Magazine.
Rwandan products maintain demand among Chinese consumers
The
newTimes
                                           No. 5065 Kigali, Tuesday, October 15, 2019                                                         BUSINESS TIMES                                                                                         THE NEW TIMES
                                                                                                                                              THE TOOL YOU NEED TO DOMINATE THE MARKET                                  N O. 5 0 6 5 T U E S D AY, O C T O B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 9
                                                                                                                                                Rwandan products
                                                                                                                                              maintain demand among
                                                                                                                                                Chinese consumers                                                                              Story on Page 14
                                                                                                                                              INSIDE >>>
                                                                                                                                              Continental mining         Rwanda’s e-waste            Earning from the flame:          Entrepreneur’s journey
                                                                                                                                              firms seek opportunities   dismantling and recycling   The journey of a young           from bookshop to
  Rwanda’s LEADING Daily                                          Price: RWF700, USHS1,500, KSHS100, FBU1,400
                                                                                                                                              in Rwanda                  plant creates green jobs    entrepreneur in candle           publishing house
                                                                                                                                                                         for youth                   making business
                                                                                                                                                             PAGE 10                    PAGE 10                      PAGE 11                                 PAGE 15
Dealers in single-use plastics
given three-month ultimatum
By Michel Nkurunziza
The Government has granted
a three-month grace period to im-
porters and retailers of single-use
                                       Kagame: Africa must fund her own transformation
plastic items to phase them out be-
fore starting to penalise them.
  Vincent Biruta, the Minister
for Environment, made the an-
nouncement during a news con-
ference on Monday.
  The items include single-use
plastic packaging materials for
food and other products, plastic
straws, plastic spoons and forks,
plastic knives, plastic cups and
dishes, balloons among others.
        turn to page 3
GAERG seeks to
tackle mental
illness stigma in
new campaign
                                      President Kagame yesterday attended the 8th CGECI in Abidjan where he told a gathering of business leaders and policymakers that now is the
                  Page 5              time to prepare for the implementation phase and capitalise on the benefits that the African Continental Free Trade Area holds. The President
                                      said the African continent cannot continue to rely on foreign aid to finance its transformation. Photo/Village Urugwiro. STORY ON PAGE 4.
                                        HAVE YOU REGISTERED
                                        YOUR FAMILY HOME?
                                        Go to the nearest RRA branch and register your immovable properties.
                                        Or use the online facilities through: https://onlinereg.rra.gov.rw
                                        For more info, Call: 3004 or send an SMS: type RRA followed by a text message
                                        and send to 4152
2          the new TIMES
           No. 5 0 6 5         t u e s d ay, O C TO B E R 15, 2019                                                                                                                                                 news
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Inside
Burera: Over
                                                RNC bail hearing
90 connected
to electricity                                  adjourned to Friday
                                                By Nasra Bishumba
                                                The presiding judge in the case involv-
                                                ing 25 suspects linked to a terror outfit with
                                                bases in Democratic Republic of Congo has
                                                set the bail hearing for the accused on Oc-
                                                tober 18, the second adjournment since the
                                                case kicked off early this month.
                                                  Judge Lt. Col. Charles Madudu set the
                                                date after dismissing a request made by the
                                                group’s defence team pushing for the trial
                                                to be held in a civilian court, claiming that
                                                the Military Tribunal lacked juridisction..
Despite being home to Ntaruka                     The defence team, led by Paula Umulisa
Hydropower Plant, for long, most                who is representing Maj. (rtd) Habib Mud-
parts of Nkumba had never had ac-               hatiru – the senior-most suspect – ques-
cess to electricity. The locals were            tioned the court’s competence to try the
accustomed to seeing electricity                accused, arguing that they were supposed
cables hovering over their houses               to be in an ordinary court since they are ci-
taking power to other regions. P4               vilian, and not military men.
                                                  “Mudhatiru is retired (from Rwanda
                                                Defence Force). He is no longer a military
                                                man. Lawyers for his co-accused have also                    A lawyer speaks to one of the 25 RNC militia suspects at the Military Tribunal in Nyamirambo
Most read on the web                            told me that their clients are civilians. I
                                                would like court to ask prosecution why
                                                                                                             yesterday. Photo: Emmanuel Kwizera.
                                                they decided to court-martial civilians,” she                FDLR,” he said.                                         meantime, the trial would continue in the
1.	 The agenda behind                           stated.                                                        All the suspects face four charges, of                Military Tribunal.
    Uganda’s weaponising                          Prosecution told court that there is a case                forming and being part of an irregular                    “The Military Tribunal is mandated to try
                                                involving a one Private Dieudonné Muhire                     armed group, treason, conspiracy against                military men and women and any accom-
    of the death of Gen. Fred                   and four other serving soldiers which is                     an established government, and maintain-                plice. This, therefore, means that this trial
    Rwigyema                                    linked to Mudhatiru.                                         ing relations with a foreign government.                will continue in this court on October 18, at
                                                  “Considering that the case is already on-                    The P5 outfit is an amalgamation of nega-             9am,” he said.
2.	 Musanze attack: Burera                      going in the military high court, it means                   tive forces that include Rwanda National                  The suspects are majority Rwandan but
    residents disclose more                     that 25 are also connected to the file as co-                Congress (RNC), FDLR, among others and                  they include foreign nationals – three
                                                accused so they have to be tried by a mili-                  operates training bases in DR Congo.                    Ugandans, four Burundians and a Mala-
    about captured attacker                     tary court,” they explained.                                   A report by a UN Group of Experts re-                 wian.
                                                  But the lawyers argued that if the cases                   leased in December 2018 indicated that P5                 During the initial hearing the military
3.	 Rabbit meat best for                        have not been linked in the process, then                    – which is headed by Rwandan dissident                  prosecution said that all the suspects were
    dieting, has no cholestoral                 the Military Tribunal has no jurisdiction to                 Kayumba Nyamwasa – was receiving sub-                   facilitated mainly by Uganda and Burundi
                                                try the 25 who are all not members of the                    stantial support from neighbouring Ugan-                to join the P5 outfit.
4.	 I will recommend my                         military.                                                    da and Burundi.                                           Led by South Africa-based fugitive,
    friends to visit Rwanda –                     Mudhatiru pointed out that while he was
                                                aware of the crimes that he was being ac-
                                                                                                               This account has since been corroborated              Nyamwasa, RNC is a terrorist organisation
                                                                                                             by many combatants who have been cap-                   blamed for a spate of grenade attacks in
    David Luiz                                  cused of, he did not know who Muhire was.                    tured and extradited to Rwanda.                         Rwanda between 2010 and 2014 that killed
                                                  “I know why I am here and the crimes                                                                               at least 17 people and injured over 400 oth-
5.	 Secret to a happy                           that I am being accused of. However, let                     Court decision                                          ers.
    wedding: Don’t count on                     it be clear that the person you are refer-                     After hours of deliberations behind                     Nyamwasa is a fugitive from the Rwan-
                                                ring to as Private Dieudonné Muhire is not                   closed doors, Judge Madudu announced                    dan justice, having been tried in absentia,
    contributions                               known to me. I was a member of P5. I hope                    that a competent court would determine                  and convicted and sentenced to 24 years in
         Monday, Oct. 14, 2019                  that you do not try to connect me to FDLR                    whether there is a connection between the               prison.
                                                because I have never been a member of                        Mudhatiru and Muhire’s cases but, in the                               editor@newtimesrwanda.com
                                                                                                                                                                                               LOG ON www.newtimes.co.rw
news                                                                                                                   No. 506 5
                                                                                                                                                             the new TIMES
                                                                                                                                         t u e s d ay, O C TO B E R 15 , 2 0 1 9                    3
Dealers in single-use plastics
                                                                                                                                                                  manufacturing single-use items
                                                                                                                                                                  like straws, he said.
                                                                                                                                                                    “We had even previously told
                                                                                                                                                                  them to prepare for the changes.
given three-month ultimatum
                                                                                                                                                                  They can even now start produc-
                                                                                                                                                                  ing alternatives to prohibited
                                                                                                                                                                  items. Some of them have already
                                                                                                                                                                  submitted their proposals to us
                                                                                                                                                                  on how they intend to switch to
                                                                                                                                                                  manufacturing required alterna-
From page 1                                                                                                                                                       tives,’ he said.
                                                                                                                                                                    The law, Biruta said, will impose
However, the minister explained                                                                                                                                   Rwf10 million fine on the single-
that single-use plastic bottles are                                                                                                                               use plastic product manufactur-
not targeted in the crackdown.                                                                                                                                    ers while the fine for importers
  The move is part of implement-                                                                                                                                  will be ten times the items’ value
ing the law relating to the pro-                                                                                                                                  and the retailers will be fined
hibition of manufacturing,  im-                                                                                                                                   Rwf700,000.
portation, use and sale of plastic                                                                                                                                  While the items can even get
carry bags and single-use plastic                                                                                                                                 alternatives locally, the minister
items.                                                                                                                                                            added they are talking to inves-
  The single-use plastic items are                                                                                                                                tors to start local manufacturing
said to pollute the environment                                                                                                                                   plants for alternatives to single-
such as blocking water channels                                                                                                                                   use bottles for water, juice and
and preventing water from pen-                                                                                                                                    oil.
etrating into the soil, thus trigger-
ing flooding.                                                                                                                                                     Increased taxes 
  The 2017 marine environment                                                                                                                                       Minister Biruta added that they
report confirmed that many ma-                                                                                                                                    will start working on subsidiary
rine biodiversities such as fish                                                                                                                                  law imposing high taxes on prod-
and birds die from consuming                                                                                                                                      ucts that are imported when they
plastic items, Biruta said.                                                                                                                                       are packed in plastics.
