming from Rwanda, were that the victims were absent from the picture. What was actually happening was that history was being re-written in newspapers or on television in Europe,” he added.
After coming to Rwanda, Clarke was touched by the bitter history of the country and mulled ways to showcase it through art.
As Clarke revealed, he started thinking of drawings or sculptures but finally realized that none of them would explain the depth of this history.
“In the first two, three years which followed my first visit, I started thinking ‘what role can art play in a memorial process? What role can art play in posing an act of memory? The challenge was immense at the time because they had seen so many more priorities. There was one thing that motivated me. It was the thought that art symbolically gave back to humanity to people and that was what had been confiscated during the Genocide,” he said.
Clarke also narrated how he first thought the garden would have a million stones representing the number of victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi which was adjusted after discussions with others. The idea was broadened and resulted into the memorial garden with different sections.
He thanked the people who were involved in the project’s implementation, particularly, First Lady Jeannette Kagame.
“We built this with the help of the First Lady and Imbuto Foundation. At that time, 22 years ago when we were here, we were with Mrs. Jeannette Kagame. I am glad that after all this time, we are together even today,” he said.
The Minister of the National Unity and Civic Engagement, Dr. Jean Damascène Bizimana commended Clarke for his contribution to this project.
He said that the Government of Rwanda will make possible efforts to ensure that the garden is used for the right purpose.
This Memorial Garden is a symbol that will show the hard times that Rwandans went through in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, the country’s resilience journey after the Genocide and the impact of nature which served as a hiding place for hunted victims.
It is considered as a bridge to link Rwanda’s past to its future as it has great significance to remembrance, education on the tragic history endured by Tutsis, how they survived and rebuilt themselves.
It is expected that Rwandans, especially the youth will be visiting this garden for free to learn from their country’s unpleasant history, reconciliation process and resilience journey.
The Head of State made the remarks on Monday as he officiated the opening of the 6th Aviation Africa Summit and Exhibition taking place in Rwanda together with the first ever World Airports Infrastructure, Equipment and Services Exhibition.
The two-day Aviation Africa Summit and Exhibition is held in Rwanda for the third time.
As he delivered remarks, President Kagame said that the last meeting held three years ago highlighted the importance of Africa’s aviation market for the continent’s ambition to become a single economic bloc.
The President revealed that the aviation was growing rapidly with a bright future before the outset of COVID-19 which severely affected the aviation with Africa being no exception.
President Kagame said that travel and tourism are now getting back to normal even through the industry is not back to where it was.
“The further liberalization of air transport in Africa can act as a catalyst to speed up the industry’s recovery, by increasing connectivity, stimulating demand and creating jobs,” he noted.
“In a wider context of the African Free Trade Area, open skies help to link our businesses to regional and global supply chains, boosting trade and investment,” he added.
The Head of State underscored that it is the reason why the full implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market must remain a top priority noting that Rwanda continues to do its part.
“Currently, RwandAir, our national carrier, serves 24 routes, 19 of which are in Africa. We intend to continue expanding within the continent and abroad,” he stated.
“We are working together with our partner, Qatar Airways, to grow RwandAir and build Kigali’s new international airport, currently under construction, into a regional hub for passengers and cargo,” added Kagame.
To accelerate the aviation industry, the Head of State said that the shortage of skills across the aviation value chain must be addressed.
He also stressed the need to prioritize the use of data and digital technologies to make African aviation safer, more reliable and affordable.
“The aviation industry has a role to play, in reaching our global climate adaptation goals and the use of sustainable fuels can help us get there, faster,” stated Kagame.
Rwanda’s Minister of Infrastructure, Dr. Ernest Nsabimana said that the summit is a great opportunity for the African continent to discuss avenues paving the way for the adoption of digital technologies in the aviation industry.
He highlighted that it is time for actors in the aviation industry from African continent to start working together to develop resilience against future shocks.
The summit brought together nearly 800 participants.
Kagame arrived in Kenya in the evening of Monday 12th September 2022 to attend the inauguration of Dr. William Ruto, the country’s president-elect who will be inaugurated on Tuesday 13th September 2022.
Upon arrival at the airport, Kagame was received by Kenyan officials including the country’s designate-ambassador to Rwanda, Peter Mundia Githiora.
Following the meeting with Kagame, Ruto expressed willingness to promote bilateral relations for the interests of both countries’ people.
“Kenya and Rwanda have a long established relationship based not just on geography but mutual interests and long standing partnerships on economic and security issues. We will seek to build and expand our cooperation for the mutual benefit of the citizens of our countries,” he tweeted.
The inauguration of Ruto will take place today at Moi International Sports Centre in Nairobi.
Over 60,000 citizens are expected to attend the ceremony in-person while others will follow it via television. Meanwhile, over 2500 dignitaries to grace the event in Nairobi include 20 Heads of State and Government.
Ruto was elected recently with 50.4% votes over his rival Raila Odinga who obtained 48,9%.
He will be serving as the fifth Kenyan President after the country’s Independence.
The new appointment was announced through a statement released towards the end of last week.
Munyarugero Canisius will deputize Lawrence Kanyuka who was named the spokesperson of the group’s political wing in August this year.
The duties were previously assumed by Major Willy Ngoma who continued to serve as the military spokesperson.
It has been quite some time since the fighting between Congolese Army (FARDC) and M23 erupted. The rebel group accuses DRC of failure of implement peace accords.
Since the fighting erupted, M23 has captured different parts of eastern DRC including Bunagana town.
Recently, M23 appointed new leaders of Bunagana and issued rules for citizens living in the town.
