The government of Rwanda plans on promoting the Mulberry plant farming the only plant that feeds silkworms on the 10 000 hectares of land.

This farming will provide employment opportunities to 160 Rwandans in the period of 5 years as Potien Nemeye the director of sericulture center explains.

Silkworms

Mulberry plant farming if done as expected will increase the country’s economy with about $600 million. The government of Rwanda intends to grow mulberry plant on 5000 hectares all over the country in the next 3 years; this will encourage investors to build factories that make silk.

Nemeye Potien says sericulture can be done as additional work for more money and any person ready can do the farming. “One hectare planted with mulberry and given much attention can have produce worth Rwf1.3 million annually.”

The mulberry plant

Since rearing of silkworms requires a barn, the government of Rwanda is ready to support any person who is ready to farm Mulberry plants with seeds to plant and building for them the house to do silkworm rearing.

Mulberry growing and silkworm farming is not new in Rwanda, some people who did this farming made a lot of profits and some of the cooperatives failed miserably to promote this farming.

If mulberry and silkworm farming is encouraged and more people participate in it, it will promote the exports of Rwanda after coffee and tea.

Source : http://www.umukozi.com/2013/09/rwanda-to-promote-employment-in-the-next-5-years/

Goethe’s Tuesday screening is here again with The Ghost of the Past set to premiere on 10^th September 2013. The acclaimed 2000 film drama by Christian Petzold shows the challenge of growing up with the parents’ burdens and how they affect the following generation.

Jeanne is fifteen years old and although she is a teenager, her life is very different from the life of her peers. She lives with her parents, former terrorists Clara and Hans and now fugitives of their own past. Forced to always being on the run, friendships become dangerous and the permanent fear of getting caught collides with the desire of a normal life. While her parents are preparing the next coup, Jeanne falls in love with a boy and is not ready to give up that little bit of normality.

The events become dangerous as they are tracked down by the police and their chaotic family life is threatened. The Ghost of the Past is a movie about growing up with the burdens of the past and learning to let go. Its screening will take place at 6.30 pm, and as usual entrance will be free.

Source:http://www.rwandashow.com/index.php/2013/09/the-ghost-of-the-past-to-screen-at-goethe-institute/

Rapper Riderman has alleged that stars who lose their popularity are to blame themselves. Riderman, who won the last edition of Primus Guma Guma Super Star, was speaking to the media when asked why winners of the competition have gone to dwindle and hide in their cocoons. But according to Riderman, there are a few reasons as to why that is bound to happen.

He said, “First there’s the issue of one thinking that they have achieved it all and that there’s nothing else to compete for. In that case they start looking down upon their fellow artists.” Despite reveling in his success, the rapper feels it’s just the beginning of a long journey ahead of him.

He added, “Artists should be humble towards their fellow artists and journalists alike. But there’s a section of journalists who think once one has won PGGSS they become repulsive, which is not the case.”

Source:http://www.rwandashow.com/index.php/2013/09/only-musicians-can-blame-themselves-for-waning-popularity-riderman/

Upcoming hip hop singer, Nick Breezy will release a new hip hop mix tape featuring various local rappers.

“The mix tape includes my songs and new collabos with Press one entertainment singers,” Breezy said.

Nick Breezy boasts of songs like body guard produced by his recording studio dubbed Toxic studio.

Source:http://www.rwandashow.com/index.php/2013/09/rapper-nick-breezy-mixtape-coming-soon/

According to the Wall Street Journal, sources claim that Apple is working on phones with screens ranging from 4.8-inches up to six-inches.

Apple has previously refused to comment on speculation that it may be working on iPhones with larger screens.

The company has only ever increased the size of its screen once in the history of its iPhone range, between the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5.

Read more: Apple iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C release date, features, price and rumours

Its upcoming smartphones, the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C are expected to come with the same four-inch screen found on the iPhone 5.

Apple has previously been rumoured to be working on larger screen phones.

Back in the middle of summer, a number of reports emerged suggesting that the company was investigating the alternative screen sizes. At the time, it was put down to pressure to respond to the growth of Android.

The WSJ report also reiterates previous rumours suggesting that the iPhone 5S will come with a fingerprint scanner. Apple is holding an event on Tuesday where it is widely expected to officially unveil its next generation of iPhones.

Source : http://www.techrwanda.com/blog-in-techrwanda/3381/apple-testing-larger-iphones/

The new Samsung Galaxy Note 3 will feature the Qualcomm QFE1100 chipset which uses a radio technology called Envelope Tracking – ET.

This technology, according to Qualcomm, “is designed to result in a more reliable amplified signal with up to 20% improvement in PA power efficiency and up to 30% improvement in heat dissipation.”

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 was unveiled at a Samsung Unpacked event at IFA 2013 just a few days ago but Samsung focussed on announcing its 4G/LTE version rather than mentioning the new ET chip.

The transition into 4G LTE sees a new signal that is former by adding several hundreds of smaller signals together – compared to the single waveforms in 2G/3G.

Qualcomm claims that this will mean longer battery life, cooler mobile devices and also “cooler-looking devices, because reduced heat enables thinner form-factors.”The ET chip will help adjust the power amplifier (PA), that usually magnifies the signal to reach cell towers, to ensure that the voltage use isnot more than it needs to be which usually results in using more heat and more battery power.

