President Paul Kagame has attributed Rwanda’s steady progress in the last decade to adoption of home-grown solutions.
The President was addressing a high-level meeting, Saturday, during the United Nations Summit for the Adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda convened under the theme, “A New Rural Development Paradigm and the Inclusive and Sustainable New Communities Model inspired by the ‘Saemaul Undong’” in New York, US.
Kagame said homegrown initiatives drawn from Rwanda’s culture have to a large extent contributed to Rwanda’s progress, according to a statement from the President’s office.
“From Gacaca, our community courts, which has brought restorative justice and reconciliation to a once divided nation; to Ubudehe, which supports rural communities to collectively solve problems related to poverty; to Imihigo, which enables citizens to keep their leaders accountable, to Umuganda and many others,” he said.
The event, co-hosted by UNDP, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea and OECD, was an opportunity to discuss the central role of rural development in sustainable development goals.
Citing Korea’s ‘Saemaul Undong’ success in achieving development, President Kagame described Korea’s homegrown solution as testimony that local ownership of development programmes, citizen involvement and national unity always yield results, according to the statement.
“These are the values that guided Rwanda’s post-genocide development agenda. We chose to take responsibility for our reconstruction, by building consensus on a national vision, and working together to ensure no one was left behind,” Kagame said.
Emphasising the importance of solutions informed by a local context, Kagame called on a future of sustainable development goals centred on mutual learning and global cooperation.
“Changing mindsets, and doing things differently, is never easy. But doing the right things and getting results builds resilience and the capacity to do even more. Each country has its own unique circumstances and challenges, but also the resources to solve its problems, complemented by external partnerships,” the President said.
The event was co-chaired by President Park Geun-hye of South Korea and attended by President Choummaly Sayasone of Laos, President Truong Tan Sang of Vietnam, President Ollanta Moisés Humala of Peru and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
President Park described ‘Saemaul Undong’ as a development strategy that has not only helped lift Korea up but also transformed the country’s national ethos.
“Half a century ago, Korea’s per capita GDP stood below one hundred dollars. We were among the poorest countries in the world. And yet, fired by a desire for a better life, the whole nation rallied together to climb out of poverty. And we did so in the spirit of diligence, self-help and cooperation that animated the ‘Saemaul Undong.’
As a result, Korea managed to industrialise, and within five decades, we rose to become one of the top 15 economies in the world,” she said.
‘Saemaul Undong’ or New Community Movement was South Korea’s home-grown initiative launched in 1970s by South Korean President Park Chung Heer. The initiative, which centred on traditional values of communalism and self-reliance, played a key role in modernising South Korea
The First Lady, Jeannette Kagame, yesterday, urged global action on violence against children anywhere in the world.
She was speaking during a United Nations high-level meeting on ‘Children and the Sustainable Development Goals: Giving every child a chance’ at the UN headquarters in New York.
The UN General Assembly side event was sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations and the World Childhood Foundation US, in collaboration with Mentor International.
It was meant to discuss new opportunities that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework brings to improving millions of children’s lives.Mrs Kagame pointed to figures showing that among adolescent boys in low and middle-income countries, at least one out of four boys has been a victim of physical violence since the age of 15.
She also pointed out that about one out of 10 girls in the world has been subjected to some form of forced sexual acts, before the age of 20.
The First Lady described as appalling the numbers of abused and exploited children worldwide.
“These figures should be a wake-up call for all of us, especially when considering that the perpetrators may include friends, parents, and teachers, reminding us that often, those who pose the most dangers to our children are not always strangers, but can be the people entrusted with their care,” she said.
The event featured Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden; Irina Bokova, the director-general of UNESCO; Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kailash Satyarthi; and Hans Vestberg, the chief executive of Ericsson.Other delegates were drawn from UN leadership, governments, civil society, academia and the private sector.
The meeting sought to mobilise action for children using the SDGs’ framework and make the SDG 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children everybody’s priority.
“We are here today because of our most precious little humans,” Mrs Kagame said.