  Globally, Birura says, research       Environment minister Dr Vincent Biruta speaks during the news briefing as Coletha Ruhamya, the Director General of          “For example, if clothes, TV
shows that 300 million tonnes           Rwanda Environment Management Authority looks on in Kigali yesterday. Photo: Craish Bahizi.                               screens and others are imported
of plastics are manufactured ev-                                                                                                                                  in plastics, they will pay higher
ery year, including five billions of    if they do no use plastic materi-       given a three-month deadline               He noted that, in order to en-         taxes. This is a way of discourag-
plastic bags and so many millions       als as packaging will be tolerated      to be phased out from the stores         force the law, no single dealer is       ing plastics. The extra taxes will
of plastic bottles while half of all    but the businesses have to sign         have alternatives. For example,          currently being given a licence to       also help to incentivise recycling
plastics are single-use items.          an agreement with the ministry          straws have alternatives, dishes,        import those prohibited items.           companies and waste collectors,”
  Biruta said that products such as     for their management, including         cups and spoons among all those          However, manufacturers have              he said.
food, drugs, and medical equip-         taking them to recycling plants.        on the list, have alternatives that      been given a two-year grace peri-
ment that are seen to lose quality        “All the items that have been         are easy to get,” he said.               od. There are over three factories           editor@newtimesrwanda.com
Are producers ready to phase
out single-use plastics?
By Brendah Barungi                                tor of SINA Gerald Enterprises Urwibut-
                                                  so, says that the company has begun the
In July this year, parliament passed a            search for a partner to invest in plastic re-
draft law prohibiting the manufacture, im-        cycling.
portation, use and sale of single-use plas-         “In the meantime, we are using cans and
tics.                                             glass bottles,” he told The New Times.
  The Government has now issued a three-            Nkundayesu, however, stressed that even
month grace period for dealers in single-         glass bottles are not environment friendly
use plastics to phase them out while man-         and hence not the perfect solution to the
ufacturers were given a two-year grace            challenge at hand.
period to have stopped producing the                Théoneste Ntagengerwa, the Spokesper-
products.                                         son of the Private Sector Federation (PSF),
  Some manufacturers say they are ready           said they are helping the affected indus-
to phase out the single-use plastic items         tries cope with the ban.
while others have appealed for more time            “We help them to work with the Govern-          Workers package yogurt in single -use plastic bottles at Masaka Farm at the Kigali Special Economic
so they can secure partners to invest in al-      ment and get waivers where possible,”             Zone in Gasabo District. Photo: Sam Ngendahimana.
ternative products.                               Ntagengerwa said.
  Michael Johnson Kwizera, the Procure-             According to him, it is possible for indus-       He said that while it was good to be en-         law is yet to be implemented, some indus-
ment Officer at Trust Industries, told The        tries to get waivers on the use of single-use     vironment friendly, there are several steps        tries will get waivers.
New Times that; “We are going to use              plastics depending on their nature of activ-      involved like making new investments,                “There are some single-use plastics where
plastics that can be recycled and other           ities in the industry as some areas require       technical adjustments, and financing the           it is hard to get substitutes like water bot-
products that are not dangerous to the en-        the use of single use plastics.                   implementation process.                            tles and the cans for yoghurt. These will get
vironment.”                                         “They need to have enough time to im-             The directive could the production, and          waivers and the law will provide a (grace)
  All products, including those made by           plement the ban in their production sys-          hence hurt the profitability of manufactur-        period of two years before the downright
Trust Industries, can be packaged in boxes        tem and this includes various processes,”         ers.                                               ban,” Kwizera told The New Times.
and other environmental friendly prod-            Ntagengerwa said, adding that industries            Alphonse Kwizera, the Assistant Execu-             The law on the ban of single-use plastics
ucts.                                             were given little time to start implement-        tive Director of Rwanda Association of             was gazetted last month.
  Alexis Nkundayesu, the Executive Direc-         ing the new law.                                  Manufacturers, said that even though the                          editor@newtimesrwanda.com
 LOG ON www.newtimes.co.rw
4            the new TIMES
             No. 5 0 6 5      t u e s d ay, O C TO B E R 15, 2019                                                                                                                  news
By Emmanuel Ntirenganya
As the world marks the Inter-
national Day of Rural Women,
                                      Civil society: Rural women
                                      still face discrimination 
today, civil society organisations
have said that rural women don’t
have access to technologies and
are still subjected to unpaid care
work
  Through a women’s umbrella,                                                                                                                              veloping countries, significantly
Pro-Femmes/Twese          Hamwe,                                                                                                                           impacting rural women and girls’
civil society organisations dedi-                                                                                                                          food security and productive po-
cated to empowering women and                                                                                                                              tential.
promoting gender equality say                                                                                                                                “Due to climate change, we are
that unpaid care work done by                                                                                                                              not able to know when it will
the rural woman include farm-                                                                                                                              rain or when drought will set in.
ing, cooking food for the family                                                                                                                           Because the rural woman has no
and babysitting.                                                                                                                                           means to reserve water and irri-
  The International Day of Rural                                                                                                                           gate their crops during drought,
Women is being organized under                                                                                                                             they do not get any yield,” Umu-
the theme “Rural Women and                                                                                                                                 lisa said.
Girls Building Climate Resil-                                                                                                                                Moreover, Umulisa said, wom-
ience.”                                                                                                                                                    en’s access to finance is still lack-
  Angelique Umulisa, the Project                                                                                                                           ing, affecting their farming activi-
Coordinator for 11.11.1, one of the                                                                                                                        ties as they cannot afford relevant
NGOs that advocate for women’s                                                                                                                             technologies.
rights, said in an interview that                                                                                                                            Figures from the National Bank
rural women are behind the                                                                                                                                 of Rwanda indicate that 74.5 per
beautiful things we get, raising                                                                                                                           cent of people who received ag-
and caring for children, the food                                                                                                                          ricultural credit or loans in 2016
we eat, and supporting the sick                                                                                                                            were men, with women account-
and the elderly.                                                                                                                                           ing only for 25.5 per cent.
  “She (rural woman) is impor-        Women during a meeting on their savings scheme in Musanze District. Photo: Sam Ngendahimana.                           Umulisa observed that the rural
tant and she can reach further if                                                                                                                          woman’s work should be eased
her work is recognized and she        tant thing in this world. If you did   informal, and perform the bulk of     areas suffer disproportionately         such as through easy access to ba-
gets empowered.”                      not get it, you can miss an avail-     unpaid care and domestic work         from multi-dimensional poverty,         sic things like water, cooking gas
  More often, she said, the women     able opportunity because you are       within families and households.       the UN adds.                            so that she does not get too tired.
are busy doing unpaid work and        unaware of it.”                          They make significant contribu-       Globally, one in three employed         “If the rural woman spends a lot
are unable to know what is hap-                                              tions to agricultural production,     women works in agriculture.             of time – say three hours to cook
pening elsewhere because they         Climate change issues                  food security and nutrition, land       UN stated that a quarter of the       food using firewood, her work
don’t have access to information.       According to the United Na-          and natural resource manage-          total damage and loss resulting         should be eased by cooking gas to
  Eventually, they lose track of      tions, rural women account for         ment and building climate resil-      from climate-related disasters          prepare the food in 20 minutes,”
development, she added.               a substantial proportion of the        ience.                                from 2006 to 2016 was suffered          she said.
  “Information is the most impor-     agricultural labour force, mostly        Yet, women and girls in rural       by the agricultural sector in de-            editor@newtimesrwanda.com
Kagame: Africa must fund her own transformation
By Collins Mwai                       selves,” Kagame said during the        economies and generate wealth         ing on you and your colleagues          new opportunities.
                                      keynote address.                       of our citizens,” he said.            around Africa to sustain that mo-         At the same time, it is critical to
The African continent can-              Rather     than     continuously       Opportunities should not be lost    mentum.                                 invest in building positive mind-
not continue to rely on foreign       look to other countries for aid,       to regulatory barriers or other un-     You are well-placed to mobi-          sets in Africa’s young people, es-
aid to finance its transformation,    Kagame said that there are more        necessary delays, Kagame said,        lize our business communities           pecially around entrepreneurship
President Paul Kagame has said.       productive ways for Africa to          noting that some of the factors       to seize this exceptional chance.       and innovation. Just as you are
  Kagame was speaking in Abi-         partner with various countries         were well within the stakehold-       Now is the time to prepare for the      doing through your mentorship
djan at the 8th CGECI (Confé-         and regions for mutual benefit.        ers’ control.                         implementation phase and capi-          programme,” he said.
dération Générale des Entre-            This year’s conference is themed       Citing Rwanda’s experience in       talize on the benefits that the Afri-     Held twice a year, the CGECI
prises de Côte d’Ivoire) Academy,     around creating a conducive busi-      improving the business ecosys-        can Continental Free Trade Area         academy is the largest gather-
the largest annual gathering of       ness climate.                          tem, Kagame said that country         holds, for everyone involved,” he       ing of the private sector in Ivory
Private Sector in the West African      To create a more conducive           mobilized every government            said.                                   Coast.
country.                              business climate, Kagame said          agency as well as members of the        The President urged African             The 8th edition of CGECI Acad-
  The summit brings together the      deliberation among public and          private sector to contribute to the   governments to be supportive of         emy brings together private sec-
private sector of the West Afri-      private sector from various coun-      reforms.                              the private sector and work with        tor from across West Africa with
can countries and covers topics       tries are crucial to share connec-       “The stakes were high and a con-    them in the process of eliminat-        Rwanda featuring as the Guest
such as avenues to grow competi-      tions and experiences.                 sistent focus on key indicators,      ing barriers to doing business.         Country with the aim of exchang-
tiveness, relevance and growth          “One way to advance this cause,      has led to good results. Therefore,     The governments, he said also         ing lessons on improving doing
among other topics.                   is through forums like this one.       there is no reason not to do what     ought to be involved in equip-          business and enabling private
   “We have to reach a point where    Coming together here, we make          is within our capacity. We will all   ping young people with skills and       sector to reach its full potential.
our countries have the capacity to    useful connections, share experi-      directly feel the benefits of doing   training to make the most of the          Close to 50 members of the
finance our own transformation.       ences, and learn from each other.      just that,” the President said.       emerging opportunities.                 Rwandan Private Sector from
Development aid has been use-         The starting point is ensuring that      He noted that the agenda and          “Governments must also do             diverse fields ranging from agri-
ful and it continues to be useful,    relevant actors in both the public     plans are timely they comple-         their part, to listen to, and work      culture, manufacturing and ICT
especially when we work to get        and private sectors get involved       ment the African Continental          with the private sector, to over-       are also are taking part and are
the most impact out of every cent     for the right reasons.                 Free Trade Area.                      come existing barriers to doing         scheduled to hold business to
that we receive. But the point has      Ultimately, what we seek is to         “Each country and region has to     business. We must also ensure           business meetings with members
never been to remain dependent        attract and retain the maximum         do its part to ensure the success     that young people are equipped          of the Ivorian private sector.
forever when we have always had       levels of investment we can, both      of the economic integration that      with the education and training
the potential to be wealthy our-      domestic and foreign, to grow our      we all want to see. We are count-     required, to take advantage of              editor@newtimesrwanda.com
                                                                                                                                                                    LOG ON www.newtimes.co.rw
news                                                                                                                No. 506 5
                                                                                                                                                        the new TIMES
                                                                                                                                      t u e s d ay, O C TO B E R 15 , 2 0 1 9                   5
GAERG seeks to tackle mental
                                                                                                                                                             be about breaking news, there
                                                                                                                                                             should be a step further to edu-
                                                                                                                                                             cate the public about these condi-
                                                                                                                                                             tions.”
illness stigma in new campaign
                                                                                                                                                               During the upcoming cam-
                                                                                                                                                             paign, a special workshop has
                                                                                                                                                             been arranged for the media.
