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The three year Euro 4.2 million (about Rwf4.2bilion) programme commenced in April 2017 and aims to strengthen the positive impact of Rwanda mining sector on national economic growth, as well as improving the incomes and livelihoods of mining communities.

It is being implemented by a consortium led by CARDNO Emerging Markets (UK) Ltd as the major coordinating body, supported by Projekt Consult on technical services, Pact World—an NGO that caters for social enhancement programmes and the Rwanda Women In/And Mining Organization (WIAMO), an NGO that focuses on gender issues.

Speaking at the official launch of the programme yesterday, the Chief Executive Officer of RMB, Francis Gatare said that through partners, the country is doing its best to increase mining productivity.

He said that in the past the mining sector was hampered by artisan mining practices, low and volatile prices of minerals at international markets.

Gatare said that the programme will help to address different challenges presented by lack of skilled personnel that have for long undermined development of the sector.
“Mining sector might have contributed enough to the development of the country but it was not possible due to less skilled practitioners and traditional tools,” he said adding that low investments were yet another challenge.

Gatare said that the country has invested huge resources to promote Rwanda’s minerals at the international market.

“Today, investors have realized this sector’s potential which is why we have entered this partnership to facilitate them along the process,” he added.

The team leader of Economic Growth at DFID Rwanda office, Kato Kimbugwe said that they have been supporting efforts around trade and other private sector development activities that support economic development in Rwanda.

“The decline in terms of global prices hit the industry very hard, but I think it also exposed the opportunity to reform the sector in such a way that when global mineral prices rebound, Rwanda will be in position to maximize the potential within the sector” he said.

“I think for us it is important to take a step in addressing particular sector that has thousands of people who are working in it. The market failure has not allowed these people to benefit from it but I think that coming in and working together with the government and understand where it wants to take the sector and assist them with technical support will help the sector restructuring in a way it will benefit a thousands of people” he explained.

RMB says that Rwanda earns $200 million from minerals exports but through the partnership the country will be able to earn $1.5 billion in 2024.

The award was handed to Ms Bella Nyirahuku, Marketing and Sales Manager at Rwanda Mountain Tea Ltd (RMT), the company that manages the Kitabi Tea Estate, and Mr Jean Mutabazi, the former Managing Director of Kitabi Tea Estate, on 27 September 2017 at Harrogate, in the UK.

Kitabi Tea Estate, one of the tea estates in which Rwanda Mountain Tea Ltd (RMT) has majority shares, is located in the Southern Province, approximately 175 kilometres away from Kigali city.

Ms Nyirahuku reported that ToH uses tea from Kitabi in its premium blend, Yorkshire Gold, which utilises top best tea from different origins.

“Taylors of Harrogate, with whom RMT has signed a forward contract that is renewable every two years, has been a privileged private buyer of our tea products since 2011. This client buys Kitabi tea at a premium price, in recognition of the superior quality of our production. Taylors of Harrogate gave Kitabi this award to commend the reliability of the tea estate to produce quality tea and to deliver it as per the buyer’s market requirements” she told IGIHE on Tuesday.

She commended Kitabi tea outgrowers’ outstanding performance, saying that the award is an encouragement for both the tea planters and factory staff members to continue producing quality tea and delivering it in accordance to best international standards.

“Kitabi tea farmers have made it their profession to grow tea because they know they benefit from the tea business. The award is a recognition of their efforts and proves their commitment to producing quality. It is of great importance to see a globally renowned firm putting our tea on their blend and awarding us the best supplier of the year award,” said Nyirahuku.

ToH also supports tea cooperatives in Kitabi area through various schemes including giving them tea farming skills and agricultural inputs, availing potable water from existing springs and assisting with life earning skills, among others.

From 2011 to August 2017, ToH bought privately 1,104 tonnes of Kitabi tea at premium price. ToH is committed to expanding its business with RMT by buying more tea from various tea estates under RMT management.

Kitabi tea has attracted global attention as a quality tea producer since 2011. It has earned regional and international prizes and is today counted among the best black CTC tea in the world.

