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JOHANNESBURG – Despite the major distraction of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir’s visit, African Union (AU) leaders took important decisions at their summit which ended on Monday, including a big one towards financial independence.

They also adopted the first ten-year plan to implement the ambitious Agenda 2063 initiative to uplift the continent, and launched negotiations for a Continental Free Trade Agreement, which would liberate trade across all of Africa.

And they took steps to try to bring peace to various persistent conflicts on the continent and to combat growing terrorism, from Boko Haram in West Africa, through Al Qaeda in the Sahel via Islamic State in Libya to Al-Shabaab in the east.

South African officials have hailed in particular the agreement to scale up financial contributions from member states, so that the AU can fund 100% of its operations, 75% of its programmes and 25% of its peace and security activities.

The aim is to make the AU more independent of foreign donors who still provide about 60% of the overall budget.

To help them meet their greater obligations, the AU has proposed a basket of alternative sources of funding to its members, including levies and taxes on air fares, smses, oil and other natural resources. But however they pay, the members will have to pay more, also because of the added costs of big AU initiatives like Agenda 2063.

Their contributions will be based roughly on the size of their economies. So South Africa will be in the top tier of five countries which will each have to pay 12% of the AU budget. That could increase South Africa’s annual dues from about $17 million to $60 million.

The leaders agreed that the top-tier countries – which also include Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria and Angola – would contribute equally, despite a large discrepancy in the size of their economies. Angola’s economy, for instance is nearly three times smaller than South Africa’s. The reason for this discrepancy is to prevent the larger economies – especially South Africa and Nigeria – from dominating the AU.

But Angola had objected strongly to having to pay so much more than it is now paying. This issue was not resolved at the summit and will be discussed later.

A major theme of the summit was economic integration of the continent. Just before the summit, the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) was launched in Egypt, combining the free trade areas of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) , the Community of Eastern and Southern African States (Comesa) and the East African Community (EAC) into one market of 26 countries and over 600 million people with a GDP of about one trillion dollars.

Officials said that Ghana’s President John Mahama, current chair of Ecowas – the Economic Community of West African States – had said at the summit that the creation of the TFTA had greatly accelerated the moment towards the Continental Free Trade Area as Ecowas could now negotiate directly with the TFTA. That would embrace all but ten of the AU’s 54 member states into one market.

The leaders also adopted a series of plans to tackle conflicts and terrorism – which AU Peace and Security Commissioner Smail Chergui called “the threat of the century”.

He told journalists these included a plan of action to deal with terrorism, tackling the violent extremist Islamist groups, Al Qaeda in northern Mali, Islamic State in Libya and elsewhere, Boko Haram in West Africa and Al-Shabaab in Somalia and elsewhere in east Africa.

He noted that the AU also had a task force combining various state forces fighting the Lord Resistance Army group in central Africa.

Chergui said new peace initiatives had been launched in Burundi, South Sudan and Libya. A crisis erupted in Burundi, with violent street protests and an aborted coup after President Pierre Nkurunziza announced in April he would run for a third term, despite the constitution limiting him to two.

Nkurunziza postponed the presidential election date from June 26 to July 15 under pressure from the AU and the EAC, to give time for negotiations to resolve the crisis.

But the AU summit leaders in effect overrode his election date by deciding that the date – and the terms for free and fair elections – should be decided in negotiations between the government, opposition and civil society, to be launched in a week.

The summit also reinforced the stalled peace process run by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to try to end the bloody civil war in South Sudan which has been raging since December 2013. The AU leaders added five new countries to the mediation team, South Africa, Nigeria, Chad, Algeria and Rwanda, representing the AU’s five regions.

And the leaders decided a new peace plan would be put to the warring parties in Libya which has been plunged into total chaos since the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The country has two governments and the one recognized by the AU has been driven out of the capital by the other, and is now based in the eastern city of Tobruk.

To tackle conflicts, the leaders also adopted a plan to fully operationalise the African Standby Force (ASF) – which has been on the drawing board for over a decade – by December this year. That would include the integration of President Jacob Zuma’s brainchild, the voluntary rapid response force known as Acirc ( the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crises) into the ASF as its envisaged Rapid Deployment Capability.