                                                                                                                                                               According to Rwanda Mental
                                                                                                                                                             Health Survey 2017-18, about
By Hugues Mugemana                                                                                                                                           223,500 people sought consulta-
                                                                                                                                                             tion in public hospitals for men-
Rwandan Graduates Geno-                                                                                                                                      tal health-related treatment last
cide Survivors Organisation                                                                                                                                  year.
(GAERG) is planning a national                                                                                                                                 Ten per cent of the above were
campaign to raise awareness on                                                                                                                               new patients, while 35.6 per cent
mental health and tackle stigma                                                                                                                              were survivors of the 1994 Geno-
against mental patients.                                                                                                                                     cide against the Tutsi.
  The campaign also seeks to help                                                                                                                              According to suicide data by
the survivors of the 1994 Geno-                                                                                                                              the World Health Organisation
cide against the Tutsi to cope with                                                                                                                          (WHO), close to 800, 000 people
trauma.                                                                                                                                                      in the world die due to suicide ev-
  This was revealed last week at                                                                                                                             ery year.
an event to mark the World Men-                                                                                                                                Figures show that for each adult
tal Health Day where Emmanuel                                                                                                                                who died by suicide there may
Nshimiyimana, the Secretary-                                                                                                                                 have been more than 20 others
General at GAERG, revealed that                                                                                                                              attempting suicide.
their upcoming campaign also                                                                                                                                   Egide Gatari, the president of
involves free screening for mental                                                                                                                           GAERG, said the organisation is
illnesses.                                                                                                                                                   ready to sustain the discussions
  Slated to begin next month,                                                                                                                                on topics revolving around men-
the campaign will be conducted                                                                                                                               tal health.
at the village level and targets all                                                                                                                           GAERG has for the past 25
citizens.                                                                                                                                                    years been providing safe spaces
  Chaste Uwihoreye, a psycholo-                                                                                                                              for Genocide survivors through
gist, underscored the importance       Volunteers carry a trauma victim during a past commemoration event at Murambi Genocide Memorial. Photo: File.         the Genocide Survivors Students
of raising awareness about men-                                                                                                                              Association (AERG).
tal health and screening.              ing,” said Uwihoreye, disclosing       added, “mostly coming from our          mental health, saying that jour-         These spaces have helped many
  “Mostly, the patient doesn’t         the painful experience of mental       culture or limited access to infor-     nalists tend to focus on negative      Genocide survivors regain hope
even know that (s) he is sick. Nev-    patients.                              mation about mental health.”            breaking news like recent cases of     in life, thus becoming more resil-
ertheless, the question (what’s          One of the major challenges fac-      Nshimiyimana was also critical         suicide.                               ient.
happening to me?) keeps aris-          ing mental patients is stigma, she     of the media’s underreporting on         “(The) reporting shouldn’t only            editor@newtimesrwanda.com
Africa seeks innovative ways for civil registration
By James Karuhanga                               identity systems to prove the required level       The conference will also review and share
                                                 of security and efficiency, universality of      best practices from African countries on
Lusaka – African ministers responsible           birth registration is the first requirement.”    CRVS and identity management system
for civil registration are gathering in Lu-        Birth and death registrations, Lufumpa         digitization processes, using appropriate
saka, Zambia where they are discussing           said, are the cornerstones of issuing and        information technology infrastructure and
ways to improve civil registration, a prac-      voiding national identity documents and          improving innovative business processes
tice where governments record vital events       hence the backbones in establishing secure       to ensure that universal CRVS statistics
such as births, marriages, divorces, and         identity management systems in a country.        systems are interoperable with national
deaths of their citizens and residents.            There will be discussions on new and           identity management and various govern-
  The conference aims to provide strategic       emerging initiatives including the United        ment functions.
and policy guidelines on pathways toward         Nations Legal Identity Agenda and the              Ministers are expected to reach an
innovative and integrated civil registration     digital identity initiative in Africa, both of   agreement on the strategic direction for a
and vital statistics (CRVS) as well as digital   which rely on a functioning and efficient        comprehensive legal framework, adopt-
identity management systems to help close        CRVS system.                                     ing technological innovations, improving         AfDB Director of Statistics Charles Leyeka
the identity gap in Africa where more than         After the initial session of experts, later    interoperability and strengthening insti-        Lufumpa. Net photo.
500 million people have no legal identity.       this week,  ministers will seek to chart the     tutional capacity and coordination across
  Charles Lufumpa, the Acting Chief Econ-        way forward by identifying key challenges        ministries and agencies for the integrated       amendments to the law governing persons
omist and Vice President of the African De-      in the implementation of the Africa Pro-         improvement of CRVS and identity man-            and family.
velopment Bank, said that while significant      gramme on Accelerated Improvement                agement systems.                                   She said: “There are about six articles we
achievements have been made regarding            of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics         Member states are also expected to de-         want to be amended in the law, most es-
CRVS, there remains considerable chal-           (APAI-CRVS) at the regional and national         clare their commitment to ensuring inte-         pecially one that determines civil registra-
lenges to overcome.                              levels and proposing solutions.                  grated CRVS and digital identity manage-         tion matters. Presently, civil registration
  For example, he said, the current practic-       “It is important that as a continent we        ment systems reach their full potential in       is handled at Sector level and abroad (in
es of issuing personal identity documents        modernize and harmonize civil registra-          line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable        embassies) but now, we want to extend the
in most African countries still do not follow    tion and digital identity systems, which are     Development and Agenda 2063: The Af-             civil registration mandate to some staff in
proper procedures.                               foundational to legal identity ecosystems.       rica We Want, which are both rooted in           health facilities.”
  “Specifically, countries with inadequate       Vital statistics systems that enable member      universal rights and inclusive development         By and large, Mukeshimana explained,
civil registration systems are in a disad-       states to monitor progress towards the sus-      and driven by the key principle of “leaving      what they want is to “have the one-stop
vantaged position in establishing secure         tainable development goals and Agenda            no one behind”.                                  centre principle” established in the nation-
personal identifications. Birth registration     2063 should be strengthened,” said Oli-            Josephine Mukesha, the Director-Gen-           al civil registration framework so that the
is the starting point in the business process    ver Chinganya, the Director of the African       eral of the National Identification Agency,      process is streamlined for efficiency.
of issuing secure identity documents with        Centre for Statistics at the Economic Com-       told The New Times that last week, they
unique identifier,” he said. “For national       mission for Africa.                              were in Parliament presenting proposed                          editor@newtimesrwanda.com
 LOG ON www.newtimes.co.rw
6       THE NEW TIMES
        No. 5 0 6 5 T U E S D AY, O C TO B E R 15, 2019                                                                                   OP/EDITORIAL
         Editorial
        The
        NewTimes
                                                                                                                                                          Amavubi players (in
  Time for EAC to                                                                                                                                         brightly-coloured
                                                                                                                                                          jerseys) anticipate
                                                                                                                                                          the ball from a
send strong message                                                                                                                                       corner kick as their
                                                                                                                                                          Tanzanian Taifa
    to defaulters                                                                                                                                         Stars counterparts
                                                                                                                                                          move to defend
                                                                                                                                                          during the two
                                                                                                                                                          sides’ goalless
                                                                                                                                                          draw in Monday’s
 THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY                                                                                                                               friendly match at
 (EAC) is, at last, doing the most decent                                                                                                                 Kigali Stadium.
 thing in view of the current stormy wa-                                                                                                                  Sam Ngendahimana.
 ters it is sailing in.
  The organisation has been living like                                           FALSE PROPHETS                       Joseph Rwagatare
 a spoilt poor relative who just sees food
 on the table without knowing when the                                            When pastors and media play God,
 rich relative in town will send the next
 instalment.                                                                      something is seriously wrong with them
   The EAC has been relying on the mag-                                           to save others from them-        pastor had the audacity to     fore unqualified and lack
 nanimity of Western Europe to survive.                                           selves. Some are well-in-        claim on Amazing Grace,        authority to teach others.