Alongside the new Qualcomm technology Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 will also feature a 5.7-inch full HD display, quad-core processor and 3GB RAM.

About 200 Rwandans who had lived in Tanzania for decades arrived at the Rusumo border over the weekend, after being forcefully kicked out, leaving behind their families and properties in Tanzania’s Karagwe region.

This weekend’s arrivals pushed the number of such evictees to 7,035 since last month’s ultimatum by Tanzanian authorities  that gave those they described as ‘illegal immigrants’ two weeks to leave the country.

Source:http://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/index.php?i=15475&a=70231

Following allegations by the Minister of Justice that half the lawyers in the country evade taxes, the president of the Kigali Bar Association has said the minister was given the wrong information and that lawyers should have been treated as other taxpayers, and not collectively accused.

In an exclusive interview with The New Times, Athanase Rutabingwa said every lawyer, like any other taxpayer, has a Tax Identification Number (TIN) as an individual, adding that the allegation was unfair and damaging to their reputation.

The Kigali Bar Association has said Rwandan lawyers will have a competitive edge over the rest in the region because of their French background. In an interview with The New Times’ Felly Kimenyi, the president of the Kigali Bar Association, Athanase Rutabingwa said the lawyers have embarked on trainings on Common Law system, which will further enhance their capacity. The interview also touched on issues of pro bono services, accusations that most lawyers evade taxes among others. Below are the excerpts.


Where is the Kigali Bar Association coming from, where is it and what are the projections?

First of all, the Kigali Bar Association is arguably the youngest among those in the region having started just in 1997 by an Act of Parliament. Before then, there were instances where the Minister for Justice would appoint people to take up cases on individual basis, and these lawyers were called ‘mandataire a justice’.

As part of the reforms that have been ongoing, in the aftermath of the Genocide against the Tutsi, we started with only 37 members in 1997. Membership has now grown to 879.

At the moment, the requirement to join the bar is at least a law degree but at the time the bar was created in 1997, for emergency reasons, we had both qualified lawyers and another group which was also established by law – the judicial defenders. The second group are not trained lawyers.

The emergence of this second group was inspired by the crisis the country faced in the aftermath of the Genocide, where the industry was very under staffed, with most lawyers killed while others had participated in the killings and had fled the country.

This was happening despite the thousands of suspects who were in custody who needed legal representation. It was the same predicament that prosecution and the judges faced.

Currently, with the new law on the bar in the making, judicial defenders will be phased out.

The activities of the bar, as part of our mandate, is to make sure that the rights of lawyers are respected. Another activity that is equally important is to work with other institutions in the country to safeguard and ensure the development of law and the system of jurisprudence in the country.

We are also entrusted with the duty to ensure continued legal education by our lawyers by facilitating them to attend trainings within and outside the country, to make sure they keep up with the dynamic trends of the laws either domestically, and internationally.


Why do you call yourselves as Kigali and not Rwanda Bar Association?

When you look at the law that we have in place that instituted the bar, when you look at some of the articles, it shows that if you are about eight lawyers, in any other province of the country, you can put a bar association there. The initial association we had in place, was the Kigali Bar Association.

This implied that you can be in Musanze and apply to be licensed as a bar association there, provided you are eight lawyers and more. However, there has not been any other bar association besides the Kigali Bar and all lawyers prefer to associate with it.

However, we are trying to address that in the draft law that was recently passed by Parliament; we want to have a Rwanda Bar Association.


What is the take of your association and practitioners in particular on the law establishing the bar association?

It is still a draft and has been in Parliament for some years. We initiated it as a result of the judicial reforms that have been going on in the country since 2004. The Ministry of Justice initiated the law, then forwarded it to us for our input, but it has take n a number of years between the ministry and Parliament. As of now, I think in July, the Parliament passed it and it should now be in the process of promulgation.

The law is trying to address the issues we have had. The law we have in force is not bad in as regards the cardinal principles of protection of legal profession in the country, but it was not in conformity with the current trend of the industry.

So we feel that when it is passed, the law will facilitate us in many things. For one, there are innovations that we think are going to be facilitated by the new legislation; like the fact that we are going to have one nationwide bar association; it also facilitates the issue of regional integration where the new law is compatible with laws governing the bars in other countries in the region.

Other incentives that will come with the new law include allowing lawyers to perform the duties of a public notary which our lawyers were prohibited from doing. Another important component in the law is on issues to do with partnership to form a law firm.

We did not have in our old law, a provision where a firm could have legal personality that is independent from the liability of the partners of this firm. This law will address this as well.

On the issue of partnership, what are the expectations from the streamlined process?

Basically it will look like an ordinary limited liability company, where the liabilities of the company are limited to the company itself and this creates confidence within the clients where you know that you are not bringing your file to an individual who may the other day be suspended from practice, is sick or deceased.

We are looking at a scenario where experienced lawyers will come under one roof as a firm and this not only benefits them to work as a group, with the cost effectiveness that comes with it, at the same time it is advantageous to the clients because they will be dealing with firms, not individuals.