ASF and Acirc will hold a joint military exercise, Amani 2, in South Africa during November this year.

Acirc which comprises troops volunteered by individual member states, was created as a stopgap measure two years ago because the ASF was taking so long to be established.

But it has never been deployed, partly because of political resistance from some countries like Nigeria which are suspicious of it. Now it looks as though it will disappear into the ASF without ever seeing action.

South African officials did not seem unduly perturbed by the row over the government’s failure to arrest Bashir as it was supposed to do, as a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which has issued a warrant for his arrest for genocide and other crimes against the people of Sudan’s Darfur region.

Human rights group have accused Pretoria of also breaking national law as the ICC Rome Statute has been domesticated into South Africa’s ICC Implementation Act. They say the government should also be held in contempt of court for allowing Bashir to leave South Africa on Monday despite an order from the Pretoria High Court that he should remain in the country, until the court had decided if he should be arrested.

Just before the court ordered him to be arrested, Bashir flew out of Waterkloof Airforce Base.

South African officials said the saga had added impetus to moves within the ruling African National Congress for South Africa to withdraw from the ICC.

One said that South Africa’s handling of the incident had demonstrated that “our African obligations supercede all others. Africa is the centrepiece of our foreign policy.”

– Africa News Agency

Thirty Police officers from eleven EAPCCO member states have enrolled in a simulation training exercise at the National Police College (NPC) in Musanze District aimed at enhancing their understanding and cooperation against transnational crimes such as terrorism, narcotics trade and human trafficking.

EAPCCO is ‘Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization’ with 13 member countries.

The four-day Command Post Exercise (CPX) code-named ‘Solidarity II’ under the auspice of Interpol, commenced on June 15 and is attended by participants from Burundi, Comoros Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, and officers from EAPCCO Regional Bureau in Nairobi. However participants from Djibouti , Ethiopia and Sudan had not arrived at the National Police College at the time.

Seychelles and Eritrea, the other members didn’t participate in the second regional joint play. The maiden CPX was conducted in 2012.

While officiating at the opening of the joint exercise play, the Minister for Internal Security, Sheikh Mussa Fazil Harerimana, noted that the training will test the ability of member states to coordinate, communicate as well as cooperation against terrorism, human and drug trafficking, among others.

“This simulation exercise is based on EAPCCO resolutions to jointly fight transnational organized crimes within the region and to ensure the effective use of modern tools – such as the I-24/7 Interpol tool…with a view to enhancing regional capabilities,” Minister Harerimana said.

The Interpol tool connects all law enforcement agencies in Interpol member countries and allows investigators access Interpol’s range of criminal databases to search and cross check data on suspected criminals or wanted persons, stolen and lost travel documents, stolen motor vehicles, fingerprints, DNA profiles, stolen administrative documents and stolen works of art.

“At the end of the training, participants will have improved their understanding of effective communication and coordination of law enforcement agencies across the region, as well as have improved ability to jointly investigate and combat organized and transnational crimes.”

The official opening was also graced by the Inspector General of Police, Emmanuel K. Gasana, CGP Rwarakabije of RCS, regional bureau chief, Francis Rwego and representatives of Police chiefs from EAPCCO, as well as local leaders and Interpol staff from Lyon.

The exercise director, Commissioner of Police Emmanuel Butera, the Commissioner for Operations at RNP, noted that owing to the nature of countries’ borders that are porous, control mechanisms need to be enhanced with close cooperation between EAPCCO member States.

This training, he said, will be a catalyst of change in law enforcement capabilities to handle increasing cases of terrorism, human and drug trafficking that affect the peace and security of member states.

“It is imperative that our Police forces, who are among the main players in combating terrorism, human and drug trafficking, with the responsibility of investigating such cases, to train together and enhance their understanding in relation to the complex nature of the transitional organized crimes,” CP Butera said.

“We recommend our Police chiefs to expand the horizon of this initiative to include other partners and stakeholders to look at this threat with the same lens so that we have strong regional systems that foster security.”