 The handouts it receives from the EU-                                            tentioned but misguided.         a radio station Schoof         Which is why Christ put
                                                                                  Others, the majority, have       owned, which mercifully        those he intended to carry
 member countries is what has been                                                questionable, even base,         has had its licence revoked    on his work through a pe-
 keeping it afloat, but now even that is        LAST WEEK Pastor Gregg            motives.                         before it could spread         riod of discipleship where
 no longer tenable. EAC-member coun-            Schoof, an American Chris-          You can understand             more poison.                   they learnt from the mas-
                                                tian missionary was deported      what this means. You can           Now, only some types         ter. An ignorant preacher
 tries, especially Burundi and South Su-        from Rwanda. He had bro-          only save others because         of people are capable of       is certain to lead the faith-
 dan, have been failing to honour their         ken the law. He probably did      they are in mortal danger        elevating themselves to        ful astray and to damna-
 financial obligations, causing huge            not qualify to be called pastor   from which you, by virtue        a position above the rest      tion.
 shortfalls.                                    as he had shown more dis-         of some higher knowledge         and saying things of that        In none of these catego-
                                                dain for his supposed flock       or other superior qualities,     nature.                        ries of people would you
  But, at long last, the EAC has decided        than any pastoral care.           are safe.                          One, they must be cranks     find a real pastor, selfless
                                                  And missionary? We have           You must be better or          and lunatics. Jesus Christ     missionary, or a true ser-
 to cut its losses and bite the bullet; it      enough local pastors and          more fortunate than they         picked all manner of peo-      vant of God and his peo-
 has embarked on major reforms that             more to spare and send out        are. You must know bet-          ple to be his disciples, but   ple. You are likely to find
 will see it cut its workforce by at least      as missionaries to other          ter than they do and so          I don’t remember crazies       instead self-seekers, bigots
                                                lands rapidly becoming hea-       are able to show them the        among them. He must            and charlatans, and those
 30 per cent and save $2.5 million in the       then. That should have been       right way.                       have had a good reason.        we can happily do without
 process.                                       that. No story.                     And so it is your Chris-         Allowing people with un-     in this country.
                                                  But his cause was picked up     tian obligation to keep          hinged minds to others to        They are not the sort
  Maybe the EAC could also use the              by some in the western me-        them away from the abyss         God is the surest way to       of people who will teach
 downsizing to send a message to de-            dia that made him appear a        into which they are fast         doomsday before the one        us about God. We know
 faulters: Staff layoff should begin with       victim in the old fashioned       falling and lead them away       predicted arrives.             about him. He is our own
                                                Christian way. If something       from the peril of eternal          Two, they must be big-       and lives here, although he
 countries that have failed to honour           really serious had happened       perdition. You alone have        oted and arrogant, con-        sometimes takes inexpli-
 their financial obligations as it is not       to him, say a heart attack (not   the means, the wisdom            sumed by their own             cable leave of absence at
 fair for them to enjoy the same privi-         improbable given his man-         and connection with God          importance and contemp-        moments when we need
                                                ner) they might have raised       to ensure that.                  tuous of others. These         him most.
 leges as fully paid-up members.                                                    In other words, you must       are not Christian virtues        It may be worth our
                                                him to the status of a martyr.
   The EAC could also make honouring              But poor fellow, he will nev-   be superior to your flock        to follow, but vices to be     while to give Pastor Schoof
                                                er be one. Martyrs are made       and make sure that thery         avoided.                       some good Christian ad-
 financial contributions as a condition         of humbler stuff. If he carries   know that you are, and             The Christianity many        vice. Scriptures teach us
 to holding certain posts. This will be a       on like he has done, he might     refuse to countenance any        of us were brought up in       to examine our conscience
 strong message that the time to ride on        not even see the heaven he        challenge to that view of        emphasised humility and        before we set out to correct
                                                promises his listeners. He        yourself.                        modesty. Scriptures are        others. We are advised:
 other people’s backs is over. Once the         could end up in the other           The Schoofs of this            full of lessons on these es-   first get rid of the log in
 Heads of State have drawn the lines            place instead.                    world, just like many oth-       sential Christian traits. My   your eye before trying to
 clearly in the sand, and pledge to do            But I am not qualified in       ers before them, have            favourite one is the par-      remove the speck in your
                                                these matters and cannot          come here on a mission to        able of the Pharisee and       neighbour’s eye
 away with sacred cows, maybe then will                                           save us from certain dam-        publican (Luke 18: 9-14).        And to his backers in
                                                judge or condemn him, or
 the EAC learn to live within its means.        wish the most horrible things     nation. In his case, he has        The same scriptures          the media similar advice:
                                                happen to him. Isn’t the good     come to save us from hell        teach us not to rash to        don’t rush to praise the ag-
                                                Christian message to for-         which our government is          judge others and condemn       gressor and condemn the
           A PUBLICATION OF                     bear in these circumstances       sending us into.                 them. They teach about         aggrieved, or give a plat-
    THE NEW TIMES PUBLICATIONS LTD              for vengeance belongs to the        He has come to speak           guests’ respect for their      form to convicts to spew
                                                Lord? So I will content my-       against a government that,       hosts. Christ was very par-    venom on the innocent.
                P.O. Box 4953, Kigali
                                                self with mere commentary.        in his words, “has taken a       ticular about this and his       Both of you, stop playing
         Tel. Editorial: +250 (0) 780303436
                                                  The good Schoof might be        stand against God with its       disciples made it central to   God.
        Tel. Marketing: +250 (0) 782859324
                                                excused. He is not alone. He      heathen practices”. Or he        their teaching in the early
         E-mail: editorial@newtimes.co.rw
                                                is only one in a long line of     has come to keep us safe         days of the church.                          @jrwagatare
          Website: www.newtimes.co.rw
                                                people throughout history         from women who are the             Three, they must simply      The views expressed in this
            © A L L R I G H TS R E S E RV E D   who take it upon themselves       source of all evil as a fellow   be ignorant and are there-       article are of the author.
                                                                                                                                                    LOG ON www.newtimes.co.rw
                                                                                                                                                                                  THE NEW TIMES
COMMENTARY                                                                                                                           No. 50 6 5 , T U E S D AY, O C TO B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 9                           7
                                               GEOPOLITICS                         Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu                                                                                and cooperation. Several European
                                                                                                                                                                                   countries have been reluctant to allow
                                                                                                                                                                                   the return of their citizens who joined
                                              Why Turkey took the fight to Syria                                                                                                   the group.
                                                                                                                                                                                   However, wishing away the prob-
                                                                                                                                                                                   lem cannot be the policy. They must
                                                                                                                                                                                   shoulder their share of the burden.
                                              cracy couldn’t bring itself to disengage   ish population in Syria. I want to repeat   2016-7 in and around Jarabulus and            We in Turkey are convinced that we
                                              from the group, known for short as the     and emphasize that Turkey’s fight is        2018 in Afrin — cleared a vast area of        are paving the way for the Syrian refu-
                                              P.Y.D./Y.P.G.                              not against the Kurds.                      the terrorist presence.                       gees to return home and ensuring that
                                              This is even though American officials,    Our fight is against the terrorists. Any    In the aftermath of those operations          Daesh and other terrorist groups will
                                              including a secretary of defense, have     description of the situation as “Turks      the communities that suffered under           not re-emerge.
                                              admitted that the P.Y.D./Y.P.G., which     against Kurds” is malicious and false.      the terrorists started living in peace and    I am aware that safe and voluntary
                                              forms the core of Syrian Democratic        Kurds are not our enemies.                  benefiting from orderly governance.           return home of the Syrian refugees
                                              Forces, is inseparable from the Kurd-      Our target is the complex of terror run     Some 365,000 refugees returned to             needs to be carefully planned and
                                              istan Workers’ Party, or the P.K.K., in    together by the Kurdistan Workers’          their home in northwestern Syria.             managed. This has to proceed in ac-
                                              Turkey, which is recognized as a terror-   Party and the P.Y.D./Y.P.G., which          We have instituted public services,           cordance with international law and
IT IS dismaying that Turkey’s military
                                              ist organization by the United States,     have recruited child soldiers, intimi-      including schools for over 230,000            in cooperation with the relevant Unit-
operation in northeastern Syria is be-
                                              the European Union and NATO.               dated dissidents, altered the demog-        students. Six hospitals with 55 ambu-         ed Nations agencies.
ing spun in the American news media
                                              Our American interlocutors seemed to       raphy and forced conscription in areas      lances employ over 2,000 Syrian and           Syria is home to several ethnicities
as an attack on Kurds, as weaken-
                                              agree that those forces needed to be re-   under their control.                        Turkish personnel in liberated areas in       and viable and representative local
ing the fight against the remnants of
                                              moved from along our borders and we        The Kurds, Arabs, Christians and oth-       northwestern Syria.                           councils need to be established until a
Daesh (or the so-called Islamic State)
                                              had even agreed on a timeline.             ers who have been suffering under the       Scores of recreational and sports facili-     political solution is found to the Syr-
and hurting America’s credibility with
                                              Most recently, military-to-military        P.Y.D./Y.P.G. yoke will be better off       ties were built, including a soccer sta-      ian conflict.
its allies.
                                              talks in August ended with a mutual        when freed. The World Council of Ara-       dium. Businesses were rehabilitated           After our last counterterrorism opera-
I am compelled to set the record
                                              commitment to establish a safe zone        maean Christians have been asserting        and a border gate was opened to fa-           tion, in areas where the Kurds were
straight because the 67-year-old
                                              from which the P.Y.D./Y.P.G. was sup-      this point insistently.                     cilitate trade. Agriculture and animal        in majority, Turkey facilitated the
NATO alliance that Turkey has with
                                              posed to be removed. But the United                                                    husbandry started receiving material          creation of local governing councils
the United States is not temporary,
                                              States did not see this through and        Before proceeding with this operation,      support.                                      with a Kurdish majority to reflect the
tactical nor transactional.
                                              gave us the strong impression that it      we have taken all steps to minimise risk    Compare Turkey’s previous operations          population.
Turkey started the operation to ensure
                                              was playing for time as the terrorist      to civilians and prevent a humanitar-       to the destruction of Raqqa by the co-        The Syrians want to go home now.
its national security by removing the
                                              group entrenched itself even deeper in     ian crisis. Over the past several years,    alition and you will see how carefully        They have suffered more than
danger posed by terrorists along its
                                              Syria.                                     Turkey has provided shelter to large        we manage counterterrorism opera-             enough. We are taking the initiative
border regions.
                                              The P.Y.D./Y.P.G. may present itself       numbers of refugees from northeast-         tions. The lessons learned in those op-       to help create the peaceful conditions
This operation will liberate Syrians liv-
                                              to the world as the group that fought      ern Syria, including Arabs, Kurds and       erations will help us make it even bet-       that are necessary for the homecom-
ing there from the tyranny of terrorist
                                              Daesh, but it also smuggles explosives     Turkmens.                                   ter this time around.                         ing of millions of refugees.
organisations and eliminate the threat
                                              to the P.K.K. by digging tunnels into      Most of them, including over 300,000        The P.K.K. and the P.Y.D./Y.P.G. have         Contrary to the prevailing misappre-
to Syria’s territorial integrity and po-
                                              Turkish soil. We have found its mem-       Kurds, were driven from their homes         been blackmailing the global commu-           hensions, our operation will help ad-
litical unity. These two developments
                                              bers ushering Daesh prisoners toward       by the terrorists. We have extended to      nity by claiming that the fight against       dress the humanitarian dimension of
would facilitate the safe and voluntary
                                              Turkey.                                    them safety, shelter and livelihood in      Daesh would falter without them.              the problem, contribute to the preser-
return of displaced Syrians.
