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So deputies, you are going to start assuming your responsibilities. Meeting here is not just a custom or ceremony. It is instead a determination that we are going to do the very job. Rwandans hope that you will serve them, communicate their wishes and help them develop our country as we, as Rwandans, wish it to be. You have a big role to play together with all of us. This 4th chamber has something unique. Many of you are new, so use your energy, thoughts and action to raise this chamber to another level in terms of building our country.

You also have a starting point in that journey of actions that you are going to undertake. You are building on what others have done for the past 24 years. You have been also in the same activities in other sectors other than this one. Every mandate should show where we are as a country. As we have seen it in the oaths, elections outcome, there are new people on board. Those new ones may be from RPF, PL or PSD.

However, those names and the others I did not mention belong to the parties already in the parliament. However, we have also seen new parties in the parliament. All those things are new and different and they show the level of our country and its reconstruction process. We have Green Party, PS Imberakuri and others that are new in the parliament unlike the other parties that are already in the parliament.

They will still do what they did elsewhere in the parliament. That is another step we ought to continue building upon. The time that you took seeking votes in different parts of the country, you met with Rwandans. The same way you met, reached them seeking votes from everywhere even so keep approaching them and collaborate to solve their problems as the parliament.

During that time, you have other responsibilities. You are not the only ones that should be close to them to listen to and collaborate with them. Instead, among other responsibilities, you have to follow up government’s actions. Please reach out to them and follow up whether the government delivers on its responsibilities. That is the responsibility you have to fulfill that but it often does not happen. Every time would have its scale. I want us to increase the momentum and step to follow up on those who are in charge of the actions related to developing our country and Rwandans in order to check out and know whether they are doing the way they should be done.

Then, those who do not fulfill their responsibilities should be held accountable. Those who do not fulfill their responsibilities in terms of developing our country and citizens should strictly be held accountable.

So, I request this new chamber of parliament to strive to collaborate, follow up on all those and make use of them to make the right step forward. Yes, it has been done but what I want to reiterate here is that it is not enough. Often, we have the capacity to deal with those that are not enough so that they are done or ought to have been done.

However, most things are messed up in between institutions or leaders. Those are leaders from all levels; government, parliament. I will therefore follow up on them and see whether they fulfill their responsibilities. Matters that have to do with outreach programs and capacity. In the meantime, those in charge of doing those things should make them their own. That is what I think should be done, but we will follow up on them much more.

Now that I am saying it, I have before me a long list of things that can be done, the capacity available, but are not done the right way. That will not just happen and go. Let me give you an example to make it clear. This has been repeated throughout this parliament and previous ones saying that a certain institution was given every capacity whether it is in terms of materials to do whatever they wanted to in order to benefit the citizens. There is an auditor general who is always here and you have made him mad because he always come and show you what things look like. He shows you figures in which what was inputted is not what comes out of it. The auditor even mentions institutions, and names of people as well as the number of what they wasted.

This is an example of the things that should be improved on and changed. If you are leader in a given institution and you were given the responsibility as well as the capacity to fulfill it then the auditor general comes and shows us that what was achieved and what should be achieved is like 25%, nobody knows where others went. I want us to make it clearer that we will hold you responsible and you will tell us where you put them.

First, we will show it to you as it is, because we do not to make wrong accusations against anyone. You will also confess that you delivered on them by 25 per cent. At that time, we will ask you the whereabouts of 75 per cent. Telling us that you just do not know is not enough. I myself think that we should search if you are not willing to tell us so. We will keep on searching and following up until we know what you possess in your own names or what you have written under other people’s names.

We will restore them, but while doing so we will keep you somewhere. In the world we live in, and in Rwanda particularly, those ones decide to flee the country after so looting it. This is because they have people outside the country to host them. The countries that we partner with, which also help us with development have a political system that is structured in the way I can’t change, but I will change what is here.

They even host anyone whether it is those that have committed theft, causing problems to Rwandans by taking all the wealth. Then when they arrive there, it is said that they are being prosecuted for political grounds. So, they warmly welcome them. However, they have become suspicious these days. It is not enough that someone goes and says that they are just fleeing the political turmoil in their country and they just host them.