Francis Rwego, the head of Interpol Regional Bureau for East Africa, based in Nairobi, commended Rwanda for hosting the training, noting that Rwanda has continuously indicated a strong level of commitment towards regional sustainable security.

“Kenya as the current chair of EAPCCO was meant to host this crucial exercise, but due to some other challenges, they could not. Rwanda volunteered to host the training and has indeed fulfilled its commitment. This is an exemplary level of commitment towards security and safety that is required in successfully overcoming crime,” he said.

One of the participants in the training, Senior Superintendent Violet Makhanu, from Kenya Police Services, said that she and fellow participants will gain relevant knowledge and expertise on the complex nature of transnational crimes for effective implementation and response to region organized crimes.

“It is through such joint trainings that we collect vital information and skills used to combat the most serious transnational crimes that are taking shape in the region,” Makhanu said.

“As participants, we will gain more knowledge on how Interpol tools work in tracking and apprehending criminals – and enhance cross border communication and coordination in combating crimes.”

This year’s edition of the annual Mountain Gorilla-naming ceremony also known as Kwita Izina will be held on 5th September in Kinigi, at the foothills of the Volcanoes Mountains in Northern Rwanda.

The Rwanda Development Board’s Chief Tourism Officer, Ambassador Yamina Karitanyi, announced that the theme for the ceremony is ‘Conserving now and for the future’, as part of a broader focus on the benefits of Kwita Izina as a conservation initiative.

“Through Kwita Izina, we will not only celebrate the birth of 24 baby gorillas, but will also acknowledge the impact that local communities have had on sustained conservation. Together, we have worked with rangers, guides, conservation groups and local communities to take proactive steps to restore and enhance the habitat of not only the gorillas but of other wild life as well,” Ambassador Karitanyi said.

As part of joint tourism promotion countries within the Northern Corridor Initiative had decided to give each member country a period to specially focus on a flagship tourism event. Kwita Izina, being Rwanda’s flagship tourism event, was thus moved to September. In light of this, other initiatives are being undertaken to promote tourism jointly with the private sector; these include a current domestic and regional tourism campaign, events and joint marketing activities under the Northern Corridor Initiative.

The President of the Rwanda Tour and Travel Association, Joseph Birori, indicated that; “Kwita Izina is a great opportunity for industry players to interact with regional and international operators through B2Bs, it is also an add- on activity which we include in the packages we make for tourists. This year, we have ample time to plan and get involved in the naming ceremony.”

The Chairman of the East African Business Council, Dennis Karera, said; “The Government of Rwanda has created a secure and enabling environment for businesses to thrive. With the East Africa Single Tourism Visa, there is easy movement of tourists and so it is up to us as the private sector to take advantage of all these opportunities.”

Kwita Izina will be marked by various activities that will culminate in the Gorilla-Naming ceremony. The week will commence with Inka Z’URwanda, a cultural ceremony

focusing on the importance of cows in Rwandan tradition and the impact on the social well -being of the people living in different areas of the country, which will be celebrated in the Eastern Province.

Other activities planned for the week include a Conservation Forum, a photo exhibition, a business exhibition, a Familiarisation Trip and Regional Tourism Business to Business Forum, launch of a Community Project and the Community Igitaramo. Kwita Izina awards will be launched to recognise local conservationists for their lifetime achievements and contributions to the wildlife conservation and tourism.

Later this year, Rwanda under the Trans boundary Collaboration will carry out a Mountain Gorilla census that will determine the current mountain gorilla population. Between 2003 and 2010, the population rose by 26.3 per cent.

· Mrs. Graça Machel, Founder of New Faces, New Voices,

· President of the Senate,

· Speaker of Parliament,

· Jean Phillipe Prosper, Vice President Global Client Services, IFC,

· Chairperson and members of the New Faces, New Voices Rwanda Chapter,

· Partners of this new initiative,

· Distinguished Panelists,

· Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning,

As Rwandan women, we are pleased to host a dedicated advocate for women’s rights – Mrs. Graça Machel. Through her work, she has made positive contributions to women’s empowerment – specifically on the economic front. Welcome to Rwanda, Mrs. Machel.

