TOWARDS A NEW DESTINY

This year marks the 18th edition of Kwita Izina, a ceremony that marks the naming of new born babies. Held in Kinigi at the foothills of Volcanoes National Park, the namers will join communities living around Volcanoes National Park, the home of the endangered mountain gorillas, as well as rangers, trackers, researchers and friends from around the world to celebrate nature and conservation. The 20 baby gorillas to be named this year are members of the Noheli, Musilikali, Ntambara, Mutobo, Igisha, Susa, Kureba, Pablo, Sabyinyo, Muhoza, Amahoro, and Hirwa families. The Prince of Wales (virtually) Charles, Prince of Wales, is the heir apparent to the British throne as the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He has been heir apparent as well as Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay since 1952 and is both the oldest and the longest-serving heir apparent in British history. He was last in Rwanda in June this year where he had come to attend the Commonwealth...

First Lady Jeannette Kagame, on Sunday August 28, graced the ceremony to confer the seventh cohort of the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) with a Master of Science in Global Health Delivery (MGHD). The ceremony took place at the university’s main campus in Butaro, Burera district, in Northern Province. The institution graduated 44 students coming from 11 countries globally; Burundi, Canada, Ethiopia, India, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, the United States and Zambia. Each student specialized in one of the three tracks in the programme; Health Management (HM), One Health (OH) or Gender and Sexual Reproductive Health (GSRH) – a new track that was added to the programme last year. Mrs Kagame who is also the Co-chair of the UGHE Africa Advisory Board, attended the event alongside a number of other dignitaries including Ophelia Dahl, the Board Chair of Partners In Health, Lesley King, UGHE Board Chair, Government officials, representatives from Partners in Health Rwanda...

  Anyone who wants to destabilise Rwanda’s neighbours will never be allowed to operate in Rwanda, President Paul Kagame has said. He made the remarks in Rusizi District on August 26 while addressing over 400 opinion leaders from Western Province where he also spoke at length about security issues and development. Security remains our top priority because if there is no security nothing can be done, he said. "The way we want to live in harmony in our country is the same way we want to get along with our neighbours...so that everyone can be safe and able to do what they want to do,” he said. Kagame has since on Thursday been  on a four-day tour  in Western and Southern provinces where he met residents, opinion leaders, and toured different development projects. "I want to add that Rwandans, be it those who live here in Rusizi and all those who live along other border areas; it is important that we find ways to live well with our neighbours. There will not be anyone who want...

                             King Faisal Hospital has secured $14M for expansion. (File)   King Faisal Hospital has secured $14M for expansion from the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB). The funds are aimed at further supporting ongoing  expansion of outpatient facilities including renovation  and construction of the outpatient block’s education and research centre, day care premium facilities. This is meant to allow patient flow and experience will be quicker and better, and each specialty clinic will now have a dedicated triage and consultation space.   Prof. Miliard Derbew, King Faisal Hospital Chief Executive Officer said that the funding comes at a time when the hospital’s primary focus is to improve patient experience and the application of cutting-edge medical technology “The construction of the education and research block will create an enabling enviro...

  The Energy Development Corporation Limited (EDCL) was allocated around 10 per cent of the funding they needed this year to generate energy in a bid  to achieve the universal access to electricity by 2024 , the Rwanda Energy Group (REG)’s Chief Executive has said. Ron Weiss made the observation on Monday, May 17, while appearing virtually before the parliamentary committee on National Budget and Patrimony, as part of the ongoing hearings on sector allocations in the 2021/2022 budget framework. With such funding deficit, some Members of Parliament said it would be impossible for the country to attain the energy target under the first phase of the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) – a seven year Government programme that runs from 2017 through 2024.   Weiss said that electricity remains a very important pillar for development, and the most important target to reach up to 2024 is 100 per cent energy access. “And the budget needed on annual basis by EDCL in order t...

Millions of farmers and livestock keepers are feeling the pinch of disasters that continue to cause havoc as they are yet to get crop and livestock insurance. While some farmers say low uptake of insurance is caused by hesitance of insurance companies and banks that are concerned of risks in the agriculture sector which is still vulnerable to climate change effects, the Ministry of Agriculture says it also requires changing mindset for some farmers. Despite thousands of farmers suffering from the disaster effects, figures by PSTA 4 -the Sector Strategic Plan for Agriculture, show that less than half per cent of farmers report using agricultural insurance despite availability of insurance since 2012.   A report by the Ministry of Emergency (MINEMA) indicates that in 2020, disasters damaged 5,968.653 hectares of crops and 458 hectares of forests and killed 3,491 livestock. Disasters also damaged 10,610.45 hectares of crops and killed 2019 2,979 livestock in the previous year. Joseph ...