                                              And in November 2017, the BBC re-          Turkey.                                     But the fight against those brutal ter-       vation of the unity of the country and
Turkey has never accepted a corridor
                                              ported on a secret deal under which the    We have shared our bread and the            rorists will not falter, especially if our    add to the political process.
run by a terrorist group on its border.
We have repeatedly proposed estab-            Syrian Democratic Forces arranged          benefits of our public services. Turkey     allies stay the course and cooperate
                                              transport and allowed hundreds of          is the biggest humanitarian spender         with Turkey. We are the only nation            The writer is the Foreign Minister
lishing a safe zone, including at the
                                              Daesh terrorists to escape during the      in the world and host to most refugees      that put boots on the ground against          of Turkey.
United Nations General Assembly.
We have called on the United States           coalition operation to liberate the city   worldwide.                                  Daesh.
                                              of Raqqa.                                  Turkey has established a reliable pat-      The fight against Daesh and other ter-          The views expressed in this ar-
to stop providing material support to
                                              We had to act. Several voices expressed    tern in the last three years. Turkey’s      rorist organisations will have to con-        ticle are of the author.
terrorists.
But the American security bureau-             concerns about the safety of the Kurd-     operations in northwestern Syria — in       tinue with everyone’s contributions
                                              GLOBAL EMISSIONS                             Kenneth Rogoff                                                                          to do so. Third, even if we do get lucky
                                                                                                                                                                                   and a great new low-carbon technol-
                                                                                                                                                                                   ogy is discovered (say, a better ap-
                                              How to support developing
                                                                                                                                                                                   proach to clean hydrogen energy or
                                                                                                                                                                                   a miraculous new substance), the
                                                                                                                                                                                   innovation might well come from
                                                                                                                                                                                   the private sector, not the govern-
                                              countries in energy transition
                                                                                                                                                                                   ment. There is little serious discus-
                                                                                                                                                                                   sion about how much the innovator
                                                                                                                                                                                   should be paid for licensing rights if
                                                                                                                                                                                   the technology is to be transferred for
                                                                                                                                                                                   free to poor countries, or how it might
                                              for developing-country governments         development into the Amazon rain            given that advanced economies are             be done.
                                              desperate to meet their people’s basic     forest, a natural carbon sink). But         responsible for the bulk of cumulative          Some argue that the political econ-
                                              energy needs. In Africa, only 43% of       perhaps the most serious current            emissions and still have much higher          omy of simultaneously reducing
                                              people have access to electricity, ver-    problem – and by far the single big-        per capita emissions. But it is hard to       emissions in advanced and develop-
                                              sus 87% worldwide.                         gest driver of recent emission growth       see how to reduce coal usage within           ing economies is hopeless, and that
CAMBRIDGE – Barring the discov-                 Europeans are to be commended for        – is continuing reliance on heavily         the framework of existing multilateral        it would be better to start investing
ery of a substance like vibranium (the        trying to lead by example, even as the     polluting coal across emerging Asia.        aid institutions, which have limited          in adaptation. The US military, for
fictional metal in the Marvel Comics          US is led by a climate-change skeptic.     In rapidly growing China and India,         expertise on climate issues and are           example, is readying itself for the
universe that can absorb and release          Ignorant presidents aside, most seri-      coal accounts for over 60% of electric-     pulled in different directions by their       threat. Back in 2013, the chief of the
large amounts of kinetic energy), the         ous researchers see the risk of cata-      ity generation.                             various constituencies. Instead, there        US Pacific forces, admiral Samuel J.
earth is set to experience a sharp rise       strophic climate change as perhaps           Even though both countries are in-        is a strong case to create a highly fo-       Locklear, listed long-term climate
in global temperatures by the end of          the greatest existential threat facing     vesting heavily in renewables such as       cused World Carbon Bank, which                change as the biggest national-secu-
this century. Given the severity of the       the world in the twenty-first cen-         solar and wind power, their energy          would provide a vehicle for advanced          rity threat. Given grave doubts about
crisis, it is remarkable how much of          tury. The effects are already with us,     needs are simply growing too fast to        economies to coordinate aid and tech-         whether existing measures, such as
the debate in advanced economies              whether record heat on the US West         cast aside widely available coal. In-       nology transfer.                              the 2015 Paris climate agreement,
is entirely inward-looking, without           Coast and in Europe, epic flooding in      deed, for all its investment in new           Admittedly, the political economy           are likely to do more than slightly
recognizing that the real growth in           Iowa, or the impact of climate risks on    technologies, emerging Asia is still        of such an institution would be ex-           slow down global warming, pragma-
carbon dioxide emissions is coming            the price of home insurance, which is      building one new coal-fired power           tremely challenging. First, there is          tists are right to see preparing for the
from emerging Asia. In fact, Asia al-         rising beyond the reach of many peo-       plant per week, on average.                 simply the problem of persuading              worst as a grim necessity.
ready accounts for a higher share of          ple. And today’s refugee problem is          What can the developed world do           rich-country taxpayers of the urgency
global emissions than the United              nothing compared to what the world         about it? Although there are many           of providing financing, and explain-            The write, Professor of Econom-
States and Europe combined.                   faces as equatorial regions become         other issues that need to be addressed      ing how this would be very much in            ics and Public Policy at Harvard
  Yes, there are many options for try-        too hot and too arid to sustain agri-      to achieve a sustainable carbon foot-       their self-interest, especially for their     University and recipient of the 2011
ing to reduce CO2 emissions. Many             culture, and as the number of climate      print, reducing coal usage (or deploy-      descendants. Second, any framework            Deutsche Bank Prize in Financial
economists (including me) favor a             migrants explodes to perhaps a billion     ing an economically viable carbon           for helping emerging markets reduce           Economics, was the chief economist
global carbon tax, though some argue          or more by the end of the century.         capture technology at scale) must be        reliance on coal will be vulnerable to        of the International Monetary Fund
that the more politically digestible            A broad range of problems are ag-        at the forefront of the fight to mitigate   gaming: for example, countries could          from 2001 to 2003.
cap-and-trade formula can be virtual-         gravating climate change (for ex-          global warming.                             exaggerate their intention to build
ly as effective. But this is pie in the sky   ample, the continuing intrusion of           Moral suasion will not be enough,         new coal plants absent incentives not                  Copyright: Project Syndicate.
LOG ON www.newtimes.co.rw
8     the new TIMES
      No. 5 0 6 5   t u e s d ay, O C TO B E R 15, 2019                                                                                     news
                                                          Electricity: Over 90
                                                          connected in Burera
                                                          A team of technicians who connected Nkumba Cell with electricity pose at a house of one the
                                                          beneficiaries. Photo: Courtesy.
               Smooth                                     By Régis Umurengezi                              the Government gave us,” he said.
                                                                                                             Emmanuel Mugisha, a university grad-
              transfers
                                                          Despite being home to Ntaruka Hy-                uate, wants to follow in Bagirimbirika’s
                                                          dropower Plant, for long, most parts of          footsteps and establish an income gener-
                                                          Nkumba had never had access to electric-         ating activity in the village, saying he was
                                                          ity.                                             ready to set up a barbershop.
                                                            The locals were accustomed to see-               “I have had ambitions to set up a bar-
                                                          ing electricity cables hovering over their       bershop in my village and with electricity,
    Make your money transfers easier, download            houses taking power to other regions.            it is a dream come true,” he noted. “With
     the I&M RW retail app for instant banking              This prompted them to persistently ask         my barbershop, I will never cry of unem-
                                                          the government to address the issue of           ployment again and I am keen to employ
                   solutions.                             lack of access to electricity.                   some of the youth who are struggling
                                                            The challenge has now been addressed.          with getting jobs,” he said.
                                                          The Rwanda Energy Group (REG), which               Marie Nyirasafari, the Executive Secre-
                    Download the app now                  is taking part in the national civic educa-      tary of Kinoni Sector, said she was confi-
                                                          tion training (Itorero) at Nkumba Peace          dent that more businesses will be created
                                                          and Leadership Training Centre in Bu-            in her sector.
                                                          rera District, connected 98 households in          She called upon residents to be more in-
                                                          the area to national electricity grid free of    novative and create more businesses that
                                                          charge.                                          will help them fight poverty.
                                                            The connected residents are from                 Geoffrey Zawadi, the director of Hu-
                                                          Nkumba Cell in Kinoni Sector in Burera           man Resources at REG, said that con-
                                                          District.                                        necting Nkumba residents to electricity is
                                                            The beneficiaries welcomed the devel-          part of the country’s overall ambitions of
                                                          opment, saying they used to travel long          achieving universal electricity connectiv-
                                                          distances looking for electricity to charge      ity 2024.
                                                          their mobile phones and other services.            “We, at REG, are trying to do all our best
                                                            “We used to travel four kilometres to          so as to help the Government achieve its
                                                          access electricity in other trading centres      commitment to have all the residents
                                                          and we were not comfortable with this,”          connected to the power as early as possi-
                                                          said Théogène Bagirimbikira, a resident          ble; this is because we have already found
                                                          of Ntaruka Cell.                                 that to achieve the plan is quite possible,”
         3227 |  @imbankrw |  @imbankrwanda              Bagirimbirika went on to say that he           he noted.
                    imbank.com/rwanda                     now plans to establish a maize miller in           Figures from REG indicate that Rwan-
                                                          his village thanks to the availability of        dans with access to electricity currently
                       Terms & conditions apply           electricity.                                     stand at 51 per cent of the population.