Even when they host you, they do not have a lot to give you. They don’t even have a lot to dictate to us starting from that political system I told you. In the governance our country, we should be cautious and choose what is important for us and do so, without harming others even those who are not Rwandans. Our political system is to mind our own business not to mind other people’s business.

We have become familiar with that kind of political system whereby those who have stolen or made other mistakes are out there talking about political issues in their countries. So, they are hosted but they should know that they cause problems to their hosts and to Rwandans in general as well. After they had taught you that they would host you in case of anything because they will do it in the name of someone who wants to see a change here in Rwanda. In Rwanda things will change according to they way we want them to, not according to how others wish.

Recently, as usual, because it is not the first time as a way to solve those problems, we have mercy, not mercy as such but as a way to solve problems. If we did not give clemency, how many people would still be in prison? We would still have hundreds of thousands in jail because that is where they should be. But to build our country, we made the decision to rehabilitate our citizens and enable them to contribute to our country.

Recently, when we released people including the political stars as from outside the country, that it is how we do it, it is not for the first time. But some people were saying that they did not and cannot ask for forgiveness but said it was because of the pressure. Which pressure here? In Rwanda, it is not pressure we respond to, it is our own thoughts. Where this country comes from has taught us that we must refuse to be a submissive people. If you keep on saying so, you will find yourself back in jail.

If you want us to show you that it is not from pressure but critical thinking, you will find yourself back there or find yourself abroad wandering since you will do nothing else there. We took lessons from where Rwanda came from that makes us resistant to those who want to destabilize us.

So, you should be humble and get along well with others and work well. This is what our country wishes. We want to cooperate with others well. Even the lessons all over the world show us that working in harmony and searching for the common interests is the only thing we can use.

Regarding differences in wealth and capacity where someone thinks that they can do anything to you because they have something more than you, it is no longer applicable. Especially, because we have had suffered so much that we no longer suffer from that. It is not possible. We are willing to live at peace with those who are so willing, benefit mutually and develop.

So, I would like to share with this parliament, the width of the responsibility that they have. Keep in mind that we do according to the whole country. We first examine ourselves and correct our mistakes in order to do what we should be doing. The rest, we should listen carefully for someone who has a different opinion. If we think that it is worthwhile, we will take it or tell them if it is not worth considering as well as the reason. If they become aggressive, we will also tell them that we can also be aggressive if it is necessary.

This is not particular for Rwanda; it is how it should be done elsewhere. Even Africa our continent that suffered for countless years longs for that. We need to hold ourselves back from there. Even the weak, have gradually found where to get strength. What strengthens us all is that cooperation, complementarity and mutual kindness.

The vision that our country targets, 30 years from 2020 you start this parliament with that vision ahead of us. So, we must work towards that vision and our unity as Rwandans because that helps us. It has helped us for the past 20 years and it will continue so doing for 30 years from 2020. It is like those Christians who get filled with the Holy Spirit. That is the spirit we should start from and leave others to mind their business. But let us start from there because if we don’t we will not get any more spirit.

So, dignitaries, deputies, those who are new, all institutions of our country, let me conclude by thanking you for the collaboration you have manifested. I also remind you that that cooperation should start from home as Rwanda. We must do everything possible that promotes, strengthens and makes us immune to all that can shake us from our journey from wherever. I wish everyone good health and work.

“In Rwanda, it is not pressure we respond to, it is our own thoughts. Where this country comes from has taught us that we must refuse to be a submissive people,” Kagame noted.

The head of state said that if he did not give clemency to the prisoners, hundreds of thousands would still be in prison. However, in order to build the country, he said he made the decision to rehabilitate the citizens and enable them contribute to the country’s development.

The president made the remarks today at the Parliament after the swearing in ceremony of newly elected MPs where he has requested them to work together and collaborate towards transforming the country.

Kagame said that this inauguration is not just about a ceremony. It is about starting a new mandate and committing to working hard.

“Rwandans have placed their trust in you to serve them and work towards transforming this country into what Rwandans want and deserve,” he said.