Kitabi tea was awarded the best overall black CTC at the 2nd East African Tea Covention in 2013 and received two awards in 2015 for the best BP1 and the 2nd best PF1 at the North American Global Tea competition that took place in San Antonio, Texas, USA.

More recently, Kitabi tea scooped the award of the best Dust 1 tea producer at the Africa Tea Convention and Exhibition, held in Kenya in May 2017 where Rwandan factories scooped 11 out of 12 awards offered.

Of the requested amount, only 12 per cent funding has been received, making the Burundi situation one of the least funded refugee crises in the world.

“The chronic underfunding for the Burundi refugee situation has severely hampered reception capacities and the quality of protection rendered by host countries,” said Catherine Wiesner, UNHCR’s Regional Refugee Coordinator for Burundi at the launch of the revised inter-agency regional refugee response plan in Kenya.

According to Wiesner, refugees continue to live in overcrowded and congested camps, facing insecurity, deterioration of emergency shelters, shortages of water and food, and oversubscribed health and education services.

“Many refugee hosting areas are at risk of communicable diseases, including, malaria and acute watery diarrhea”, Wiesneradded.

In Mahama, Burundian Refugee camp in Rwanda, the impact of the huge gap in funding is evident as UNHCR and aid agencies struggle to meet minimum standards for refugees.

“Funding is a major challenge in terms of being able to construct shelters and respond to all the needs of Burundian refugees,” says Janet Pima, UNHCR’s Protection Officer in Mahama.

“Because we keep on receiving new arrivals that means the needs are increasing every day,” Pima added

UNHCR says that in Rwanda, more than 85,000 refugees both in cities and in the camp. Such numbers place a huge strain on resources and Mahama camp is already at breaking point.

“We have around 54,000 refugees in the camp and the space we have has already been occupied by semi-permanent shelters,” Pima said.

“We don’t have any more space which is the main challenge we have for now. We will not be able to relocate any new arrivals until we have an extension of the camp” Pima added

According to Pima, new arrivals have to wait for weeks, sometimes months, before they can be relocated.

“UNHCR is negotiating with the Rwandan government and local communities that own the land around the camp. However, with every refugee that enters the country, more pressure is added to already strained resources,” Pima explained

Pima says that if they don’t get the space soon, refugees will be congested in the shelters or will have to remain in the reception centres for a long time
“We are appealing for more funding to help Burundian refugees,” Pima added.

Provisional detention was requested for the trio whose charges include forgery of documents and signature counterfeiting by Diane, sectarian practices by Adeline Rwigara and inciting insurrection for all the three, a spokesman for the state prosecutor’s office, Faustin Nkusi, has told IGIHE.

“We received their case files on Friday. We have five days to assess them and decide on taking them to courts. So it is still under assessment process,” he said.
The allegations of tax evasion, which had been raised previously are not included on the new charge sheet.

Speaking after trio’s arrest, the Police Spokesperson, Theos Badege said that them on ere is enough evidence to pin them on machinating against state security.
“We have evidence on how they planned activities against state security,” Badege explained.

Shyaka was speaking during the consultative meeting on the role of religious organizations in family development which brought together different government institutions and representatives of faith-based organizations operating in the country aimed at exchanging views on strategies of increased collaboration among concerned institutions for family development.

He commended the role of churches in building moral fibers of communities but called for accelerated involvement in addressing family-related challenges including poverty and family-based violence.

According to RGB, society still faces problems like murder, divorce, family and community disputes and orphans without foster families among others which calls for interventions so they can be squarely addressed.

Bishop of Kibungo Catholic Diocese, Antoine Kambanda said that Catholic Church always teaches people on good societal norms, saying they will add more efforts to solve problems that still undermine welfare of families.

“Children always need families; the Catholic Church has introduced a commission focusing on addressing family challenges. We are coordinating different activities which will help strengthen the development of society,” he said.

Ruxin, a San Francisco native, began volunteering at an orphanage for children who had lost parents to the genocide, and in her off hours she and her husband bemoaned the shortage of quality restaurants in Rwanda’s capital city. She decided to do something about both.

