Tag: MainSlideNews

Kagame made the remarks today as he opened the 7th edition of the Africa CEO Forum, a two-day forum, held at Kigali Convention Center bringing together four Heads of States, ministers and over 200 CEOs from across Africa.

Other Presidents at the Forum include DR Congo’s President Felix Antoine Tshisekedi, Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé and Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde.

Kagame said Africa is on the right track of its unity after 44 African countries last year signed the African Continental Trade Area agreement that needs only one more ratification to come into force.

“One year ago, in this very room, 44 countries signed on to the African Continental Free Trade Area, and more have done so since. Just as importantly, the Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons was also adopted. The Continental Free Trade Area is on the cusp of coming into force. I understand that only one more ratification is needed. However, as we all know, this is where the hard work begins. So it is very timely, for us to gather here today, to discuss how to make the most out of this historic agreement, among other important issues. We only reached this point, because Africa came together with a strong unity of purpose, that is rooted in the rising aspirations of our young people, for a better future. That same spirit should drive us forward to success.”

“Whatever we try to do, even in terms of economic development, the result comes back to the politics surrounding it. If the politics is bad, everything else is bad. That is why open, responsive, and accountable governance is so critical,” Kagame said.

President Kagame highlighted the urgent need of change in the private sector.

“No one should be satisfied with business as usual. This is the right time for private sector leaders to reflect on what needs to be changed and improved on their end, as well. So that we have a situation where the private sector and the public sector will challenge and push each other to make more than progress,” he explained.

The United Nations projects that Africa will have the biggest workforce by 2050 with 1.1 billion working-age population, which Kagame said calls for hard work so that the statistic becomes no burden to Africa itself and the world in general.

“We don’t have any time to waste to do what is necessary, so that this statistic becomes Africa’s greatest asset, rather than a burden for our continent and the world. It is our responsibility to ensure that deeper integration translates into prosperity and well-being for Africa’s people,” he said.

“Overall, what we need is much more business activity, above all with each other so that we see the emergence of global African firms with continental scope and scale, which champion the interests and ambitions of our people,” he explained adding that “the public and private sectors must work even more closely together, to provide the education and training that will equip Africa’s young workers with the skills to excel in manufacturing, services, and technology.”

The key factor to achieve this, Kagame said, is the ‘mindset’ which he emphasized is not expensive.

“It might be difficult, but we can afford to effect it. Mindset has no price, yet nothing has greater value,” Kagame said.

The President of the Africa CEO Forum, Amir Ben Yahmed urged the African business community to work with commitment to help Africa reach the development others have attained. He said it is time for business people to seize opportunities offered by the AfCFTA.

“Business is like sports, it is a competition. Companies, countries and continents compete; but everywhere, setting targets, commitment and hardworking are key to success,” he said.

It is projected that projects worth US$1 billion will be financed during the 7th edition of Africa CEO Forum.

He revealed this in a press conference alongside President João Lourenço concluding the visit as indicated on the twitter account of Rwanda Presidency.

“There are many things that bind our two countries, through history, culture and ideologically. What we believe in is developing our people and doing everything we can for the transformation of our people,” he said.

He highlighted that Rwanda and Angola can achieve more through investment with and in each other.

“In the level of relationship we have developed between Angola and Rwanda, we have looked at areas where we can cooperate and learn from each other, across sectors. There are no limitations to what we can do together or how much we can benefit from each other,” he said.

President Kagame thanked Angola for warm hospitality received since he arrived in Angola.

Rwanda and Angola have existing bilateral ties in different areas including air transport, security, justice, free movement between both countries’ people, ICT, and governance.

The visit follows recent agreements in February this year where both countries signed cooperation agreements fostering security and public order in the interest of their citizen.

The two governments last year signed a Bilateral Air Service Agreement under which the national carrier, RwandAir, and Angola’s national airline TAAg got seven frequencies a week on either side.

Rwandan citizens traveling to Angola are not required to have visas to enter Angolan territory.

On Tuesday, The New Vision, a Ugandan government owned newspaper, published a letter- dated March 10, 2019- it said Uganda’s President wrote to his Rwandan counterpart over the meetings he held with different people the Government considers as hostile to its people.

“I am writing to let you know that by accident, I, at last, had a meeting with a Rwandan who admitted to being a member of the group you told me about – Rwanda National Congress (RNC),” reads part of Museveni letter to Kagame.

However, the letter has triggered so many reactions, many of them funny, due to the time it was published but also people asking how a Head of State can meet people a neighboring country considers hostile ‘by accident’.

According to sources, the letter was received by Rwanda High Commission in Uganda on Monday evening and it was on its way to President Kagame on Tuesday morning when it started circulating in the Ugandan media, meaning it was published in the media before it reached its recipient President Kagame himself.