Today we are here to participate in the launch of the New Faces, New Voices initiative in Rwanda. Its vision to have women co-create their full financial inclusion and reach their economic potential resonates well with the broader Rwandan thinking. It is our aspiration as a country to encourage every citizen, to contribute in making a better life for him or herself.

If there is one lesson we have learned from the abysmal genocide that shattered the very core of our country and our being, it is that exclusion and discrimination benefit absolutely no one.

The beauty of New Faces, New Voices is that it will serve women from all spheres of life. The categories of women consist of:

o Those with lower incomes,

o Members of cooperatives,

o Informal micro enterprise owners,

o Young emerging entrepreneurs,

o Junior and mid-level professionals,

o Senior professionals and even established entrepreneurs.

Each woman must have space and a voice to seek and find “Transformative Financial Solutions”. The only way we will know that real transformation has occurred is when every woman is financially included and secure.

Our Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS2) has clearly set access and relevance of financial services for all, as a key objective for economic transformation. By 2018, over 85% of our population should have increased awareness of the benefits of financial services and products.

The latest FinScope study indicated that financial inclusion in Rwanda has improved significantly, from 48% in 2008 to 72% in 2012. Giving access to all is an important stepping-stone, which now allows us to focus on quality and relevance, of financial services offered to our population. This is the challenge we are tackling together today.

Financial inclusion for women ought to be built upon such important pillars as: supportive macro-economic policies, capacity and creativity within the financial sector, literacy, and a deep understanding of the specific context and needs of women.

The definitive actions of Rwanda’s leadership, policies and laws favorable to women have been put in place. Allow me to mention just a few:

1. Major reforms were made to the Rwandan legal system: laws such as granting equal inheritance rights to men and women and persons with the same competence and ability have the right to equal pay for equal work, without discrimination.

2. Before achieving financial security, a woman’s physical security has to be guaranteed. In many of our African societies, traditional and stereotypical gender roles have been established for generations. Gender Based Violence, in such instances, is not seen as a violation of a woman’s right to security. It has become a phenomenon that is tolerated in some societies.

We, in Rwanda, have rejected this notion and found a holistic model that supports the women (and a few men) who suffer from violence: the Isange One Stop Center is a perfect example, now being replicated in various provinces of our Country. A one-stop center is a safe space – located in existing hospitals – where victims of violence can benefit from the psychosocial, medical, judicial and legal services of trained social workers, medical doctors, lawyers, mental health specialists and police officers.

3. As we know, education increases knowledge, skills and the chances of gaining employment. The enrolment rate for primary school girls is currently 98% and Rwanda has also achieved universal primary education. Promoting girls education is an area to which I have personally dedicated a considerable part of my time and energy. For the last 10 years, through my organization (Imbuto Foundation), we have encouraged girls to excel at school; our hopes are for them to be independent and contribute to making their own lives better.

Now that access to basic education for girls has been broadly attained, focus is placed on guiding their career choices, for them to dare to venture in fields they are passionate about. It is important for girls to join Math and Sciences fields, acquire technical skills and not shy away from using these skills, to create more jobs by becoming entrepreneurial.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

Very often, governments are faced with intricate choices with regard to formulating macro-economic policies. Knowingly or unknowingly, some policies and budgetary allocations create unintended gender biases and subtly disempower especially those at the bottom of the pyramid. (Most of whom tend to be women).

Any kind of transformation requires hard work and time. With this in mind, let us endeavor to be conscious of potential discriminatory legislation and bring them to notice. Let us also be bolder about advocating for savings and investments as a foundation for a better future for our households, and our Nation rather than succumb to the immediate gratification, associated with sheer consumption.

In Rwanda, women in cooperatives have now proven to be comparatively better clients for Micro Finance Institutions as they have relatively lower rates of non-performing loans. This has been attributed to the fact that they do business with a heart. They provide important peer support and mentoring along the difficult road of business development.

We can draw upon the wisdom of ‘Kuremera abagore’, which is helping to lift women out of poverty. This is an initiative whereby Rwandan women with a better economic standing commit themselves to uplifting the standard of living of their less fortunate sisters, by giving them cows.