Reflecting on Rwanda’s experience, where hundreds of thousands of orphans were inherited after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, the First Lady noted that humanity is defined by the way it treats the most vulnerable in communities.
Today, about one third of orphanages in Rwanda have reintegrated children in family homes, while over 3,000 street children have been rescued, rehabilitated, given vocational training, and reintegrated into society, she told the audience.Mrs Kagame also spoke about Rwanda’s integrated approach which led to the establishment of the Isange One Stop Centres across the country, where victims of sexual violence can seek free services, ranging from medical treatment, psychological and legal counseling to preliminary criminal investigation.
She called on everyone to ensure that the world reaches the sustainable development goal of “ending abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.”
“In the case of Rwanda, we have been able to achieve many and sometimes surpass the Millennium Development Goals (2000-2015) with limited resources. We have every intention of doing the same with the Sustainable Development Goals, especially when it comes to the protection and safety of our children. Children embody the best part of who we are.”
The SDGs, also known as the Global Goals, are set to be launched during the UN General Assembly in New York today.
President Paul Kagame has said that the world has learned valuable lessons from the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were set in 2000 and are due to be replaced with a new set of global goals, at the United Nations General Assembly this week.
Kagame, who has been a co-chair of the MDGs Advocacy Group, was speaking on Thursday at the Columbia University World Leaders Forum in the United States ahead of the launch of the world’s new development framework, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the successor to the MDGs.
The MDGs, which had eight goals and 18 targets, sought to significantly reduce hunger and poverty, minimise deaths from preventable and treatable diseases and accelerate socio-economic development around the world.
“Poverty is part of the experience for millions of Africans and beyond, who need no reminder of what it feels like to be trapped in its brutal grip,” the President said during a session moderated by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
The Head of State said: “When some say MDG efforts fell short. I say: that’s fine, at least something was learned”.
He observed that when the MDGs were introduced some 15 years ago, Rwanda “was coming out of a dark period of our history, getting the debts of the previous governments cleared”.
“It was a moment at which we were most intensively engaged, in working out how to forge a new national consensus, on the most pressing issues facing us.
“These ranged from the particular problems of recovering from Genocide, to the challenges of development policy, that every growing country has to deal with,” he said.
Kagame pointed out that the MDGs were “timely, in creating a new basis, for the development partnerships necessary to rebuild our country, and create prosperity in the years ahead.”
For Rwanda, the President said, MDGs “linked the national vision for development to a wider global context, and was well aligned with changes Rwandans wanted to see in their lives”.
“The work of implementing the MDGs helped to build trust with funding partners, while keeping the locus of responsibility where we believed it had to rest, with ourselves,” he said. “It informed us and our partners, whether or not we were on the right track”.
And as the world ushers in the new Global Goals, Kagame said, it was time to pause and ask, “what will improve and make development sustainable?”
This is a complex question, he noted. “But let’s simplify the answer, by looking at development as a triangle”.
The first point, Kagame explained, are solutions – good ideas and policies. “The second point, is money; the financing to implement the programmes”.
And the third necessity which of often overlooked, he added, is the interaction between citizens and their leaders and partners. “That is good politics”.
“Sustainable development is not about what ‘we’, all of us here, do for them, but about the choices they make each day, over and over. We are working to provide the ways and the means to improve their lives, but it is also important to take the time to connect with these citizens, because in the end, they are the ones who implement these good ideas,” Kagame said.
He added: “We can start by recognising the many contributions and quantify that citizens themselves make. These amounts may look small compared to other sources of financing, but it’s a big deal”.
“Their contributions range from using their own money to buy necessary inputs, to time spent in community meetings, learning about new and better ways of doing things, to absorbing risks now in order to make gains in the future”.
These are important measures of the commitment of citizens and communities, without which there would be little development, the President noted. “Development is what happens when citizens are convinced about the logic and pace of change.
“Country systems must help people to understand their problems, and collaborate to find solutions, including serving as a conduit for development partnerships”.