                                                            “I have ordered for a flour mill to opti-
                                                          mise this infrastructure (electricity) that                   editor@newtimesrwanda.com
                                                                                                                             LOG ON www.newtimes.co.rw
BUSINESS TIMES                                                                                      THE NEW TIMES
THE TOOL YOU NEED TO DOMINATE THE MARKET                                  N O. 5065 T U E S D AY, O C TO B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 9
  Rwandan products
maintain demand among
  Chinese consumers                                                                            Story on Page 14
INSIDE >>>
Continental mining         Rwanda’s e-waste            Earning from the flame:         Entrepreneur’s journey
firms seek opportunities   dismantling and recycling   The journey of a young          from bookshop to
in Rwanda                  plant creates green jobs    entrepreneur in candle          publishing house
                           for youth                   making business
               PAGE 10                    PAGE 10                      PAGE 11                              PAGE 15
10        THE NEW TIMES
          N O. 5 0 6 5 T U E S D AY, O C TO B E R 15, 2019                                                                                                                BUSINESS TIMES
                                       Continental mining firms
By Collins Mwai
THE LOCAL mining industry
could in coming weeks receive
                                       seek opportunities in Rwanda
expressions of interest from new
investors from the continent and
beyond as firms seek to join the
local value chain.
  With Kigali set to host the East
and Central Africa Mining Forum
later this month, a number of                                                                                                                                       ernment to transform the coun-
firms taking part have expressed                                                                                                                                    try into a precious mineral and
interest in investing in the local                                                                                                                                  trading hub.
mining eco-system.                                                                                                                                                    The summit will also deliberate
  Among the firms that have in-                                                                                                                                     on best practices in reliable and
terest in investing or diversifying                                                                                                                                 cost effect technologies and fast-
their investments in Rwanda is                                                                                                                                      tracking financial support.
Luma Holding Ltd which is in-                                                                                                                                         Financial services for mining
volved in smelting and refinery                                                                                                                                     activities are a crucial subject in
operations.                                                                                                                                                         Rwanda and beyond as tradition-
  Radoslav Miskiewicz, the Chief                                                                                                                                    al financiers continue to exhibit
Executive of Luma Holding Ltd                                                                                                                                       hesitance in working with the
and President of the Supervisory                                                                                                                                    sector owing to unexpected fluc-
Board of LuNa Smelter in Rwanda                                                                                                                                     tuations of commodities in the
said that Rwanda has unexplored                                                                                                                                     international markets as well as
mineral potential which present                                                                                                                                     cost of activities.
opportunities for investors.                                                                                                                                          Rwanda Mines, Petroleum &
  “Rwanda is still considered as                                                                                                                                    Gas Board (RMB) Chief Execu-
the country with unexplored                                                                                                                                         tive Francis Gatare said that shar-
minerals potential and I believe                                                                                                                                    ing experiences and insights in
it can offer several interesting op-                                                                                                                                mining activities is critical as no
portunities within 3T minerals,                                                                                                                                     single country has a monopoly on
gemstones, gold and battery min-                                                                                                                                    geological endowments
erals. Our own exploration proj-                                                                                                                                      “Geology tends to be regional.
ects are our key concern, as our       A gold refinery recently commenced operations in Rwanda further diversifying the mineral’s landscape in the country. File.   There is no single country that
main goal is to develop the con-                                                                                                                                    has a monopoly on its own geo-
cessions into full working mines,”     developed production facilities,            local mining industry.                     Ngali Mining Ltd which current-       logical endowments; they tend to
Miskiewicz said.                       such as gold refinery, tin smelter            Brian Menell, Chairman and             ly holds 4 concessions for gold         be regional and similar in many
  “The East African mining sector      and upcoming tantalum refinery,             Chief Executive of the firm ex-          and amethyst is also seeking to         regards. This makes it impor-
is truly underestimated by new         its position as a regional miner-           pressed commitment towards               acquire more concessions accord-        tant to share geological informa-
investors, there is great poten-       als and metals hub is confirmed.            putting Rwanda and the region at         ing to the firm’s Managing Direc-       tion across the region. It’s also
tial, both in human and natural        I believe it is of a significant im-        the heart of world production for        tor Fabrice Kayihura.                   very important for the country
resources,” he added.                  portance that countries in this             strategic materials                        “We own four concessions for          to share experiences and in turn
  He noted that Rwanda is fast         region cooperate closely and con-             “We are committed to be part           gold and amethyst and plan to           start to see mineral resources
becoming a crucial player in the       duct joint efforts leading towards          of this engagement in putting            acquire more concessions for the        as regional projects, especially
regional mining scene with the         development and production of               Rwanda and the region at the             3Ts and gemstones,” he said.            when you begin to think about
addition of refining and smelting      the added value here in Africa,”            heart of world production for              Jean de Dieu Mutunzi, Ex-             processing on a competitive level
facilities.                            he added.                                   strategic materials such as tech-        ecutive Chairman, Aldango Ltd           that would bring in economic re-
   “Rwanda is definitely becoming        TechMet Ltd, a UK based min-              nology metals that are essential         which is involved in Gold Refin-        turns,” he said.
a crucial player on the East Afri-     ing and mineral processing firm is          building blocks of the energy and        ery noted that they investment is
can mining scene. With recently        also keen on playing a role in the          mobility revolution,” he said.           also aimed in working with gov-          editor@newtimesrwanda.com
Rwanda’s e-waste dismantling and recycling plant creates green jobs for youth
By Michel Nkurunziza                                                                                                         ation                                  with a focus on ‘Made in Rwanda’
                                                                                                                               “The training has been fruitful      products.
TO CREATE jobs for the youth in                                                                                              for the graduates. They received         In March this year, WDA de-
TVET by deploying them in dif-                                                                                               on-the-job training by working         ployed 4,500 youths to private
ferent industries, Rwanda’s only                                                                                             alongside experienced staffs of        industries for training and em-
state-of-the-art e-waste disman-                                                                                             the facility and external experts,”    ployment under an investment
tling and recycling facility in Bug-                                                                                         he said.                               of Rwf2 billion and it also in-
esera District has equipped about                                                                                              Also, he said the best candidates    jected Rwf1.7 billion for up 2,445
70 young people with skills in re-                                                                                           will become agents of the Envi-        youths in the following batch.
pair, maintenance and recycling                                                                                              roserve, and assist at the upcom-        With the additional support of
of end of life electrical and elec-                                                                                          ing collection points and repair       GIZ Eco Emploi program the 70
tronic equipment.                                                                                                            centres around the country.            young people trained at the elec-
  Last year government signed                                                                                                  The training is part of Skills De-   tronic waste facility are now bet-
a ten-year lease agreement with                                                                                              velopment Fund implemented by          ter placed to enter the job market
Enviroserve Rwanda Green Park                                                                                                Workforce Development Author-          in e-waste management value
(a subsidiary of the Emirati Com-                                                                                            ity and financed by World Bank at      chain, Mbera said.
pany Enviroserve Services LLC                                                                                                the cost of $24 million.                 “They now possess skills that
Dubai) ) to manage the recycling                                                                                               Under the programme, over            are valued highly by the market
facility.                                                                                                                    9,000 youth are set to get jobs        and have been empowered to be-
  The plant processes electronic                                                                                             after being deployed to different      come environmental champions.
and electrical equipment from                                                                                                private sector industries over         They are prepared to deal with
across the region, through prop-                                                                                             three-year period.                     the ever-growing amount of e-
er and environmentally friendly        Some of the graduates will become agents of Enviroserve. Courtesy.                      The Project is providing grants      waste, and strive to reach a safe
processes.                                                                                                                   to firms with the most responsive      e-waste treatment and disposal,”
  The facility is now transferring     in repair, maintenance and recy-              The trainees completed rapid a          proposals as an effective instru-      he added.
skills to Rwandan youth for job        cling of end of life electrical and         response training programme in            ment to rapidly reduce skills gaps       It is estimated that Rwanda gen-
creation.                              electronic equipment, adding                a period of four months and ac-           and promote employment.                erates 10,000 tonnes of e-waste
   Enviroserve Rwanda’s Country        that the idea behind such edu-              quired technical skills to advance          It focuses on selected economic      every year.
General Manager, Olivier Mbera,        cational initiatives is to build a          Rwanda’s environmental protec-            sectors of energy, transport and
said the graduates received skills     green Rwanda.                               tion and to contribute to job cre-        logistics, and manufacturing            editor@newtimesrwanda.com
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BUSINESS TIMES
                                                                                                                                                     THE NEW TIMES
                                                                                                                           N O. 5065 T U E S D AY, O C TO B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 9                  11
Earning from the flame: The journey of a
young entrepreneur in candle making business
                                                                               Some candles made by Uwimbabazi are mosquito repellent. Courtesy Photos.
Uwimbabazi, the proprietor of Umucyo Candles Ltd.
By Lydia Atieno                          District.
                                           Before immersing herself into
BEING the firstborn in a family of       the business, she enrolled for a
six, circumstances forced Diane          three-month entrepreneurship
Uwimbabazi to start looking for          course.
odd jobs to help out her family,           This, she said was to help her
which was not financially stable.        gain a grasp of what she was get-
  After high school, as her peers        ting herself into as well as gain
were getting prepared to join            practical business skills as she
university/ tertiary education, a        hadn’t had any experience in run-
twenty-six-year-old was looking          ning a business.
for something to do to help out            “Having acquired entrepreneur-
her parents. The family wasn’t           ship knowledge plus the little
in a position to help further her        capital accumulated, I wanted to      Some of the candles are scented for
studies.                                 be more creative and most impor-      various events and functions.
  After two years at home, she           tantly, become independent,” she
managed to secure a temporary            said.
job, which came as a relief, not           Growing up, Uwimbabazi liked
only to hers but the entire family.      candles and whenever she had
  Uwimbabazi said through the            a chance, she would keep them
experience she got for two years         around her. Among her reasons
she was jobless, she promised            for is that lit candles are said to
herself that whichever job will          have a relaxation effect.
come her way, she would save               She conducted research and es-
little money to see her start her        tablished that candles are a popu-
own business.                            lar house hold item and used for
  “Although everyone was look-           different purposes.
ing at me for financial support, I         She also found out that most of
didn’t want to spend all the mon-        the candles that are used in the
ey on consumption. I maintained          country are imported.
self-discipline and saved the little       She was satisfied that on the
I had with the aim of starting out       feasibility of the venture and set
something that will be consis-           out to start the business.
tent,” she said.