  Nikuze Adrolata, a committed woman who spent 29 years at SOS Children’s Village Gikongoro in Nyamagabe District caring for vulnerable children who lost parental care, has received Helmet Kutin award. The Helmut Kutin Award recognizes extraordinary performances of SOS Children’s Villages co-workers who care for vulnerable children and have laid the foundation for them to have an independent future in 136 countries where the organization operates. SOS mothers like Nikuze live with children in a family house in SOS Children’s Villages where they support the children’s individual needs and establish strong bonds with them like a biological mother. Nikuze never got married and devoted her life to caring for vulnerable children until today. She was selected after successfully completing comprehensive six-month training on child protection and alternative care for children who lost parental care. So far Nikuze has cared for 53 children since 1992 when she joined SOS Children’s Village G...

Rosine Mugunga, a member of the Rwandan community in Italy, contributes to a discussion on the fight against Genocide denial and minimisation between members of the Senate and Diaspora at the Parliamentary Buildings, while other delegates look on, in Kigali on Monday. Representatives of the Rwandan Diaspora from around the world urged the Senate to step up advocacy for enactment of laws against denial and trivialisation of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in foreign countries. Photo: Emmanuel Kwizera Rwandans living and working abroad have challenged the Senate to push for the enactment of laws punishing denial and minimisation of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi, globally. They made the appeal on Monday in Kigali during a meeting with the Rwanda Senate. The meeting intended to encourage the Rwandan community abroad to step up efforts against denial or trivialisation of the Genocide, especially outside Rwanda. The request came after a senatorial report released ...

Rwf200m earmarked for model village in Karongi goes missing Some of the housing units that were shoddily constructed in Karongi District. / Courtesy Rwanda Investigation Bureau is probing a possible case of embezzlement and mismanagement of taxpayers’ money related to some Rwf200 million that went missing in Karongi District. The missing funds were part of the Rwf575 million that had been earmarked for the construction of a 384 housing unit model village to house vulnerable people in the district. However, almost 200 residents who were supposed to benefit from the project – which dates as far back as 2010 – were not catered for, leaving them stranded. The model village project in Bubazi-Bunyankungu was supposed to be implemented by the Western provincial and Karongi district authorities, according to the Ombudsman’s Office. This issue was highlighted in the annual Ombudsman’s report which was presented to parliament recently. The Ombudsman’s Office has since referre...

President Kagame with a delegation of Young Presidents’ Organisation in Kigali yesterday. The 80-member delegation is comprised of young business leaders from Belgium, USA, Monaco, Luxembourg, Lebanon, UK, Kenya and the Great Lakes YPO Chapter. Village Urugwiro. President Paul Kagame, on Monday, received a delegation of Young Presidents’ Organisation (YPO) led by the organisation’s international chairman, Pascal Gerken. The 80-member delegation is comprised of young business leaders from Belgium, USA, Monaco, Luxembourg, Lebanon, UK, Kenya and the Great Lakes YPO Chapter. The organisation is the largest global network of business leaders with more than 26,000 in more than 130 countries. The objective of the visit to Rwanda, themed “Journey to Rwanda – November 2018”, is to learn the country’s history, and to explore business and investment opportunities that Rwanda has to offer. President Kagame spoke with Young Presidents Association members on a range of topics, specific...

Daring To Dream: A Carpenter Tries To Build A Piano In Rwanda It's Monday afternoon and Désiré Mulumeoderwa is alone in his workshop, an oasis of quiet and creativity from the parade of motorbikes and perpetual hustle outside on Kigali's streets. The mud floor is littered with planks of wood in all shapes and sizes, scraps of plastic and other discarded materials Mulumeoderwa uses in his carpentry work. Chairs, cupboards and bed frames are in various stages of construction around the dimly-lit shop. Off in a corner by the door is a project unlike any other. Mulumeoderwa is building an upright piano. It's a new undertaking for the carpenter of 20 years — and for Rwanda. The finished product would be the first Rwandan-made piano, a musical milestone for this landlocked East African country. It would also be the first such instrument produced in Africa since South Africa-based Dietmann, a German company, shut down production in 1989. But the road to victo...