We have had issues such as lawyers dying and their clients coming to us,  stuck with cases, that they had already paid for.

A few years ago, there were disagreements between the bar and the judicial defenders’ body. Have you addressed your differences?

The law we have today allows judicial defenders to practice but immediately the law is out, they will cease to practice. The draft of the law was given to them in 2005 and they were given a transition of two years to go back to school and get their law degrees. The people who were defenders then have since graduated but the problem is, the body has continued to admit more, meaning the issue will never end, if we continue like this.

In terms of pleading cases, we never had any issues with them because they are limited to lower courts, and cannot plead cases in the High Court or Supreme Court. But the problem we have with them concerns their reluctance to phase out and their resistance to change which is not good because the urgency that necessitated them is no longer there, and as practitioners, we would not want to have in the country untrained lawyers continuing to practice.


How do lawyers perceive the judicial reforms that have been ongoing since 2004?

The reforms came at the time when they were needed, especially the reforms in the composition and competences of courts. We have, for instance, seen the creation of commercial courts which have ushered in positive changes in Judiciary and eased doing business. As lawyers, the reforms have eased our work where you have a case and you are at least sure it will be concluded within a month or two. Expediting judicial dispensation is what we want for our clients and it is good for attracting investors.

Before you would go to court at 8a.m and by midday cases are not yet heard, only to be told then that it has been adjourned. Reforms have also minimised the unnecessary appeals in courts. We really commend what is happening.


The number of lawyers has increased, probably exceptionally, how would you rate the quality of practitioners?

This is an issue we have discussed at length, internally. I think ours has been the fastest growing bar in the region. Look at the number we have admitted over 17 years. Other law societies in the region have been in existence for over 50 years. For example in Burundi, they have only 130 members, and their bar association has been there since, I guess 1962.

Even in Uganda, they have just above 2,000 members and their bar has been in place for 60 or 70 years. So this has been very fast; our main key concern is the discipline of the lawyers, and qualifications, to make sure they are fully qualified, we only take up lawyers that come from recognised universities.

That said, just like any other profession in the country, they go to the same universities, and appear before the same lecturers. When you go on the country’s labour market, you do not look at lawyers alone, and just like any other developing country, there are professional gaps that need to be bridged and we do that through encouraging and arranging trainings to beef up their quality so that they serve the clients better.

Generally, the quality of lawyers we have today is good but not perfect and extra work is still needed. We encourage them to go for masters’ programmes and other post graduate courses. For instance, we are working with the Kigali International Arbitration Centre to have our lawyers get skills in arbitration because this is an emerging area of practice; we also work very closely with the Institute of Legal Practice and Development.

In most countries, lawyers are asked to go through the Law Development Centre or the equivalent to be able to sit for a bar exam, which is not the case in Rwanda….

That is true, partly because of the emergency that was in place at the time the current law was enacted. But it has been rectified in the new law, which will require one to have a diploma from the Institute of Legal Practice and Development.

And this will apply even to applicants for judgeship or those who want to become prosecutors. The institute is an equivalent of the law development centre.

How are Rwandan lawyers fairing in terms of competitiveness in the different blocs that the country is party to?

To start with, we are members of the East African Law Society, Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association and the Pan-African Lawyers’ Union among others; and we have several forums where we meet with lawyers from different countries and we have always shared experience.

Through these interactions, we find that we are actually competitive, and we have an advantage because Rwandan lawyers speak both French and English which I think will be our niche as we penetrate their market.

But besides that, we have focussed on enriching our lawyers with knowledge on the Common Law training and we are in partnership with Trademark East Africa to train our lawyers in this system and the legal language and pleading techniques in the common law system. The training starts this September.

Once they are trained, we will have another competitive edge over our counterparts in the region because our country uses the civil law system while these countries use the common law system. This implies that when our lawyers grasp the common law system, it will imply that where as they could comfortably plead in these countries, it is hard for the other lawyers to practice under our system.

We have local lawyers with accreditation by the ICC. Rwanda is not party to the court, explain this…  

Curious enough, the legal profession is not guided by decisions made by politicians. Much as Rwanda has not ratified the Rome Statute which established the ICC, it does not prohibit Rwandan professionals to practice there, because actually most lawyers who practice from there, their countries have not assented to the statute. In that sense, some of our lawyers have applied and have been accredited.

Actually the only requirement to be able to apply is being a lawyer of good standing and with recommendation from the Bar, and an experience of about 10 years a sizeable number of our lawyers have actually been accredited but I am not in position to tell you the number at the moment.

I think it is in the best interest for our lawyers to get that international exposure. If you are accredited by the ICC you can plead cases before other international courts, and we already have

Let us talk about pro bono services by our lawyers. People say these services are still inadequate and much concentrated in Kigali…

I would say these allegations are not true. As I said earlier, we are duty bound to offer free legal services to all Rwandans who cannot afford the charges. Of course we do not have the funds to facilitate a lawyer to move from Kigali to go and appear in a court in Rusizi but what we are doing is, trying to ensure that our lawyers are spread across the country. Actually it does not make business sense when we are all concentrated in Kigali.