She never believed, she says now, that less than a decade later Kigali would emerge as one of the most exciting new luxury destinations in Africa. She was just trying to build a project that would help her community and also supply hungry expats with a decent place to eat.

But the timing was right for Heaven, a dreamy open-air restaurant built into a tranquil hill and offering a small, curated menu of African fusion served by a team of young Rwandans eager for training in the hospitality sector. Ruxin opened its doors in 2008, just as Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s goals for Vision 2020, a sweeping development plan promoting efficiency, technology, infrastructure overhaul and rapid modernization, were kicking into high gear.

Change has since come swiftly to the land of a thousand hills, whose plucky capital city, long relegated to pilgrimages of grief and airport stopovers on the way to see mountain gorillas, is emerging as East Africa’s greatest success story. In Kigali, a slew of gleaming new luxury hotels, an international restaurant boom and sparkling-litter free streets are luring travellers who might otherwise have overlooked the city in favour of rural safaris. Rwanda, which was ranked as the ninth-safest nation in the world (and number one in Africa) by the World Economic Forum this year, is changing its narrative.
“Kigali is the epicentre of the land of a thousand hills and rapidly becoming the tourism and business hub for the region,” says Belise Kariza, chief tourism officer at the Rwanda Development Board.

Radisson Blu launched a new Kigali complex in 2016 which consists of a 292-room luxury hotel whose exterior is lined with colourful metal ribbons, and the egg-shaped glass-and-steel Kigali Convention Center, which was unveiled just in time for the 2016 African Union Summit last July. Marriott followed suit three months later, launching its first-ever property in sub-Saharan Africa on the opposite side of the city.

The two new international brands have brought competition to a market once dominated by the Serena, a former InterContinental property that for a decade was considered Kigali’s only real luxury bolthole; and the grand Hotel des Milles Collines, made famous by the film Hotel Rwanda. The sparkling new Ubumwe Grande Hotel, which also opened just in time for the 2016 African Summit, newbie The Manor, and Swiss International’s Villa Portofino are also now in the mix.

And cuisine and culture in Kigali have upped their game in tandem. At bustling nightspot Repub Lounge, locals gather on the open-air patio above the city’s twinkling lights to sip Virunga beer and feast on coconut curry fish, beef brochettes and liboke chicken in steamed banana leaves. At sleek Pili Pili, an urban lounge with a chill party vibe, it’s hard to decide what to focus on: the breathtaking view, the turquoise pool, or the solid bistro fare of pizzas, pastas and tapas, all served under pink and purple lights. Sushi lovers now have two duelling hotspots from which to source their sashimi: terrace-style Sakae and super-authentic Kiseki, while Sol E Luna and Brachetto offer top-notch Italian.

The Inema Arts Center sponsors workshops, dance performances and happy hour events in addition to housing 13 resident artists and a women’s craft collective; their mission of nurturing Rwanda’s next artistic generation is echoed by fellow creative spaces Ivuku Arts and NIYO Art Gallery.

And at Heaven, which locals point to as the spark that started the movement, Ruxin says she is just getting started.

Heaven Boutique Hotel, a charming 22-room lodging house with bright, eclectic rooms and soft, mosquito-net covered beds, opened adjacent to the restaurant in 2015, and this summer, Ruxin welcomed the first guests to The Retreat, an 11-room wellness-themed property offering bespoke luxury experiences on a level never before seen in Kigali.

“I think we are on the cusp of something so exciting in Rwanda,” Ruxin says, noting that the price for a permit to view Rwanda’s sought-after mountain gorillas has increased to $1,500, and the jungle lodges that house gorilla tourists routinely charge $800 a night or more. “There is a niche, there is a market; [gorilla tourists] have to fly in and out of Kigali. I want to be their first night and their last night.”

{{First published by: www.independent.co.uk
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Following extended consultations with policy-makers and civil society, the launch event was a platform that allowed a broad array of stakeholders to discuss and engage on the key elements of the partnership.