I trust that our Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion will continue to actively encourage this approach that has yielded landscape results. This is how business and social entrepreneurship converge to deliver true transformation.

Lifting the majority of the population (women) out of poverty will, not only improve their own living standards and purchasing power, but at national level, it will broaden our tax base, which will in turn grow our economy.

This is a reality for Rwanda, where the Government and its partners helped lift 1,000,000 Rwandans out of poverty within 5 years. I am counting on New Faces New Voices to provide a platform to share best practices on what other transformative initiatives are out there.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

Although not fully attained, financial inclusion is something we aspire to and can well see within our horizons. A good foundation has been laid for us by the Government of Rwanda and New Faces New Voices has come right on cue.

I am pleased to learn that one of the cornerstones of the New Faces New Voices initiative is to propose ways for women to be equipped with tools that can sharpen their financial acumen, including better access to financial information and resources, and thus help women make better choices with their incomes.

It is important to remember that a woman’s access to finance is about dignity; it is about the security of a family and that of a generation. The empowerment of women must begin with the empowerment of girls, as a way of nipping in the bud, the vicious cycle of inequality and insecurity. We must not reproduce financially insecure women and girls across generations.

As I end my remarks, I leave you with these three take homes:

· Rwanda’s policy and commitment towards financial inclusion and entrepreneurship is not by accident but by design.

· Once women are financially literate, they have access to the much-needed financial resources, the overall growth of the economy and development become the natural outcome.

· Now that a conducive environment is in place, can we hope that New Faces New Voices Rwanda chapter, will join in the efforts of government to lift a further 1,000,000 women out of poverty, in the next 5 years?

We shall all be back in 5 years to hear and hopefully to marvel at how far we have gone. I am so excited to be the patron of this promising initiative for our future.

Thank you for your attention.

Rwandans from over 30 countries around the world have submitted their petitions to Rwandan Parliament requesting lawmakers to endorse their request for a referendum that would pave way for a constitutional amendment that would allow President Paul Kagame to stand in the next election.

They want lawmakers to call for a referendum to allow the amendment of Article 101 of the Constitution, which restricts a head of state to a maximum of two seven-year terms in office.

So far over four million Rwandans have petitioned the House on the same matter

On Tuesday 9th June 2015, representatives of the Diaspora community submitted a total number of 2500 petitions including 1300 printed letters and emails, all persuading parliament to endorse their request.

Norbert Haguma, the vice President of Rwanda Diaspora Global Network told reporters that Rwanda’s prosperity is the reason why they want President Kagame to stay Head of state so that he continues to lead Rwandans towards more achievements.

He said “In the past foreigners used to see all Rwandans in the picture of Genocidaires; today such stereotyping has changed, they see Rwandans as people who come from a country that has good leadership. In this regard we have seen that the one who has taken us to that level his job has not yet finished.”

Haguma added that the Diaspora request is also the request of all Rwandans.

Habinshuti Rashid who represented the Rwandan Diaspora of Belgium noted that what they have come to do is to exercise their right to Democracy where citizens’ wishes should be valued.

He said “We have come here to show the rest of the world that there is no hidden agenda on what is going on. What they call Democracy is the choice of people. We also are making our choice.”

Majoro Ivan who represented the Rwandan Diaspora community of Ethiopia and Djibouti said that after realizing what Rwanda has achieved, dignity and value that Rwandans have today, they decided to request that President Paul Kagame continues leading the country to another stage of development.

Speaker of the Rwandan parliament Donatille Mukabalisa said that it is the first time they receive petitions from the Diaspora.

She promised that their voices will be given the due value during parliament consultation on whether to hold a referendum on constitutional amendment.

More than 30 countries signed, including: Canada, France, Holland, USA, CAR, Suisse, Zimbabwe, Congo Brazza, Pologne’ Italy, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Germany, Autriche, South Africa, Belgium, Sudan, India, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, UK, Ireland, DRC, China, South Korea, Japan among others.

angedelavictoire@igihe.com

Rwanda and United Arab Emirates are looking forward to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the areas of economy, according to H.H. Sheikh Abdulla bin Zayed al Nahyan, UAE foreign minister.