Sharing Rwanda’s experience, Kagame said: “For Rwanda, there is nothing casual about the term “lessons learned”. We have been changed by real learning from our experiences and circumstances. And therefore we have had to do things differently, earning us different results”.
“At the core of our political mobilisation work, are the principles of inclusiveness, taking responsibility, and building consensus”.
In Rwanda, he observed, state effectiveness is derived from success at forging a common national vision. ‘This has enabled faster and deeper development results. And explains why the results achieved, sometimes far surpass available resources”.
The country is one of the few that have fully achieved several MDGs and made significant progress on all the others.
“The SDGs are the next chapter in global collaboration on development, and hopefully, a new opportunity to move away, from the business as usual mode,” Kagame said.
“The goals are more ambitious, and some would even say less focused. That is to be expected, given the progress of MDGs, and also the reality that, the most stubborn forms of poverty, may be much harder to eradicate”.
What’s key, he said, is that “we have a new template, for cooperation and dialogue for the next generation”.
For the SDGs to succeed, the President observed, “we need to have a more serious conversation, about the forms of governance and democratic participation, required to get there”.
“The challenge for all of us, is to close the triangle of sustainable development. The SDGs offer hope, of making the importance, meaning, and most importantly, practice of good politics, more widely understood,” he added.
He called on leaders to “work to complement the new SDG framework, with a genuine effort, to objectively assess the degree of citizen buy-in and involvement, in decision-making and accountability”.
It is up to us, to make the most of this new opportunity, he added.
The Bilateral meeting between the Hon Gen James Kabarebe, the Minister of Defence of Rwanda and Hon Aimé Ngoi-Mukena Lusa-Diese, the Minister of National Defence, Veterans and Re-integration of the Democratic Republic of Congo was held in Kigali from 23rd – 24th September 2015 to review the security challenges facing the two countries and agree on comprehensive strategies to address them.
The meeting is a follow up of their meeting held at the sideline of the ICGLR meeting in Luanda, Angola on 13 May 2015.
The ministers took note of the Chiefs of the Defence Staff meeting of the two countries held on 27 June 2015 in Kinshasa, DRC.
The ministers stressed that the Kigali meeting has opened a new chapter to enhance the bilateral cooperation to resolve security challenges facing the two countries particularly the eradication of FDLR present in the Eastern DRC which continue to pose threat in the two countries and the repatriation of ex-M23 combatants cantoned in Rwanda.
The meeting received a brief from the J2-RDF on the current activities of FDLR and updates on ex-M23 combatants in Rwanda.
Following this brief, both governments expressed the commitment to build on what has been achieved so far and consolidate efforts to restore peace and security in the two countries.
{{Resolutions}}
Realizing the good opportunity presented by the Kigali Meeting that a new chapter for enhancing bilateral cooperation and build on the positive achievements, the meeting decided on the following resolutions:
a. A meeting of Chiefs of Defence/General Staff supported by Chiefs of Military Intelligence be held in Kigali as soon as possible on a date to be communicated and develop practical ways to eradicate FDLR.
b. A Joint Bilateral Team be established on repatriation of ex-M23 Combatants cantoned in Rwanda and FDLR combatants in DRC. National and International Institutions shall be invited to accompany the process.
c. In formalizing this new spirit of cooperation, DRC-Rwanda Bilateral Security meetings shall be held on a regular basis.
The questions we ask as children define us. I remember as a child always asking my parents and grandparents questions about their experiences growing up in the midst of Rwanda’s most tumultuous times. I was not alone in seeking answers to these questions — many of my peers have done the same.
I heard much about their experiences; however, I was too young to understand fully the magnitude of the disaster through which my parents and grandparents lived. Added to these painful memories are the experiences many of us have had in our own time. They serve as a strong reminder of the importance of forgiveness. To ensure our conflict is not passed from one generation to the next — for the sake of the story of Rwanda — forgiveness is the only way to draw strength from tragedy individually — and to heal collectively.
For the eight years I have lived in the United States, I have participated in several classes and discussions touching on the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsis. We have talked about its devastating effect on those who lived through it — and the rest of the world standing by in silence as it happened.