So with presence of our members in all corners of the country, we are trying to encourage them to take on pro bono cases that come up in their areas of operation and they are already doing that.

There may be some deficiencies especially in areas where we do not have many lawyers but I can say that about 60 per cent of the country is covered and we have not had any case reported to us that a lawyer on pro bono did not give good service.

Of course we take cases that come to us and not us going to people asking for people who need representation, but then even those that come to us, they have to have proof that they are indigent, through a letter issued by their respective sector authorities. To ease the burden on people seeking our services, we have opened a hotline which people can call and get orientation.

The Minister of Justice a few weeks ago accused lawyers of evading taxes…what do you have to say about it?

This is an issue we have raised with the Minister himself and our take is that he was not given the right information. We do not know of any scenario where the tax administration has come up to our offices claiming that Lawyer X has not met his or her tax obligations. We have not even had a formal or informal meeting where they raised any such issue.

We have actually engaged the Commissioner General of Rwanda Revenue Authority and he wanted to know the number of our lawyers so he can tell us who has evaded taxes. But even with this, I still think lawyers should be looked at as other taxpayers.

We have not had any formal complaint from the tax administration against any other profession, be it for architects, accountants, medical practitioners or even the ordinary businessmen, where such complaint is made collectively.

This was not something we are happy with, and taxpayers should be looked at as individuals because a tax identification number is given to individuals not professions. The accusation was just damaging our reputation for no reason.

As we conclude, what would you want to add that was not covered in the interview?

I want to talk about the discipline of the lawyers. We are committed to uphold the integrity of the profession, much our primary objective is to safeguard the practitioners’ rights, they should not get away with any kind of professional misconduct be it with their clients or any other players in the judiciary, be it prosecutors or the police.

Some people may not know that lawyers can actually be taken to court but this can be done. We encourage people to bring to our attention any kind of misconduct by a lawyer.

Source:http://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/index.php?i=15475&a=70233

Human induced climate change has been blamed for the extreme weather catastrophes that are ravaging the globe, according to a report by the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS).

The study released on Friday at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the UK’s Met Office, takes into account the extent to which man-made climate change influenced 12 extreme weather events that occurred in 2012.

“The conclusions of 2012 report are similar to those of a related, first of its kind study published last year that focused on extreme weather events in 2011,” reads part of the survey.

The report has linked extreme weather events like wildfires, heat waves, downpours, and droughts happening around the world to human-induced global warming.

Rose Mukankomeje, the director general of Rwanda Environment Authority (REMA) supported the report, saying human activities are responsible for the climate change that has brought about extreme weather disasters.

Effort needed 

“There is an increase of green house emissions which has caused imbalance of natural composition of gases in atmosphere resulting into weather calamities,” she said.

She stated that Rwanda is experiencing floods and other natural catastrophes due to climate change and much effort is needed to address the global challenge.

To address the negative impact of climate change, Mukankomeje stated that the government in 2011 adopted the green strategy for climate change and low carbon and the economic impact on climate change has also been assessed.

“We have embarked on green economy in our Second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy to reduce on the economic activities that maybe contributing to global warming,” the Rema boss explained.

The United Kingdom recently donated more than Rwf22 billion to Fonds National de l’Environnement (Fonerwa) a fund created to deal with climate change and environmental degradation.

Fonerwa is a new initiative that the Rwandan government set up to support environment protection and deal with climate change issues through supporting public and private clean energy and green life initiatives.

The government has also allocated £1.7 million (around Rwf 1.7 billion) of domestic resources as it continues to mobilise money for the first three years of kick-starting the climate change fund.

Rwanda continue to experience heavy downpour that has led to loss of lives and property, the recent one being  the Musheri Sector in Nyagatare District incident, a few days ago that left two children dead and property destroyed.

The United States alone has experienced 25 extreme weather events since 2011 that each caused more than $1 billion dollars in damages, contributing to the loss of more than 1,000 lives and costing each American family roughly $400 each year.

The research shows that the world is likely in for more extreme weather if it stays on its current course. As the costs of climate inaction become clearer, the urgency for shifting toward a low-carbon economy becomes ever-more pressing.

Source:http://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/index.php?i=15475&a=70234

For Apple, Tuesday’s looking a bit like a time warp.

Rewind back to October 2011, and the company invited media to its headquarters to introduce an enhanced version of the hit smartphone it launched the year before. The same is expected at Tuesday’s event, where all eyes are Apple to announce the iPhone 5S — a souped up version of 2012′s iPhone 5.

The big difference this time around is that Apple is expected to roam into new territory, adding on top of that with an entirely new model to the iPhone family: one designed not necessarily to wow with specs, but instead with a price tag that could be Apple’s lowest yet for a new mobile device.

That device, expected to be called the iPhone 5C,has appeared in myriad leaks over the past few months and marks the beginning of a new chapter for the iPhone. Apple has managed great success with only one new model a year, a strategy the company finally appears to be abandoning.

Doubling down

Apple growing its iPhone line is a historical inevitability, though one that’s taken far longer to come to fruition. The company has a long track record of expanding successful products, but it’s lagged with the iPhone.