The middle East official arrived in Rwanda on Monday evening accompanied by Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimi, minister of State in the Cabinet of the UAE and other members of his delegation to bolster already existing ties between two countries.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday shortly after meeting Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Sheikh Abdulla stated that Rwanda is very a beautiful and UAE business community would be interested in investing in the small Central African nation.

“Rwanda is growing at fast rate and the business environment is friendly. The leadership has championed the growth of this country and UAE is really pleased to advance mutual interests with Rwanda, ” he noted.

“We are looking forward to improve our economic relations and we hope that UAE investors will come to Rwanda and develop the economic ties.”

Sheikh Abdulla’s visit comes after Kagame visited Dubai to attend the 2nd Africa Global Business Forum on October, 2014.

The UAE official and his team met and held discussions with President Kagame on matters concerning strengthening bilateral relations between two countries.

“Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed and his team in Rwanda to advance mutual interests, Happy to see my sister and colleague Reem El Hashimi,” Louise Mushikiwabo, Rwandan foreign minister wrote on her twitter account.

Xinhua

The Defence Minister, James Kabarebe, has disclosed his frustrations about repeated futile attempts to close a fake Facebook account in his name linked to an imposter.

Kabarebe was yesterday speaking to The New Times just days after Police arrested a man it says had opened two Facebook accounts, posing in one as Minister Kaberebe, and claiming the other to be for his (Kabarebe’s) supposed secretary.

Police say the suspect used both accounts to fleece unsuspecting members of the public.

The suspect, identified by Police as Jacques Mugema, allegedly managed to dupe some people that he was Minister Kaberebe and successfuly collected money from some with promises of attending to their issues expeditiously — which would be deposited on a mobile money account he claimed belonged to the ‘secretary’ .

Mugema is alleged to have collected over Rwf 700,000 over a period of one year.

Minister Kabarebe said he had tried to have a Facebook account operating in his name closed but his efforts had been unsuccessful.

He even contacted Facebook’s head offices to help him deactivate the account but no action was taken.

“I have been aware of the existence of the impersonator for the past three years. But efforts to contact Facebook to block it didn’t yield any results.

‘‘The other day an IT expert and a friend of mine helped Police net the criminal. Personally, I have no Facebook account. I only own a Twitter account,” the minister told The New Times.

Early last week, another man was arrested for impersonating Pastor Paul Gitwaza of Zion Temple Ministries on the same social media platform.

The suspect, Marius Kubwimana, also created a fake Facebook account which he used to dupe members of the public to send money as donations.

Kubwimana is said to have run the account for close to five years before his arrest.

Floribert Nzabakira, Zion Temple Ministries representative, said the fake account had more traffic than Apostle Gitwaza’s original account.

“He had over 9,000 likes on his page which are more than those of Gitwaza’s official account which got members of Zion Temple thinking that it was their leader’s official account,” Nzabakira said.

The suspect was arrested as he attempted to withdraw USD 500, that he had illicitly obtained from a church faithful.

Police preparedness

Police justified the time taken before the arrests, arguing that it was not ‘a simple exercise’ that takes a day or two.

Chief Superintendent of Police Celestin Twahirwa, the Police Spokesperson said prior to the arrests Police had been following the lead seeking information from various stakeholders.

Police say that though the crime does not feature on the most prevalent crimes list in the country, they are seeing a steady rise.

“We have a financial investigation unit which deals with issues of money laundering, fraud. We also have a department responsible for communication and Information communication which also deals with cyber security and they all work closely with Criminal Investigations Department,” Twahirwa said.

He urged members of the public to be cautious of their interactions on social media, especially with people soliciting money from them.

Way forward

Didier Nkurikiyimfura, the Director General of ICT at the Ministry of Youth and ICT, said beyond law enforcement, public awareness and sensitisation campaigns would go a long way in preventing the rise of such cases.

“We urge members of the public to exercise caution, conduct due diligence and verify the identities of people they interact with on social media, especially when it involves transfer of money,” Nkurikiyimfura said.

Collins Mwai, The New Times