Knowing my background, and my deep roots in Rwanda, my peers are curious about the country post-genocide. Their most frequent questions center around safety: “Do you go home for vacations?” “Is it safe there?”
Sometimes, I have to fight back an urge to respond with a blank stare. I — perhaps — could ask them similar questions about their homes. But these are fair questions from my peers. They are questions asked with good intent; they are genuinely meant. When we are taught about conflict or tragedies, we always learn about them in a limited way. We learn about what happened, the death toll, the tragic impact, but rarely do we highlight the enduring and gallant spirits of those who have been able to overcome these unthinkable circumstances with their dignity and hope intact.
Therein lies the story of Rwanda, a story of enduring hope and, most importantly, a story of ongoing forgiveness and healing.
Like most Rwandans my age, I was born in the middle of the conflict ripping our nation and its identity apart. My parents had been living as refugees for more than 20 years of their life: my mother in Burundi and my father in Uganda. My background is like that of many young people — our parents and grandparents were victims of a long-standing cycle of ethnic violence and hatred. The conflict rose from decades of mental conditioning, which led people to kill their sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers and children.
Hate, like many other vices, is a learned behavior — it is a choice, a bad choice, but a choice nonetheless. And yet, I believe — I know — that forgiveness works the same way. I have experienced the power of forgiveness in my life — and I have seen it work its healing power in Rwanda today.
Confronted with the horror of our history, we have a choice. We can choose forgiveness, or we can surrender to a natural reaction and choose revenge. On an individual level, choosing forgiveness is making a conscious decision to live above unimaginable circumstances.
Collectively — as a nation — by choosing to forgive, we are looking at a bigger picture, a brighter and more hopeful future for Rwanda. Most importantly, individually and as a nation, we are choosing to end a vicious cycle of hate.
Ultimately, the goal of our individual and collective effort is to build a safe and secure Rwanda for our generation and the generations to come. Choosing forgiveness is about discovering healing and finding peace.
As I was writing this article, I reached out to one of my childhood friends: Sonia Mugabo. Sonia is a survivor. She was three years old at the time of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis. I asked her what forgiveness means to her in post-genocide Rwanda.
She told me, “After 17 years of concealing my trauma, and trying my best to be brave, I broke down and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. For some time, PTSD turned me into a bitter and angry person. It wasn’t until my process of healing started that I grasped the importance of forgiveness. I now know that, after reflecting with fellow young genocide survivors, we found forgiveness was allowing ourselves to be at peace and not allowing the pain caused by the genocide perpetrators to take over our lives. It takes time for wounds to heal. Most likely, it will take generations. However, in Rwanda, we are finding lasting solutions through our inherent values that are informed by faith, unity and reconciliation. Ultimately, and more importantly, our best weapon is forgiveness.”
Sonia’s story mirrors that of many in Rwanda, young and old.
Like most Rwandans, I am grateful for the path of forgiveness we are choosing to follow. No one should ever take for granted the strength needed by survivors of this horror — the strength to rise above their pain for the greater good. The path we have chosen to walk is unconventional. Each of us is now a beneficiary of this forgiveness and the restorative methods of justice that Rwandans have chosen to take. The successes and significant strides Rwanda is making in spite of its dark past are a direct effect of this reconciliation.
{ {{Through forgiveness, today Rwanda and Rwandans are victors over their painful past — and not victims.}}}
This was first produced by The Huffington Post and “Forgive for Peace,” in conjunction with the UN’s International Day of Peace (Sept. 21, annually).
Experts have advised government to invest more resources to support Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes to make the economy more competitive.
According to the experts from Chamber of Skilled Craft Koblenz in Germany, developing stronger TVET systems will help make the country’s private sector more innovative, thus driving economic growth.
The experts were yesterday speaking at the opening of a two-day workshop on how to boost TVET programmes in the country, in Kigali.
The workshop is in line with the TVET partnership project between Germany’s Chamber of Skilled Craft Koblenz, the Workforce Development Authority, Private Sector Federation and the Integrated Polytechnic Regional Centre (IPRC) East.