Case in point: the iPod, which Apple built on with the iPod Mini three years after its 2001 debut, and iPod Shuffle which came in 2005. It was a similar case with the iPad, which got a smaller version two years after its introduction, and is expected to expand to even larger models in the future, according to recent reports. The result in all those instances were increased sales.

For the iPod and iPad, smaller and cheaper models also came as defense against rivals, who were putting out more variations that threatened to undercut Apple’s growth. In the iPhone’s case, the reason for such a long delay is simple: Apple’s continued to make and sell its past two models — but at a discounted price. This strategy, which is unlike what Apple does with its computers, might seem a bit baffling for a tech company known for killing off old products at a brisk clip. But it’s a necessity when many customers are buying something attached to a multi-year contract that helps pay for most of the phone.

It’s also helped grow sales among people who don’t necessarily care about having the latest and greatest model. That’s worked in places like China, where Apple has seen strong sales of its older models, despite not being on the country’s largest carrier (something that’s expected to change this week).

“China has an unusually large number of potential first-time smartphone buyers and that’s not lost on us,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told the Wall Street Analysts back in April. “We’ve seen a significant interest in iPhone 4 there and have recently made it even more affordable to make it even more attractive to those first-time buyers. We’re hopeful that helps iPhone sales in the future.”

Tuesday’s event, where Apple is expected to debut two new models, is at the very heart of those plans. It’s also one that puts the company on a path to offer more diversity, and perhaps keep the lower-cost versions of its products up to date with more modern features.

Other things expected tomorrow

iOS 7 - You can’t have a new iPhone without new software, and iOS 7 is just that. The software’s been available to developers in beta since June, and Apple is expected to give developers the “golden master” version of it. That’s the same one that ships on Apple’s new iPhone, and is likely to go out to the rest of the world as a free update a week or so after the event. Go here for a full rundown of what’s new and different.

iTunes Radio - This new service, which alsodebuted in June, is rolled into iOS 7 but will also come in updates to iTunes (which Apple has been testing in beta with developers), along with one for the Apple TV. The free, ad-supported service has a series of curated music stations, as well as stations that can be created based on individual songs or artists. Apple’s also planning to offer an ad-free version of the service to subscribers of its $24.99 a year iTunes Match service.

Apple TV update - A rumored update, is said not only to bring the aforementioned iTunes Radio service to life, but also a new feature that lets people play content they’ve purchased on another person’s Apple TV. That feature, was reported last week by AllThingsD.

iPod updates - Apple bundled in iPod updates at its iPhone event last year, and could do it again this time around. Perhaps a more likely scenario is what happened in 2011, when Apple pushed out some new software for those models, a few new colors, and trimmed prices on the iPod Touch. However a price cut for the Touch seems unlikely given the peculiar, mid-year entry of a lower-cost model back in May.

Things not expected

New iPads - Apple is most certainly working on new iPads, but don’t expect to see them tomorrow. They’re more likely to appear a separate event next month, or in November. In the meantime, there have been numerous leaks of the updated design of the larger model, which appears to be taking its design cues from the iPad Mini. A new Mini is also expected, though reports have gone back and forth about whether it’s getting a higher resolution display versus updated internal components.

OS X 10.9 Mavericks - Like iOS 7, Apple’s new operating system for Macs has also been in testing by developers since June, and is on its seventh preview version. According to separate reports from 9to5Mac and AllThingsD last week, Apple’s not planning to release it until the end of next month, which leads us to…

New Macs - Apple’s got a bunch of Macs that need updating with newer Intel chips, but don’t expect to see them at tomorrow’s event. Apple updated most of its Mac lineup at an event last October, and it appears that the company’s doing the same thing this year. Apple’s iMac, Mac Mini, and MacBook Pros are all due for an update, and in the case of the company’s upcoming revamp to the Mac Pro, we’re still waiting on a price and release date.

Source:http://www.techrwanda.com/multimedia/3393/what-to-expect-from-apple-at-tuesdays-special-event/

East African Community partner states have embarked on a collective Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (EAC-MRH) programme which seeks is to improve access to safe and quality medicine.

Ministry of Health officials say that these efforts will be achieved through harmonising medicines regulation systems and procedures in accordance with national as well as international policies and standards.

A policy document on the programme indicates its objectives as; developing a common technical document for registration of medicines, common information management system (IMS) for the registration, a quality management system in each national medicines regulatory authority; and building regional and national capacity to implement the programme.

The EAC bloc is also working to create a platform for information sharing on the harmonised registration system to key stakeholders, and developing and implementing a framework for mutual recognition of regulatory decisions based on Article 118 of the EAC Treaty.

According to Joseph Kabatende head of pharmaceutical services in the ministry of health, in Rwanda, registration is performed by the pharmaceutical services under the Ministry of Health, where a set of requirements are established.

“Medicines regulation is the whole process of making sure that a medicine that comes into Rwanda complies with the national laws, guidelines and quality and safety requirements,” says Kabatende.

Last month, parliament passed a bill establishing the Rwanda Food and Medicines Authority (RFMA), a new agency that will, among others things ensure that fortified foods like cereals and milk products, as well as food supplements on the local market, meet national and international standards.