The head of state reminded the MPs not to forget where their victory came from and the promises they made but serve those who trusted and elected them.

“You interacted with citizens when you were asking for their votes. Now that you have been elected, remain close to citizens, serve them and deliver on the promises you made,” he remarked.

Apart from approaching citizens, Kagame cautioned the MPs about corruption. He said he looks forward to seeing them hold government accountable for doing their job of serving citizens and delivering development.

‘If you can only account for 25% of the resources you are responsible for, we will ask you about the other 75%. And we will find where you have hidden them and hold you accountable,” he warned.

NISR attributed the 6.7% GDP growth to agriculture which grew by 6%, the industry sector which grew by 10% and the services that sector that registered a 5% growth.
According to the Deputy Director General (DDG), at the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda, Mr. Ivan Murenzi, the growth in agriculture sector was mainly attributed to growth in food crops and export crops which grew by 6% each.

The food crops registered a 6% growth in the agriculture season A and the increase in export growth was mainly attributed to increased coffee and tea production.

Growth in the Industry sector was due to manufacturing and construction activities which grew by 12% and 11% respectively. Under manufacturing, food processing rose by 19% supported by 32% increase in cereal processing and 6% from processed tea, coffee and sugar. Furthermore, textile, shoes and leather goods production increased by 13% while production of construction materials and metallic products rose by 37%.

Growth in the service sector was attributed to the 11% increase in wholesale and retail activities, transport increased by 13% boosted by air transport that grew by 17%, ICT by 18% , financial services by 8% while public administration increased by 4%.

“We have noticed that construction is gaining momentum with the 11% growth in second quarter following 8% observed in the first quarter,” Ivan Murenzi, the deputy Director General of the National institute of Statistics of Rwanda said.

“There is positive growth across all sectors. Manufacturing has performed well compared to the same period last year which is supported by Made in Rwanda initiatives which are having a positive impact on growth,” Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning said.

On whether, Government planned to revise the 7.2% growth forecast for 2018, Minister Ndagijimana assured that current growth indicated that the economy was on track to achieve the projected growth.

“We are maintaining the 2018 growth projections. We still have six months to monitor the performance of the economy,” Minister Ndagijimana added.

A lot is expected from the new parliament.

The new chamber of deputies is as usual expected to watch over the the implementation of government policies, short of which they will be forced to resign.

The new parliament is the first to have, in its composition, all legal political parties operating in Rwanda including the two opposition parties. This means that there will be diversity in views in parliament.

IGIHE takes a glanceat new MPs in the lower house of parliament tracing their education background, their prior jobs and age.

The fourth legislature after the Transitional National Assembly has got the ever youngest MP in Rwanda’s history, Clarisse Imaniriho, 23.

The second youngest MP is Ernest Kamanzi, 28 also representingyouth.

The oldest Member of Parliamentis Logan Ndahiro, 68, (RPF) a retired RPA captain.
Among 80 MPs, 37 have worked as MPs before, while 43 are legislatingfor the first term as parliamentarians.

IGIHE discovered the education levels of 70 MPs of who 37 are Bachelors degree graduates while 29 have completed Masters Degree studies. Three are PhD holders while one has finished the advanced level of secondary studies.

13 Members of the Parliament have done Law, with 12 MPs having done Economics, 11 have studied Education while 12 have done Governance and Political Science.

Demographically, atotal of 36MPs fall in the agebracketof 40to 49 while female legislators account for 67.5% making Rwanda keep her world record as the country with the biggest number of women in parliament. The previous parliament had a 64% women representation.

The new MPs will officially start their duties on October 5.

RIB spokesperson Modeste Mbabazi has told IGIHE that CSP Hubert Gashagaza may have been strangled.

“The first person to report his death was a motorcyclist who saw him dead in the car around 5a.m. The driver’s window glass was smashed. The victim was found dead with cables that might have been used to strangle him around his neck still in the car.” He said.

The body was found in Ndera sector, Kicukiro District, where Chinese workers park trucks on a murram road, about 100 meters from the tarmac road.

The body of the deceased has been taken to hospital for a post-mortem.