Albert Nsengiyumva, the state minister for TVET, said unless the question of skills is addressed, the private sector will find it hard to deliver sustainably to national development.
“Investing in skills means more competitiveness and stronger capacities for the private sector to become more profitable and create jobs for the country; this will translate into a more robust and faster economic growth,” Nsengiyumva said
Rwanda and Germany, through the Chamber of Skilled Crafts Koblenz, are collaborating to strengthen TVET programmes in the country in several areas.
The latest partnerships seek to establish a reliable and sustainable network between professional colleges and firms, and encourage exchange of information, experiences and expertise between the two countries.
Nsengiyumva said one of the most important objectives of the project is to support Rwanda’s efforts to offer quality vocational qualification.
Peter Fahrenhltz, the German ambassador to Rwanda, said the partnership would help address the current skills gap to propel the country toward achieving middle income status.
“Rwanda has an economic challenge of creating jobs, reducing poverty levels and achieving and sustaining economic growth; therefore, financing Rwanda’s TVET systems is critical for the realisation of these objectives,” Fahrenhltz said.
{{
Funding TVET}}
Amb. Fahrenhltz said Germany is investing more than Euro 22 million (about Rwf17 billion) in supporting Rwanda’s TVET programmes.
According to the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda’s household and living condition survey 2013-2014, at least 146,000 off-farm jobs were created in the country annually over the past three years.
Statistics also show a 24.4 per cent increase in business enterprises between 2011 and 2014, which created 34.5 per cent new jobs – 47.9 per cent of which were established in rural areas, with 22.4 in urban areas.
This was possible mainly because TVET programmes contributed to the vibrancy of the small and medium enterprises.
Theobald Mugabo, the managing director of Hygebat Construction Company Ltd, said there is potential to double these figures with sustained efforts to invest in TVET.
In its the Second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy blueprint, government targets to create at least 200,000 off-farm jobs annually, boost exports and household incomes.
Manfred Rube, the director of legal department at Handwerkskammer Koblenz, a German-based company, Rwanda can easily achieve the target by establishing strong legal and systematic TVET systems.
“The companies will benefit from having a pool of qualified employees – customised to their needs – which will increase their revenue and that of the country,” Rube said.
Preparatory activities for the upcoming Transform Africa Summit, slated on October 19 in Kigali, are in high gear, with officials launching various platforms to ease participants’ early planning.
The summit will be the second edition after the inaugural meet in 2013, and is expected to attract more than 2,500 delegates from across the world.
At least 10 African heads of state, leaders of government and heads of international corporations, are among the participants expected at the Kigali summit.
As part of the preparations, the Ministry of Youth and ICT, yesterday, launched online platforms to allow local and foreign participants receive regular updates and conveniently perform tasks such as registration and bookings.
The paperless process is part of the organisers’ aim to ensure that the large number of delegates is handled efficiently and that participants are in touch with organisers for any questions and inquiries.
While launching the platforms, www.transformafrica2015.org, and a QR scan code, the Minister for Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, said this year’s summit would build from the previous summit’s impacts. It will be held under the theme, “Accelerating Digital Innovation.”
Among the conference’s objectives will be to offer a platform for dialogue and deal making between governments and the private sector on technology solutions and provide a space for young innovators from Africa to showcase their potential for creating homegrown innovations.
Nsengimana said the event will also showcase benefits and progress African countries have realised since the previous summit through partnerships with leading technology solution providers.
Rwanda is optimistic that the event will further boost growth experienced in the ICT sector in recent years in multiple ways such as attracting investors and developing skills in ICT-related fields.
Nsengimana said by hosting the event, the country will receive many prospective investors from across the world, with expectations that some of them will go on to pursue opportunities in the country.
“In this year’s conference there is a lot of interest from Asia, Europe and elsewhere,” Nsengimana said.
{{Tapping into opportunities}}
The conference is expected to contribute to the nation’s ambitions of becoming an ICT hub in the region. In this aspect, the minister said hosting the conference will signify the country’s strength in thought leadership and hub for investments.