According to Kabatende,  a quality control laboratory will soon be completed which will help in judgment of whether imported pharmaceutical products are of acceptable quality or not.

Communities living around the Akagera National park will no longer have to worry about their security with aggressive and stray animals that have for years attacked and injured residents and damaged property.

The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) on Thursday inaugurated a 110 km electrical fence at Akagera national park to curb human-wildlife conflict. The event was officiated by the Minister of Internal Security Musa Fazil Harelimana, in Nyamwashama village, Mwiri Sector in Kayonza District.

The fence comes as a solution to security of both people living in the vicinity of the park, as animals like buffaloes and elephants sometimes destroyed crops or even killed people since there was nothing to keep them in the park. At the same time, the fence will also prevent poachers from entering the park.

Rica Rwigamba, the head of tourism and conservation at RDB, says that the fence will also reduce claims of damage by both the park management and the local community. She also indicated that the fence will allow RDB to bring more animals to the park such as lions, which before would constitute a threat to the people.  “That will attract more tourists to Akagera,” she added.

The construction of the fence started in 2011, cost Rwf2 billion and offered employment to over 3400 people surrounding the park.  The fence is powered by solar energy and has been constructed by TNH-EME, with a durability of the fence is forty years.

Minister Harelimana indicating that people need to maintain its safety and protect the park and its wildlife as well as protecting themselves from approaching the fence as it is electrified.

Residents welcomed the new nitiative and stated that there will now be a sense of security that has in the past been lacking.

Obed Mbarushimana from Rwimbogo sector, Gatsibo district stated that he has experienced three deaths caused by buffaloes and that crops were always eaten by these animals. Yet, since the fence has been erected, he said, both cops and people are safe.

While Alphonsine Kampire, of Rwinkwavu sector in Kayonza district also indicated that park animals, especially the elephants, buffaloes and hippopotamus have been a threat to their produce. “I cultivated two hectares of sorghum but did not get anything out of it. Elephants came and destroyed everything but now I think I shall harvest this season thanks to the fence.”

In 2012, Akagera national park has received 41% of all tourists in Rwandan parks. It covers 1085km², and is managed by Akagera Management Company (AMC) and covers at least four districts (Kayonza, Gatsibo, Nyagatare and Rwamagana) in the Eastern Province.  In 2009, RDB and the African Parks Network entered into a 20-year agreement for the joint management of the park.

Source : http://www.rwandaeye.com/news/2940/akagera-national-park-surrounding-communities-now-safe-from-animal-attacks/

Rwanda Stock Exchange will soon introduce Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) market segment commonly known as alternative investment market for SME’s in a bid to ease access to finance, which is a major impediment for the small and medium business in the country.

The move comes after several surveys conducted have indicated that access to finance is the major impediment faced by SME’s in their quest for growth, yet they constitute 90% of total businesses and are the biggest baseline employers.

Currently Capital Market Authority is running a sensitization program to get SME’s to raise funds on the Rwanda stock exchange. This campaign aims to discourage individuality culture and promote disclosure.

With the legal frame work under which the SME market segment will operate in place, the SME market segment hopes to attract small and medium businesses such as restaurants, cooperatives, distribution businesses, transport companies, hotels among others.

Through SME market segment, SME’s will be able to offer corporate bonds and commercial papers and through this platform SME’s will raise funds on the Rwanda stock exchange RSE). Unlike the Rwf500 million capital requirements for any company to register on the stock exchange, participants at the SME market segment will simply be required to disclose their prospectus.

Source : http://www.rwandaeye.com/news/2939/sme-segment-to-come-on-share-trading/

WDA officials giving certificates to UBA graduates

A total of 115 students completed three month training in Hairdressing at Universal Beauty Academy (UBA) over the weekend and were awarded certificates.

According to UBA proprietor Alphonsine Niyigena, the academy received a grant of about Rwf50 million to buy training equipment and pay salaries to trainers in three months in order produce people for the labour market.

They had a target of 50 students but this went beyond their expectations as the number increased to 115 students.

The WDA Skills Development Project Manager Wilson MUYENZI called upon graduands to use the opportunity and be competitive as the government strives to promote skills development country wide.

Niyigena says that the training center has a total of 328. Out of this number, 61 are pursuing a one year program, 153 a six months program while the 115 completed a three months program.

Dr.  Olivier Mukulira the Director of Accreditation and Quality Assurance in WDA commended the proper management of the grant received by UBA and urged the administration to strive for great success with the next intakes.

UBA has also helped the students who completed the course to create a cooperative and pledged some equipment including saloon helmets as start up kits for self employment.

Universal Beauty Academy was officially opened in June 2012 to promote the sector of beauty and esthetics in Rwanda.

Source : http://www.ubumenyingiro.com/index.php/2013/09/115-complete-hairdressing-course/

IPRC-South plumbing students at work

The state minister in charge for TVET Albert Nsengiyumva has urged all TVET schools to play a pivotal role in addressing the challenge of unemployment facing surrounding local residents especially the youth.

Minister Nsengiyumva made the call while visiting the South to assess the status of TVET schools in the southern province, an exercise that will continue to other provinces.