Gashagaza had been demobilised from the National Police in August 2016. He has been serving as a local security guard locally known as Inkeragutabara.

RIB spokesperson said that his death was sudden because no one has been known to be in dispute with him.

Gashagaza served in Police Prosecution both in Rwanda and in Central African Republic on a UN peace keeping mission.

Speaking to IGIHE, the In Charge of Refugees at the Ministry of Disasters Management and Refugees, Jean Claude Rwahama said that the government has been receiving them, supporting implementation of the cessation clause for the Rwandan refugees of which deadline was December 31, 2017.

“Until this day (September 17), 2,400 people have repatriated. Many of them come from Democratic Republic of Congo but there are others who come from Congo,” he said.

Mr. Rwahama added that Rwanda has fulfilled all the requiremets in the implementation of the cessation clause and all the new repatriates receive a very warm welcome back in their mother nation.

Rwahama says that Rwanda does not know the exact number of its citizens who are still refugees.

“It is difficult to know them (Rwandan refugees) because we base on UNHCR numbers which I can say are not reliable because they also get them from host countries. Some countries may give exact numbers while others may not due to different reasons,” he explained.

For countries that provide unreliable numbers, Rwahama names DRC as an example. “They (DRC) say they have more than 24,0000 refugees but we received a larger number of repatriates from DRC. And there are places they don’t reach, including forests where they can’t establish the exact number of refugees who live there,” he says.

The Rwanda Refuge Cessation Clause was declared by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR) on June 30, 2013. However, the implementation was met by delays in repatriations which saw the December 2014 deadline extended several times until the new deadline was set on December 31, 2017.

In January 2018 as the implementation of the cessation clause was under way for the Rwandan refugees, Uganda announced it would not end the refugee status for the 18,000 Rwandan refugees who lived there, revealing that it had started the processes of offering them citizenship.

Rwanda made efforts in sensitizing its refugees to get back home and put in place means to provide passports for those who do have jobs in countries where they live on condition that they stay there as Rwandans in Diaspora instead of living there as refugees.

Born in 1995, Imaniriho will be the youngest legislator in the fourth parliament.
Still single, Imaniriho was born in Bwishyura Sector of Karongi District where her family lives. She is the last born of four children who have been raised by a single widowed mother.

Imaniriho has got a Bachelors degree from University of Rwanda from where she graduated in 2017.

Speaking to IGIHE, Imaniriho could not hide her happiness of having won a parliament seat to represent the youth with 52% of the votes. She says she is ready to work with others in making and passing laws that serve interests of Rwandans and following up on implementation of Government programmes.

“Another thing is to listen to the voice of the youth, understand their problems and partner with institutions that we can work with in identifying and addressing youth challenges at the right time,” she said. Imaniriho did not go into details of the youth problems saying that she will work with others for advocacy to get solutions for those she will be told by the youths themselves or those she will identify.

Legislation will be Imaniriho’s first engagement in the working world since she graduated in 2017. Unemployment is one of the most biting problems faced by the Rwandan youth Imaniriho will be representing in parliament. Unemployed youth (between age of 16 to 30) register a whopping 21% according to numbers by Rwanda National Statistics Institute.

Imaniriho was confident to submit her bid to get a seat in parliament with no other prior experience in high leadership duties.

Monthly Umuganda activities and the citizens’ meetings are, she says, the big leadership classes she attended. These nurtured her spirit of serving the country. She submitted her parliament candidacy and she won.

“I am very happy to have won. I think I will represent them effectively,’’ she promises.
In few words, she advises her fellow youth to have good behaviors that will help them have a bright future and participate in the development of their own country. “They should participate in the government’s programmes as required, ask for advice and accept to be corrected,” she advises.

Imaniriho further tells the youths that they should not fear doing anything including politics. “Young people should set their fears aside and understand that they are able. There is a quote that goes; ‘We are not too young to have responsibilities.’ This, she says, should catapult them into serving their country . She also says; ‘the youth are the country’s force that builds fast’.

Imaniriho believes that nothing is impossible for a committed and a willing heart.