The hospitality sector is also expected to benefit from the three-day conference.
Rwanda Development Board (RDB) will be looking to ride on the summit to attract new ICT investments in the country.
Paula Ingabire, the head of ICT investments at RDB, told The New Times that since the previous summit, ICT investments in the country have shot to more than $150 million, with most of them directly attributed to the summit.
She said government will this time round strategically reach out to potential investors.
“We are targeting the various sessions, exhibitions, Business-to-Business matching where we will not only showcase opportunities, but incentives and support structures in place as well,” she said.
The government will also use the success stories in aspects such as Smart cities initiative to showcase possibilities in the Rwandan market.
Ingabire said the opportunities to be showcased will not be limited to Rwanda but the region and the continent at large.
The previous summit saw the adoption of a Smart Africa Manifesto that sought to put ICT at the centre of their planned socio-economic transformation.
Among other recommendations made in the previous summit were calls to African countries to enhance capacity to develop ICTs, roll out broadband, involve the private sector in the sector’s promotion, and promote cost-effective technology.
Rwanda’s First Lady Jeannette Kagame has told an audience in Los Angeles (USA) of the special place cows hold in Rwandan society – as they have pulled thousands out of poverty.
“Heifer donations of cows hold a special meaning, their worth represent social ties deeply rooted in our traditions,” said Mrs Kagame at a ‘Beyond Hunger’ gala hosted by Heifer International on Friday evening.
The organisation hosted the 4th Annual “Beyond Hunger: A Place at the Table,” gala event in Los Angeles. The celebrity-filled event brought together advocates in the fight against extreme poverty.
Sharing a personal story, the First Lady told her audience that it was “a glass of milk” that brought President Paul Kagame and her together.
“I lend my voice to the Rwandans impacted by this partnership and testify that it could only be a natural fit in our values,” she added.
Since 1944 Heifer International has assisted more than 18.5 million families—79 million people—move from poverty to prosperity. In Rwanda, it has been operational for the last 15 years – and available data shows it has assisted more than 45,000 families to improve food security, a move that has helped government significantly cut extreme poverty.
Heifer International has been one of the partners to government in its ‘One Cow Per Family’ program under which, for years, the poorest homes have been given a free cow. Figures show more than 250,000 cows have been distributed.
In July this year, Pierre Ferrari, the chief executive officer and president of Heifer International, was in Rwanda.
“We are proud to have Her Excellency the First Lady of Rwanda, Madam Jeannette Kagame at our Beyond Hunger Gala,” said Ferrari at the event in Los Angeles yesterday.
Meanwhile, at the gala, Chris Gero of Yamaha Entertainment, emerged as the 2015 ‘BeyondHunger’ Noble Globe awardee.
“When sleeping women wake, mountains move,” he told guests.
At least 200 eye patients with eye cataracts selected from across the country are set to receive free eye treatment at Ruhengeri Hospital in Musanze District.
The weeklong operation, provided by Barraqueur Foundation, an international organisation whose goal is to provide eyecare to help improve visual health, started yesterday.
The move aims at finding long lasting solution for people who suffer from cataract and to reduce blindness which is mostly caused by the cataract, according to Dr Elena Barraquer, an ophthalmologist and leader of Barraquer Foundation.
The 200 beneficiaries were selected from the over 1,000 cataract patients who were initially screened.
“Our goal is to try to eradicate blindness caused by cataract, since this is the leading cause of blindness in the world. It’s something that can often be solved with a simple procedure that we can perform and that offers a huge improvement in the way people live,” Barraquer said.
She added that procedures rely on a novel technique called ‘phacoemulsification,’ which involves using ultrasound to break down the cataract and then aspirating it through a canula.
This invasive technique means that after a 20-minute procedure, the patient has a permanent intraocular lens and a new view of the world, she said.
Dr Barraquer said malnutrition and extreme exposure to sunlight are some of the causes of cataracts, whose only solution is surgery.
Dr David Muhire, the head of department of ophaltomology at Ruhengeri Hospital, said the weeklong surgery exercise and screening is of a great value to Rwandan health services since it is being conducted by specialists.