“TVET training centers should not only train young people, but also go an extra mile to ensure creation of employment for the communities where they operate,” said Nsengiyumva

He further urged TVET schools to prioritize linking skills delivered with demands on the labor market.

“Apart from providing hands-on skills, TVET providers should teach language and communication skills so that graduates can market their technical skills on the labor market.”

According to the state minister, teaching skills is not enough since communication also helps one to express what he/she knows.

On his first stop over at Nyanza TSS, the minister also advised school managers to develop strong ties with local authorities, the private sector and other stakeholders if they have to make a great impact in skills development.

The Minister also emphasized maximum utilization of training equipment and strengthening production units for self sustenance.

Bringing on board of more female students in TVET is still a big challenge facing these schools. Nyanza TSS is one of the best performing TVET schools in the southern province. But out of 688 students in this school, only 91 are females.

This, the Minister said should be given priority through raising awareness and giving the females all available chances to lure them into

Source : http://www.ubumenyingiro.com/index.php/2013/09/tvet-schools-urged-to-generate-employment-in-their-communities/

The National Police in Musanze district, in the Northern Province is holding four suspects over conning Rwf 15 million and selling a ghost Kigali house property.

Police affirmed the suspects, who include two women, were arrested on September 6, 2013 in a bar in Musanze District as they tried to strike an imaginary-deal with the would-be victim. They are currently detained at Muhoza Police Station.

The suspects stage managed the scenario by forging the premises land title and the national identification of the property owner.

Chief Superintendent Francis Gahima, the Northern Region Police Spokesperson said counterfeiting and swindling are not common crimes in the Northern Province but the suspects would be charged with counterfeit and swindling.

CSP Gahima warned citizens to be more alert before buying any property mostly land and houses.

Article 318 stipulates that ownership of , a property belonging to another person fraudulently or by using false names or qualities, are punishable with a three to five years jail sentence, or  a fine of Rwf3 million to Rwf5 million.

The UN special envoy to the African Great Lakes region, Mary Robinson, has been impressed by the efforts to restore peace in the Eastern DRC region and the fact that President Paul Kagame shared his commitment to support the joint verification team in DRC.

Robinson made the remarks while winding up her three-day visit to the region, this September 2013, in which she visited Rwanda, DRC and Uganda, and attended the seventh meeting of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) in Kampala.

She said that she was impressed by the ICGLR members pushing for the deadline to conclude the talks between the DRC government and M23 rebels, as a way of restoring peace in the region which has been fired up by conflict for ages.

Robinson also added that the international community is fully committed to ending the conflict and war that has been caused by the armed groups.

This comes after the M23 resumed fighting; the DRC government forces claim that the latter had violated the Kampala ceasefire deal. At the same time Rwanda has complained of DRC forces provocative bomb shelling and attacks on Rwanda’s sovereign ground, which has been on since November 2010 resulting to the death of a woman in Rwanda’s western border district of Rubavu.

Regional leaders meeting at an emergency summit in Kampala on September 5th directed that the offensive against M23 rebel group would be halted to allow peace talks to resume. The meeting also directed the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM) to complete verification process and provide a report as soon as possible on the recent bombings from the DRC territory.

Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Louise Mushikiwabo said that Rwanda would not tolerate the attacks by the DRC forces and the International Community should be able to respond to the situation.

“As we do our part, Rwanda requests that that there are no other threats to our territory,” Mushikiwabo said during a recent press briefing on the issue of DRC

The Social Democratic Party (PSD) has called on its supporters to vote for its candidates to parliament so the party can implement its agenda of social and economic transformation for all Rwandans.

During the campaign trail on September 6, in Cyanika sector, Nyamagabe district, Southern province of Rwanda, PSD candidates said that they will champion development programmes that ensure poverty eradication, access to healthcare services, and socio-economic transformation.

The PSD  is one of the influential parties in Rwanda, and one of its prominent candidates, Juvenal Nkusi, who has also been in parliament says that the party will not let down its members once voted again.

Nkusi said that the party has been at the front of significant areas of transformation such as the implementation of the decentralization policy, abolition of death penalty and land ownership laws, health insurance scheme-Mutuelle de Santé, and more.

Official political party campaigns for the next parliament kicked off in August 26, and the campaigns are expected to run for three weeks ending on September 15 while elections will be held from Sept 16-18th.

Though RPF is expected to take another lead in the election with the support of other parties that have joined the RPF-lead coalition, the PSD party is hopeful that it will maintain some of the big figures and voices in the next parliament.

Nyarugenge DISTRICT authorities  have been tasked with fixing drainage channels ‘before the situation gets worse.’

The call was made yesterday by Natural Resources minister Stanislas Kamanzi during a tour to assess damage caused by Monday evening floods on the main road leading to the city centre from Nyabugogo.

Although no casualties were reported, Nyabugogo, the main gateway that links three provinces with Kigali, suffered major destruction on Monday due to floods triggered by heavy downpour.

Minsiter Kamanzi said; “This should not be happening. Look at the filth in the drainage channels. The whole problem is about water ways that are being mismanaged. Officials must ensure that the infrastructure in place is well managed so that it can accommodate the water which causes floods,” Kamanzi said.