  She explained that when one is         Moving forward                        Candles meant for diffrentt occassions.
employed, they are no guaran-             Early last year, she embarked on
teed long term source of income          manufacturing candles using par-      ferent organizations, Uwimbaba-
or employment, meaning that              affin, wax, and beeswax.              zi said she is happy to be the one        Candles used in occassions such as weddings and birthday parties.
the probability of coming back to         She also makes colored and           creating employment for fellow
where you started from is high.          scented candles using essential       other young people.                       stages, there is a lot to expect and        table for their families is enough
She was wary of slipping back.           oils in candles that also serve to      “I wouldn’t say am doing well           in the future, she is optimistic to         motivation for her to do more go-
                                         repel mosquitoes; citronella and      and can offer jobs for many peo-          create more job opportunities for           ing forward.
Starting out                             geranium candles.                     ple, but the fact that I have man-        the young generation.                         Uwimbabazi said as soon as her
  After working for two years, last       Her target market include ho-        aged to create an opportunity               Uwimbabazi said she currently             business picks up, she is planning
year she managed to save a to-           tels, churches and sometimes sell     for another person, it’s a great          has three employees in the busi-            to go back to school and further
tal of Rwf300,000 to start a new         them to different individuals es-     achievement according to me,”             ness.                                       her studies.
enterprise known as Umucyo               pecially those hosting events.        she said.                                   She said seeing all of her work-
Candles Ltd, based in Musanze             Instead of looking for job in dif-     Since the business is in its early      ers being able to put food on the             editor@newtimesrwanda.com
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12    THE NEW TIMES
      No. 5 0 6 5 T U E S D AY, O C TO B E R 15, 2019                                                                                  FEATURED
 CUSTOMER SERVICE WEEK:
BPR  unveils
BPR ATLAS MARAnew   digital channels
               TO INTRODUCE  AGENCY
and  pledges service excellence
BANKING
 By Jean de Dieu Nsabimana
     BPR Managing Director (L), Kayonza District mayor (2nd right) and two customers of the bank cut-
     ting the cake.
     Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR)                                                                   well as customers from seven dis-
     Atlas Mara has announced it will in-                                                               tricts of Eastern Province and Gicum-
     troduce agency banking by the end                 “The most                                        bi District of Northern Province, BPR
     of the year as it accelerates efforts to                                                           also announced a raft of new digital
     improve services delivery.                       important thing                                   products.
     The Bank officials made the an-
     nouncement on Friday last week in
                                                      is that this bank                                 Bank officials introduced to custom-
                                                                                                        ers a mobile phone application with
     Kayonza District in an event to mark
     the Customer Service Week, an in-                was established                                   technology oriented banking fea-
                                                                                                        tures.
     ternational celebration of the impor-
     tance of customer service.                       for the benefit                                   The customer service week run from
                                                                                                        October 7 to 11 under the theme: “The
     During the event, which brought to-              of the people,                                    magic of service”
     gether top executives the Bank as
                                                      therefore our                                     At BPR, various activities were lined
                                                                                                        up during the service week, including
                                                      services should                                   a customer service forum where the
                                                                                                        Bank’s management interacted with
                                                      help you in your                                  customers on their service experi-
                                                                                                        ence.
                                                      daily work,                                       Xavier Shema Mugisha, BPR’s Head
                                                      because if our                                    of Retail, said: “It is necessary to meet
                                                                                                        with those we give services to be-
                                                                                                        cause when we meet and talk, it en-
                                                      services are not                                  lightens us on what you expect from
                                                                                                        us and helps us perfect our work,
                                                      effective, it will                                which facilitates our customers too.”
                                                      not be making                                     He added: “In our time, nobody doesn’t
                                                                                                        like technology because it has made
                                                      sense.”                                           things easier.”
                                                      Director Maurice K. Toroitich, said
                                                                                                        Since the mobile telephone is the
                                                                                                        most used tool nowadays, Mugisha
     The Managing Director of BPR,
     Maurice K. Toroitich                                                                               said, the Bank has sought how to help
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FEATURED
                                                                                                                                THE NEW TIMES
                                                                                                   No. 5 0 6 5 T U E S D AY, O C TO B E R 15 , 2 0 1 9   13
      Bank officials and customers pose for a group photo, after a customer service forum held in Kayonza.
       One of the customers sharing their ideas at the   Customers in attendance of customer service forum of BPR, part of Atlas Mara
       meeting on Friday
      clients access their accounts with ease.           Maurice K. Toroitich, BPR Atlas Mara                cumbi District, said he was happy be-
                                                         Managing Director, said that; “The                  cause the Bank had improved its ser-
      In addition, customers who don’t have              most important thing is that this bank              vices.
      smart phones can also access their                 was established for the benefit of the
      bank accounts by simply dialling *150#             people, therefore our services should                “I once applied for a loan from BPR
      and be able to transfer money, pay                 help you in your daily work, because if             and it was approved after one year. I
      their bills and taxes among other ser-             our services are not effective, it will not         consider to be one of the top custom-
      vices.                                             be making sense.”                                   ers of the bank in my area, but I got the
                                                                                                             loan one year after I had requested it.
      Mugisha said mobile and agency bank-               He said there were times when the                   I really appreciate that the process is
      ing will decongest the Bank’s branches             Bank’s services were very poor.                     quicker today..”
      and reduce the cost of delivering ser-
      vices to customers.                                Moreover, before he joined the bank,                Jean-Claude Murenzi, the Mayor of
                                                         Toroitich had heard allegations that no             Kayonza District, said: “We appreciate
      “We want to bring the services closer              customer could get a loan unless they               the services you provide to customers.”
      to you in an easy way. The reason for              bribed the Bank staff.
      this is because building a branch is                                                                   Banque Populaire (BPR) has history
      very expensive,” he disclosed.                     “I want to assure you that this is the              with people, he said, adding that it is
                                                         history now, we are no longer in that               the people’s bank.
      While opening a branch requires at                 situation…we want to move forward
      least an outlay of Rwf50 million, open-            with you.”                                          “What we all want is socio-economic
      ing an agency costs just less than                                                                     transformation of our people,” he add-
      Rwf400,000, Mugisha revealed.                      Toroitich also said they are still true to          ed.
                                                         their original aim of facilitating the de-
      Agency Banking will also create extra              velopment of ordinary citizens.                     Murenzi said the local leadership is al-
      income for some 300 people that the                                                                    ways ready to support when needed.
      Bank intends to hire as agents.                    “We would love to work together and                 “We already work together in differ-
                                                         see how we can help people in our vil-              ent programmes, indeed, we will keep
      The aim of bringing the services closer            lages,” he said, stressing they are keen            working together to achieve the trans-
      to people is that; “for instance, a farm-          on introducing more services aimed at               formation of our economy and our
      er instead of spending their time walk-            citizens’ development.                              people’s welfare.”
      ing the bank premises, they will be tak-
      ing care of their farming business.”               Gervais Uzabakiriho, a client from Gi-
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14          THE NEW TIMES
            N O. 5 0 6 5 T U E S D AY, O C TO B E R 15, 2019                                                                                                                         BUSINESS TIMES
                                           Rwandan products maintain
By Frederic Byumvuhore
AS OPPORTUNITIES to showcase
Rwandan products in the Chinese
                                           demand among Chinese consumers
market through various exhibitions
are increasing, the products have con-
tinued to draw attention in the Asian
market.
  Rwandan products that are com-
mon here include coffee, chili, tea and
handicrafts.
  The popularity of the products has
been witnessed during various shows
such as the recent concluded China In-
ternational Food & Catering Expo held
last month in Changsha city, Hunan
Province, and the 2019 Beijing Inter-
national Horticulture Exhibition.
  Since the beginning of the year,
Rwandan companies have been invited
to participate in various exhibitions as
part of the People’s Republic of China’s
measures to actively open the Chinese
market to the world.
  Recently, the world’s most populous
nation and second largest economy
marked the 70th anniversary of the
Founding of the People’s Republic of
China.                                     A group of Chinese check out Rwandan roasted coffee during the China International      Chinese taste Rwandan roasted coffee during the 2019 China International Food &
  Ahead of the celebration, the country    Food & Catering Expo held last month in Changsha city, Hunan Province. Photos by        Catering Expo.
showcased the progress made in vari-       Frederic Byumvuhore.
ous sectors towards economic growth
and cooperation with other countries
worldwide for common future.
  Chinese economy is shifting towards
demand for high quality and featured
commodities and service.
  Since 2019, Rwanda has been partici-
pating in various exhibitions in China
such as Guangzhou International
Travel Fair which has enabled Rwan-
dan companies to promote tourism
products and Made-in-Rwanda prod-
ucts.
  In April, nine Rwandan companies
participated in the six months Beijing
International Horticulture Exhibition.
The event was said to attract 9.34 mil-
lion visitors. Local products have been
showcased and the event was said to
be impactful in extending the reach of     Chinese generally like Rwandan handcraft products.
Rwandan products worldwide.
  In June, China continued to host
more events to boost economy and
trade partnership with African coun-
tries.                                                                                                                            Coffee, chili, and tea are among the most common Rwandan product in China.
  There was the first China Africa Eco-
nomic and Trade Expo that held in
Hunan province, Changsha. At this
occasion, Rwandan entrepreneurs
turned up to create connections with
their counterparts from China as well
as showcasing their products.
  In September, Rwanda again partici-
pated in the China International Food
& Catering Expo in Changsha City.
  Rwandan green beans and roasted
coffee are among products that have
generated interest leading Chinese
coffee experts, buyers and members of
China Coffee Industry Alliance to an-
nounce plans of a visit to Rwanda to       A client looks at a pepper from Rwanda. Chinese community like spicy food.
build networks with Rwandan farmers
to increase their exports from Rwanda.     and good collaboration between com-        of coffee, pepper, handcrafts as well as
  Rwandan specialty coffee beans were      munities of various countries.             services such as tourism among others.
selected as the only type of coffee used     “All the experts who tasted the Rwan-      This year’s expo will be in three phas-   Chinese have shown their love for Rwandan handicrafts.
during the China Barista Team Cham-        dan coffee have found it to be of very     es; which are Hongqiao International
pionship.                                  high quality. This is exactly what Chi-    Trade Forum, country pavilion for           an international public product for        the business of Rwandan companies.