Patients were upbeat that they could regain their sight after a long time with the visual impairment.
Emmanuel Dusabe, from Kibagabaga in Gasabo District, could not believe how the removal of cataract could be free.
“I was thinking that cataract surgery operation is very expensive but now I can be operated on free of charge. I am happy because they are going to help me regain the sight I lost years ago,” Dusabe said.
Dusabe encouraged other people who have visual impairments to seek medical attention.
Similar operations were carried out by the same foundation last year, an exercise at which more than 200 eye patients regained their sight.
According to World Health Organisation, cataracts are responsible for 48 per cent of cases of blindness around the world and many countries still do not have medical resources needed to remove them.
Over 40 million people around the world suffer from curable blindness caused by cataracts.
The clinic was organised by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with Barraquer Foundation.
Members of the Rwanda Hotel Group (RHG), have urged financial institutions to give a grace period of at least a year to members who seek loans before they can start paying back.
RGH is an association that brings together owners of medium-sized hotels in the country.
But this seems to be a lost battle for members who have defaulted on bank loans as banks have placed auction notices in the media to sell off these hotels.
Several RHG members are now desperately trying to save their investments from being sold off cheaply to the highest bidder while banks are also doing their best to recover several billions of francs in non-performing loans (NPLs) held by these hotels.
Between hotels and banks is Private Sector Federation (PSF) which finds itself with an unattractive role of a mediator between disgruntled hoteliers and the banks.
“Hotels and banks are both our members and all we are trying to do is get them on the table to agree on an amicable way out because our interest as PSF is to ensure businesses succeed, not fail,” said Stephen Ruzibiza, PSF’s chief executive officer.
According to PSF, there are at least twenty distressed hotels trying to appeal against being auctioned off, not over one hundred as recently reported in the media.
Sylvester Mupenda, president of the RHG who talked to press in earlier interviews about the issue involving his hotel as well, declined to comment on the matter when contacted. When pressed further for a comment he said.
“We have not seen any effect, I don’t want to talk anymore.”
As the proprietor of Eldorado, one of the hotels listed for auction, Mupenda’s attitude is perhaps understandable; by talking to the press about his plight earlier, the distressed investor hoped to attract some attention to somehow halt, the auctioning of his hotel.
Apparently, the hotel was auctioned over two weeks ago.
Located on 27 KG Street, on 8th Avenue, just behind Rwanda Development Board, Eldorado employs 17 workers who had the same prayer as of last week, to be retained in their jobs by the new owner whom they were yet to meet.
The owner and hotel manager were both not on the premises at the time of visiting but according to a senior staffer, the investment is allegedly valued at over Rwf350 million (land and building).
However, it was auctioned off at just over Rwf200m to recover a loan of over Rwf260 million, apparently obtained from GroFin almost a decade ago to finance the investor to modify the place into a hotel from the apartment that it was previously.
But on Sunday, a source familiar with the transaction told The New Times that the takeover by the new owners had been halted after high level intervention although no details were immediately available to explain the development.
{{A troubled palace}}
Further deep in the city outskirts is Alpha-Palace, Kigali’s troubled palace, as it’s now quietly regarded; unlike the black couch with cracked leather covers at Eldorado, the reception area at Alpha which is listed as a three-star hotel, was much more respectable and cozy.
Lurched in one of the shiny cream leather seats was a young male Chinese guest speaking on the phone, rather loudly; the receptionist, Diana, with a calming smile, has been with the hotel for only a couple of months; she led me to the manager’s office.
“We are still in charge. The auction process was halted by court because there’s a disagreement on figures,” said the manager, a middle-aged man who has been with the hotel since 2012.
His room was a guest-suite turned into an office located on the first floor overlooking the swimming pool at the back of the hotel.
The least priced room at Alpha Palace which has over 46 rooms is US$70 a night; the hotel is three-star classified but that’s also the source of its current problems.