The minister added that residents in the area had also stubbornly constructed buildings in the wetland areas, through which the rainwater should to be redirected. This meant the buildings blocked the flow of water and caused floods, he said.

“We have given a number of tasks to the Mayor of Nyarugenge and to the (Kigali) city engineer to develop a clear picture of all the waterways we have in the city. We asked them to carry out an assessment of all the obstructions to the drainage infrastructure so that they can be fixed – this must be done before the end of this week,” he said.


Works underway

When The New Times visited the area yesterday, road repairs were ongoing. In the drainage channels, a visible amount of waste material, including plastic bottles, rugs and boxes, clogged the system.

According to the police spokesperson, Damas Gatare, police and City of Kigali authorities were “doing all they could” to reopen the road. Traffic into the city centre was diverted via Kimisagara and the highway reserved only for heavy trucks.

Solange Mukasonga, the Mayor of Nyarugenge District said works are in the pipeline to ensure that the flooding in the area is controlled.

“We are going to ensure that flooding in this area is controlled. We have unblocked some waterways, such as the Kigali Regional  Sadium area (Nyamirambo) and are now working on unblocking two others around the market in Kimisagara,” Mukasonga said.

“Drainage canals and waterways are public property just like roads; so we are telling people to respect them. They should be able to remove any barrier to the flow of water.”

However, some Nyabugogo residents objected to the notion of evicting those with structures located along drainage paths.

“These buildings were constructed in the 90s and people have lived here for a long time. It would be unfair to evict them. The officials should create other drainage routes,” a resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

The Rwanda Meteorology Centre had in its weather forecast for the August to October rainy season, indicated that the rains would not be too heavy to cause floods.

And Met officials maintained yesterday that it was not heavy downpour but mismanagement of the drainage channels in Nyabugogo that suffocated the flow of water.

Redesign to improve

“This is purely a case of mismanagement. The kind of rain we have had so far is not out of the expected. If the officials in Nyarugenge District had ensured that the drainage system was cleared before the rains, we would not be having such problems,” Didas Musoni, the head of data application and research at the Rwanda Meteorology Centre told The New Times in an interview yesterday.

The Rwanda Transport Development Agency and the Rwanda Natural Resources Authority earlier this month said they had come up with a Rwf1.2b plan to redesign and improve the Nyabugogo drainage system.

The project includes construction of a retention pond at River Muhazi channel, redesigning all the drainage water banks and reconstruction of a section of the road network to the area that has become a death trap from floods.

The project that is already underway will take two months to complete.

Three people were killed by raging floods last rainy season, which also saw property worth millions of francs in Nyabugogo lost.

Source:http://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/index.php?i=15477&a=70293

The head of the East African Community Electoral Observatory Mission has called on Rwandans to discharge their political rights by turning up in big numbers and participate in the parliamentary elections slated for next week.

Musa Sirma said a credible electoral process is critical in promoting regional political integration and strengthening democratic processes, which are key to the bloc’s integration agenda.

“I bring the message of peace and solidarity with the Rwandan people on behalf of the East African Community. I urge Rwandans to turn up in large numbers to exercise their civil and legal rights in an environment that promotes competition and tolerance and elect their leaders in a peaceful manner,” said Sirma, who is also a former Kenyan minister for EAC affairs yesterday.

The National Electoral Commission (NEC) says international observers accredited to monitor the elections will represent different blocs including, the European Union, African Union, Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (CEPGL) and EAC.

Sirma pointed out that the EAC Election Observer Mission will use internationally acceptable standards, as enshrined in the EAC principles for election observation, in assessing and drawing conclusions on the electoral process that will see an 80-person parliament elected for a five-year term.


Statistics 

The EAC mission comprises 40 members drawn from the East African Legislative Assembly, Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and National Human Rights Commissions from the other four EAC partner states.

Up to 5,953,531 Rwandans are eligible to vote and there are 410 candidates for the 80 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.

Charles Njoroge, the EAC deputy secretary general in charge of political federation, said he was optimistic the electoral process would be go smoothly.

“There is no doubt that the election will be conducted in conformity with the Constitution and other laws of Rwanda, as well as other regional, continental and international instruments and standards that Rwanda has subscribed to,”  he said.

The observers will  assess and determine whether the elections were conducted in accordance with the constitutional and legal framework governing elections in Rwanda and determine whether the outcome of the electoral process as a whole reflect the will of the people of Rwanda.

They will further assess whether the conditions exist for the conduct of the elections that allow the people of Rwanda to freely express their will.

According to Sirma, on September 14, teams will be deployed to all the districts where they will interact with stakeholders and observe the final campaign rallies by the candidates.

On polling days, Monday, September 16 to Wednesday, September 18, 2013, the teams will observe the voting and counting processes at the polling stations.

On Thursday, September 19, all EAC teams will reconvene in Kigali for a debriefing session, after which the Mission will issue an interim statement on its preliminary findings on the electoral process.

“The EAC Election Observer Mission is committed to working closely with all relevant stakeholders in Rwanda and other observer groups,” Sirma said, pledging to work in an impartial, objective and transparent manner at all stages of the electoral process.

Source:http://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/index.php?i=15477&a=70294