Following what makes the letter; Twitter followers took on Twitter and raised different funny reactions on it in a Twitter thread that goes as #WritelikeMuseveni.

A Twitter user by the name of Princess from North tweeted: “Rwanda: You are holding meeting with dissidents, why? What’s your motive?

M7: I accidentally meet them and somehow give them passports”

“So, FDLR Senior Cadres (Spokesperson Bazeye & Spy Chief Abega ) crossed ACCIDENTALLY to Uganda and met ACCIDENTALLY Ugandan Senior Officials who were sent ACCIDENTALLY by MUSEVENI and they left the country escorted ACCIDENTALLY by CMI to be arrested in DRC! #WriteLikeMuseveni,” tweeted another one called Kambanda Noel.

Kanangire Christian also tweeted: “Museveni got his presidential letter accidentally leaked to the media before it actually reached its recipient. #Museveni accidentally addressed his letter to the #Media first. #WriteLikeMuseveni,”

Museveni finally admits he met tycoon Rujugiro

As he launched the 16th National Leadership Retreat, President Kagame said he had to prove to Museveni who denied knowing Rujugiro, a tycoon owning businesses in Uganda and supporting the Rwanda National Congress (RNC).

“At first Museveni said he did not know him [Rujugiro], but later on, I proved to him how he knows him,” Kagame said.

“He (Museveni) told me you guys in Rwanda don’t know how to differentiate business and politics and I said: thank you Sir, but sometimes business and politics has no dividing line. I was trying to mean that if someone is supporting some groups, then there is no dividing line between his business and politics.” Kagame added.

In his letter, Museveni finally agreed to have met Rujugiro whom he said opposed the idea to sell his businesses in Uganda.

Mr. Rujugiro also came, separately. He seems to be resisting the idea of selling his businesses, which he had accepted (to do) before. He countered the idea of giving money to Kayumba by saying that even if he sells the factories in Uganda, he still has more lucrative factories in Angola, DR Congo, etc., a total of eight of them. He can send money from those,” Museveni wrote.

News has been circulating that Museveni has early this month met Charlotte Mukankusi, the Head of Diplomacy in Rwanda National Congress (RNC) a group founded by Kayumba Nyamwasa and that declared war on the Government of Rwanda.

On Tuesday, the New Vision, a Ugandan newspaper released a copy of a letter President Museveni wrote to his Rwandan counterpart explaining the circumstances under which he met Mukankusi whom he admits asked him for support to RNC.

“I am writing to let you know that by accident, I, at last, had a meeting with a Rwandan who admitted to being a member of the group you told me about – Rwanda National Congress (RNC),” reads part of Museveni letter to Kagame.

“This is a lady known as Mukankusi, whom, I am sure you know, but I had never met before. One of my NRM contacts kept telling me that there was a Rwandan lady who had some important information to give me and that she wanted to come with someone called Gasana, who also had important information,” Museveni wrote.

Museveni also reveals that the RNC official came to seek a support from him which he says he denied saying it goes against the African Union stand.

“She said she wanted me to know bad things that were happening in Rwanda. She further told me that she had joined the RNC to resist Your Excellency’s Government and she wanted us to support them,” said Museveni in his letter to Kagame.

In the letter, Museveni said he told Mukankusi that “we could not support them because what was happening in Rwanda was an internal matter of Rwanda. I explained to her that the stand of the African Union is a scientific one and it is correct. Interfering in the internal affairs of sister countries is wrong because, first of all, outsiders cannot understand situations of sister countries well.”

On Gasana, Museveni said, he had first mistaken him with Gasana who was behind him at Ntare Secondary School and who, for a long time, had worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uganda but later discovered it was a different person when they met.
According to Museveni, Gasana said he was not involved with RNC, “but that he came to help a white lady, Wolfson, who we had declared persona-non-grata, to come back and continue her charity work.”

“Some of our people in the diaspora had worked with him “some of our people in the diaspora had worked on it with him (Gasana). He told me that he works with a Jewish Agency and “apparently, they are the ones who support Wolfson,” Museveni adds.
President Museveni goes on to tell Kagame on how and what the talked with tycoon Rujugiro whom he said resists the idea of selling his businesses which he had accepted before.

“He (Rujugiro) countered the idea of giving support of giving money to Kayumba by saying that even he sells his factories in Uganda, he still has more lucrative factories in Angola, DR Congo, etc … a total of eight of them. He can send the money from those,” Museveni wrote.

Museveni adds that Rujugiro denied sending money to Kayumba or being a politician.
“If, therefore, he is still a problem to Rwanda, the correct option is to use the Courts of Uganda to prove the case of terrorism and then his assets can be frozen,” Museveni suggests in the letter.