The partnership will be spearheaded by Development Impact Evaluation (DIME), a unit within the World Bank’s Research Group that works with governments to design and implement impact evaluations to inform policy decisions, through its Impact Evaluation to Development Impact program.

The European Commission joins other donors, such as DFID, to this existing multi-donor program, which aims to generate high-quality and operationally relevant IE research to transform development policy, help reduce extreme poverty, and secure shared prosperity.

Within the specific context of the DIME-EU Partnership in Rwanda, the research team will work closely with MINAGRI and other relevant stakeholders in the sector to inform policy design through the use of rigorous evidence and data-driven results.

The portfolio of IEs will aim to cover key infrastructure investments in the sector feeder roads and irrigation; and will focus on MINAGRI’s main priorities under its flagship programs as well as its future sector-wide aims.

The ultimate objective of the partnership is to enable MINAGRI to improve the delivery of its programs, so as to improve farm productivity and farmer welfare.

One of the core aims of the partnership is to build capacity for IE generation and absorption in the sector.

It starts with officials within MINAGRI and related line ministries, with whom DIME will run a number of trainings across various levels of technical and managerial staff.

Complimenting these trainings, DIME staff will work with officials within the ministry through a learning-by-doing model, working to collect and process data to generate useable findings in the context of their everyday work.

The research team will also engage with the broader research community, to both learn from and build local capacity and contribute to the growth of high quality IE evidence in the sector in the long-run.

Among those leaving offices are; two staffs of Rwanda Housing Authority in sectors of Rugarika and Musambira; executive secretaries and social affairs for economic development of both Muganza and Kabagesera sectors in Runda sector.

According to sources from the district, all officials resigned following different forensic audits and monitoring and evaluation exercises that established anomalies in the way houses in different trading centers were constructed contrary to the established master plans. A team deployed to carry out the evaluation exercise established that 500 houses were illegally constructed under the negligent eye of the officials concerned.

According to the Kamonyi vice-mayor in Charge of Social Affairs Prisca Uwamahoro, the district will soon review their resignation letters and scrutinize their performance before taking final decisions on each individual’s fate.

She said that they will expeditiously recruit new officials so that access to public services is not halted.

The RRA Commissioner for customs, Raphael Tugirumuremyi said that taxpayers and the general public should be aware of the move which aims at improving services delivery.

“From today, services from this border will be available 24 hours, seven days. Both government and private institutions will always be available. So, this will spur trading between both countries and the region in general,” he said.

“This is the passageway for merchandise in transit to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi, so we need quick services delivery for all border users,” he added.

Tugirumuremyi continues to explain that traders that were incurring losses due to longer dwelling time on the border as they await clearance will get better and faster services, spend less and build their businesses. Ahommad Haruna Cyiza, a truck driver said that they used to spend many hours waiting for customs clearance which is most likely to be eased with the new facility and restructured operations.

“There are times when trucks were many at the border, at others when it was closed and you had to wait amidst a squeezed parking space. This was the only remaining border closing during the night, so, we are happy for the new changes,” he said.
Previously, Rusumo One Stop Border Post used to operate 16 hours, from 7:00am to 10:00pm

The Tanzania Revenue Authority Commissioner of customs, George Israel Mnyitafu said that both countries should be monitoring to ensure new changes address the existing operational challenges and ease the environment of doing business.
According to RRA, before opening the One Stop Border Post, trucks used to spend four hours waiting for customs clearance, compared to the current dwelling time of 30 minutes to two hours.

Through his twitter account yesterday, Kagame recognized and appreciated the bravery of liberators that took up arms to fight dictatorship 27 years ago.

“27 years on, this day changed the life of every Rwandese and Country in the most fundamental way. Thanks to the ones who gave their all for it!!!” reads the tweet.

Kagame tasked youth to understand what happened and play their role in enhancing en development.
“We will never let it be in vain! The young women and men of Rwanda hear that and do your part!! Salutations to you all,” he advised.

The liberation struggle was led by the Rwanda Patriotic Front/Army with an onset launch of war on 1st October 1990, ending despotism and genocide against the Tutsi on 7th July 1994.