Alpha Palace which is valued at over Rwf2 billion is currently battling a consolidated credit facility of Rwf500 million from Bank of Kigali which was borrowed, according to the manager, to mainly upgrade its facilities ahead of RDB’s countrywide hotel classification exercise.
The hotel managed to get the stars but they haven’t translated into commercial success. “This endless story of us being auctioned has badly affected our performance, most of our clients have left us thinking someone else took over the facility,” he said.
Alex Baingana, the hotel’s proprietor has literally knocked on all doors in an attempt to save his lifetime investment from auction; he believes the bank is being unfair noting that selling off the property should be the very last resort after exploring all possible avenues.
But a source within Bank of Kigali intimated to The New Times that the hotel misused the credit and diverted it into other activities outside the planned spending.
However, the hotel blames its woes on what the manager describes as a dwindling clientele mainly because of tight competition from dozens of hotels that dominate its neighbourhood.
“Come and see what I am talking about,” he said as he guided me towards the balcony, pointing to the houses a few meters away from the hotel.
According to the manager, owners of most residential houses next to his hotel have turned them into motels which are stealthily diverting demand from Alpha Palace hotel hence contributing to its current financial woes.
The argument of stiff competition and reduced clientele is what most members of RHG will cite for their woes which they also blame on government for unfulfilled promises of a booming tourism sector that would generate incomes for these hotels.
{{Happy neigbours}}
But not everyone is complaining. For instance at Grand Legacy (GL), a newly established hotel directly opposite Alpha Palace, Christian Ndagijimana, the facility’s marketing manager says they have already become market leaders after just over a year in business.
Established just over a year ago, the 5-star classified hotel has 43 high-end rooms ranging between US$240 and US$420 for a night.
Ndagijimana says that within a short period of time, GL has become Kigali’s leading facility, based on statistics compiled by TripAdvisor, an American travel website providing reviews of travel-related content.
As to why smaller hotels like the one across the road are failing, the salesman says it’s because of a general lack of proper management, dysfunctional marketing strategies and lack of passion in what people do.
“So the way out for them is to really get proper management in place and get people who are passionate about the hotel business, you definitely don’t want someone who is just looking for a pay cheque at the end of the month,” he said.
But Ndagijimana also admits that getting top managers can be quite expensive for most hotels which want to run on low budgets.
{{So what’s the way out for struggling small hotels?}}
Although PSF’s advocacy can help to temporarily protect the hotels from the auctioneer’s hammer, perhaps a more realistic solution is with Celestin Rwabukumba, the CEO of the Rwanda Stock Exchange.
Rwabukumba says most companies, small or large, are struggling with a problem of being undercapitalised something he says can be addressed through raising money on the market; it worked well for Bank of Kigali, Bralirwa and most recently, Crystal telecom.
“It’s possible that up to 90 per cent of our businesses are undercapitalised. Many businesses start off wrongly with up to 80 per cent of their operating capital obtained from commercial banks and only a small section being their personal savings, that’s dangerous,” he said.
Jean Claunde Karayenzi, the Access Bank Rwanda managing director echoes similar views pointing out that businesses like hotels need longer term capital to allow them to borrow with longer repayment periods.
Recently, African Development Bank Group extended a $6 million line of credit to Access Bank to support Rwandan small and medium entrepreneurs; the credit line is long-term and will see borrowers enjoying friendly interest rates.
Rwabukumba says equity is not what one owns as some people wrongly perceive it, but rather the cash at hand because in practice, land can’t pay bills unless it’s liquidated into hard cash.
A platform has been created to enable small and medium enterprises like hotels to raise money from stock market and improve their capital bases.
“Unlike large companies that are required to have minimum capital requirements before listing on the stock market, the SME segment doesn’t require such conditionalities,” he said.
Surprisingly, the initiative is not new as it was approved about two years ago, but no SME has been able to debut although Rwabukumba revealed that at least four enterprises are in the process to pioneer the initiative.
The biggest challenge for SMEs, according to Rwabukumba is poor governance systems and accountability and that there’s a need to build their capacity to enable them access the market with confidence that investors’ money would be safe.