Besides the 23-year old Imaniriho, the Rwandan youth will as well be represented in parliament in the next five years term by Ernest Kalisa, 28.

Not that other members of the august house are that too old, but Imanriho takes the trophy of being the youngest servant. Of all the recently elected 80 MPs making the Rwandan Lower Chamber of Deputies, Fidele Rwigamba, 68, is the oldest. He is serving a second term in parliament representing Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF).

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and East African Community Affairs, Louise Mushikiwabo is campaigning for the leadership of the international organization that brings together French speaking countries, La Francophonie (OIF), whose elections will take place in Yerevan, Armenia in October 11th and 12th 2018.

She is up against Incumbent Canadian Michaëlle Jean who is campaigning for a second mandate.

Four months ago, when President Paul Kagame and his France Counterpart Emmanuel Macron met at Palais de l’Elysée, the latter revealed that he fully supported the Candidacy of Louise Mushikiwabo to OIF Secretary General position.

In an article posted on LeMonde, former French Ministers in charge of La Francophonie; Charles Josselin, Pierre-André Wiltzer, Hélène Conway-Mouret and André Vallini, said that supporting Mushikiwabo’s candidacy would affect their country’s Image.

They showed that before making his move, Macron did not consult OIF’s most influential countries.

“The decision was taken without consulting important stakeholders in the organization. OIF is not France’s property so it is not logical that one would decide for others.” reads the article.

They added that France should have let Africa decide which candidate they wanted to represent them.

“If France thinks it should be led by Africa, then it should be Africans to decide on a candidate.”

“We did not take the trouble to talk to our closest French-speaking partners, starting with the Canadians, one of OIF’s major donors, France is today forced to wage a useless fight with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau while she needed Ottawa more than ever,” reads the article.

The former ministers showed that siding with Canada was more beneficial for France than supporting an African

Via his twitter handle, Amb Nduhungirehe replied to the French, saying “I would like to remind these Ministers of the old Francafrique, including nonagenarians, that the neo-colonial Francophonie is over! The 29 African states have chosen their candidate, a French-speaking woman of experience, and you have nothing to say against it!” Amb. Nduhugirehe said.

Mushikiwabo is currently on a campaign trail across various OIF member countries, most of which support her candidacy.

Among her ideals, she seeks to prioritize peace, security and promotion of the youth among others.

The organization, to which Rwanda subscribes, brings together French-speaking countries across the world.

In its Index of Best Countries for Business Report released last Friday, Forbes ranked the United Kingdom as the best among 153 countries studied. It is followed by New Zealand, Netherlands, Sweden and Canada as the top five respectively.

Taking into consideration all 15 factors, Rwanda was ranked 79th globally.

Mauritius is the best in Africa and 41st globally, followed by South Africa as 48th, Morocco 55th, and Botswana 76th while Rwanda comes fifth overall on the continent.
Nigeria, the largest continent’s economy, was ranked 115th.

The United States, world’s largest economy, is ranked 12th, Germany is 13th, Japan 21st, France 22nd while China stands at 66th.

The rankings considered15 different factors including property rights, innovation, taxes, technology, corruption, freedom (personal, trade and monetary), red tape and investor protection.

The report shows that Rwanda’s GDP was $8 billion as of December 2017 with the annual growth of 5.9%. GDP per Capita was $700, unemployment at 2.7%, public debt per GDP was at 43% while inflation stood at 5.7%.

The population was 11.9 million.

Forbes reports that Rwanda has made substantial progress in stabilising and rehabilitating its economy.

“GDP has rebounded with an average annual growth of 6%-8% since 2003 and inflation has been reduced to single digits. The government has embraced an expansionary fiscal policy to reduce poverty by improving education, infrastructure, and foreign and domestic investment.”

In recognition of Rwanda’s successful management of its macro economy, the IMF graduated Rwanda to a Policy Support Instrument in 2010.

Rwanda seeks to become a regional leader in information and communication technologies. It completed in 2012 the first modern Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Kigali. The free industrial area seeks to attract investment specifically in agribusiness, information and communications, trade and logistics, mining, and construction.

In 2016, the government launched an online system to give investors information about public land and its suitability for agricultural development.