  A three-day event was organised          nese coffee lovers are looking for; I      trade and investment and Enterprise         promoting trade liberalization and eco-    Rwandan participation could also help
by the Ministry of Commerce of the         believe Rwandan coffee will soon be        and Business Exhibition                     nomic globalization.                       speed up ongoing application process
People‘s Republic of China. The event      selling well in the Chinese market,”         Rwanda has been invited to take part        The first China International Import     for Rwandan fresh products to be eli-
is one of China’s largest expos cover-     Ms.Jenny Tong, one of the experts          in the country pavilion for trade and in-   Expo attracted 172 countries, regions      gible for export to China such as beef,
ing the entire food and catering value     said.                                      vestment to showcase achievements in        and international organizations and        chili, and avocadoes among others.
chain. An exhibitor, Remy Muhirwa                                                     trade and investment including trade        more than 3,600 enterprises.                 With the participation of delegations
from ENAS-The Rwandan based ag-            Upcoming trade fair                        in goods and services, industries, in-        According to the officials, the 2019     from more than 100 other countries,
ricultural service company said that         Between November 5 and Novem-            vestment and tourism, and featured          Expo in Shanghai will help Rwanda and      this expo will also be an opportunity for
the opportunity enabled them to cre-       ber 10, China will be hosting the sec-     products. It is an exclusively exhibitory   China strengthen not only political ties   Rwandan products to be promoted to
ate market for their products and help     ond Chinese International Import           event without any service for business      but also cooperation in trade, tourism     the whole world.
their businesses to expand.                Expo. Organised by the Ministry of         transactions.                               and investment.                              Through Chinese International Im-
  According to Virgile Rwanyagatare,       Commerce of the People’s Republic of         Launched last year by Chinese Presi-        The event is also said to be an oppor-   port Export, countries will present
Chargé d’affaires at the Embassy of        China, the annual event will be held in    dent Xi Jinping, the Chinese Interna-       tunity to build the image of the coun-     their national image, promote trade,
Rwanda in China Rwanda has good            Shanghai at National Exhibition and        tional Import Expo serves as an open        try by showcasing the achievements,        investment and help their companies
quality agricultural products to supply    Convention Center.                         cooperation platform for countries and      culture, tourism, investment and trade     opening new markets, further advanc-
to the Chinese market.                       So far, five Rwandan companies have      regions across the world to showcase        opportunities.                             ing economic globalization and open
  He added that the exhibitions are        already registered to participate in the   their development achievements and            It is also believed that accessing the   world economy.
good platforms to enhance exchanges        expo. The firms operate in production      launch international trade, and also        Chinese market will greatly boost                   editor@newtimesrwanda.com
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BUSINESS TIMES
                                                                                                                                                  THE NEW TIMES
                                                                                                                        N O. 5065 T U E S D AY, O C TO B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 9                15
 Having graduated in Food
 Science and Technology at
 the former Kigali Institute
                                      Entrepreneur’s journey from
                                      bookshop to publishing house
 of Science and Technology
 (KIST) in 2004, Mutesi
 Gasana tried a number of
 jobs although her calling
 was in owning a bookshop.
   In 2014, she finally started
 her envisioned career by                                                                                                                                      How many customers were
                                                                                                                                                               you getting when you started?
 starting a company called                                                                                                                                      It was hard in the beginning
 Arise Education, which                                                                                                                                        to get someone to just enter the
 deals in selling and pub-                                                                                                                                     bookshop to ask us about what
 lishing books. On top of                                                                                                                                      we were dealing in. A week or
 that, she has trained chil-                                                                                                                                   even a month would pass with-
 dren to be authors.                                                                                                                                           out having anyone enter the
   She had a chat with Busi-                                                                                                                                   bookshop. My team would have
 ness Times’ Joan Mbabazi                                                                                                                                      to go and do marketing. How-
 about her journey into the                                                                                                                                    ever, right now, people call and
 bookshop business.                                                                                                                                            order for books. Other people re-
                                                                                                                                                               quest us to select books for them
                                                                                                                                                               monthly.
                                                                                                                                                               What advice would you give
What led you to start a book                                                                                                                                   to people who would want to
enterprise?                                                                                                                                                    start up business of their own?
  There was a problem of acces-                                                                                                                                  The journey of an entrepreneur
sibility of books, and people                                                                                                                                  requires patience, and persever-
didn’t see any reason as to why       Some of the books in Gasana’s bookshop. Courtesy Photos.
                                                                                                                                                               ance. You can’t start today and
they ought to buy or read books.                                                                                                                               expect to get profits tomorrow.
My aim in the beginning was to                                                                                                                                   Business is not for the faint
start up bookshops all over the                                                                                                                                hearted, because one miscalcula-
country. I was looking at open-                                                                                                                                tion in the business can make it
                                                                                                                       Gasana during a bookfair in
ing up at least 30 bookshops. I                                                                                        Casablanca, Morocco, in 2017.           collapse. Being an entrepreneur
had faced reality that I couldn’t                                                                                                                              is a decision that you have to
start 30 bookshops because each                                                                                        ity.                                    make when you are ready with
bookshop needed about Rwf20m                                                                                             We get the money that we              mental steadiness.
to Rwf 30m to start.                                                                                                   make in the business and invest           It is important to accept advice
  There were many tempting                                                                                             it in the campaigns and we have         but don’t allow diversions. Have
opportunities that could have                                                                                          other partners who come board           a lot of consultations, and get a
diverted me but I knew what I                                                                                          to work together with us.               mentor, someone you throw your
wanted. People should know that       Eleven young authors who emerged the winners were awarded in Musanze District                                            frustration to and get counsel-
if you are set to do something        in March.                                                                        What has your growth journey            ing. Make sure your mentors are
and very passionate about it, a                                                                                        been like?                              positive and most importantly,
lot of things might try to distract                                                                                      We have grown from stock-             read a lot about the business you
your focus but one has to avoid                                                                                        ing 50 titles to 8,000 titles. We       are doing and the people that are
them.                                                                                                                  moved from buying books solely          doing the same business.
                                                                                                                       from the local market to the in-
When did you get interested                                                                                            ternational market like the UK,          Has it been a smooth road for
in the culture of reading?                                                                                             USA, France among others. We            you?
  This happened when I joined                                                                                          started as a bookshop for only            Not at all, being a mother, I
secondary school as I had started                                                                                      kids’ books, however, we have           didn’t have enough time with my
reading novels. Since I wasn’t in                                                                                      expanded to adults’ books. We           children, as sometimes I could
Rwanda by then, my uncle always                                                                                        have opened a publishing house.         travel and spend nights away
sent me books that were about                                                                                            I have seen a marvelous growth        from home because I had too
Rwanda’s culture, this way, he                                                                                         in terms of finances, from Rwf          much to handle. I hadn’t quit my
wanted me to know my culture                                                                                           50,000 to Rwf 60 Million annual         former job and at the same time
and language even when I was                                                                                           returns.                                I was starting a company. This
away from home. This birthed                                                                                             I started with one employee,          wore me out, it was hard balanc-
my love for reading.                                                                                                   now I have nine permanent               ing both, until when I quit my
                                                                                                                       workers, and part-time design-          old job because I noticed no one
You said all didn’t go as ex-                                                                                          ers, editors, writers, printers,        was going to run my business
                                      Mutesi while having a book talk with some of her clients at her bookshop in
pected in the beginning, how          Kimironko.                                                                       and marketers. Those on part-           like me.
was the onset?                                                                                                         time are over 200.                        There were many losses in the
  I had ventured in a new busi-       able to start a business with               among.                                 Out of the 8,000 titles, 100          beginning, I hired staff that
ness that had few outlets, the        Rwf50,000 capital?                            I started with getting tenders     titles are our very own books           didn’t have any idea about books,
few bookshops that existed had         The money didn’t start a book-             in different schools, I would do     on the market, written in Kin-          I even ended up injecting my sal-
their strengths, and experi-          shop immediately, I used it for             distributions and sell textbooks,    yarwanda, French and English.           ary to cover for the debts which
ence, which I didn’t have. I was      marketing, I could assign people            even up to today, our model of       These books are written by chil-        I thought I was helping my busi-
so green about the whole idea.        to go to schools, communities               business is not based on trade       dren of seven to 14 years. We           ness yet I was killing it. However,
By then, I didn’t have a budget,      to market the books, then came              but rather a model based on so-      have even started training chil-        each setback is a lesson.
I was still working with East Af-     back with orders. In the first              cial business.                       dren on writing books.
rican Educational Publishers, a       months we could sell books on                                                                                            Are you having any plans of
Kenyan publishing house.              the streets as we hadn’t got a              How have you been able to            What are you doing to keep up           expanding your business in
  There were a lot of things I was    place to rent.                              make these campaigns?                with trends?                            the nearby future?
seeing in Kenya that were not          My starting point was not to                 We have worked with the gov-        We have noticed that people             I am working on being the big-
in Rwanda. I wanted books to          start up a bookshop, my dream               ernment, we were blessed to re-      don’t have time to come to the          gest publishing house in Rwan-
be everywhere, however, I never       was to make sure Rwandans ac-               ceive an endorsement with the        bookshop, so we are in the pro-         da, by giving solutions to the
thought of having an NGO. I was       cessed books regardless of where            Ministry of Education and the        cess of starting a website where        challenges of books especially
looking at something long term,       they are. I was trying to cover two         Ministry of Sports and Culture       anyone can order a book online          the issue of lack of content. We
providing a solution to my com-       gaps, the gap of access and the             and this facilitated our entrance    and it is delivered them wherever       also want to start a campaign
munity.                               gap of book use. I was viewing a            to the districts, and provinces to   they are. This is likely to start op-   where books can be accessed like
                                      sustainable process. Of all the vo-         be able to speak about why read-     erating by the end of November.         other items in the supermarket.
So tell us, how you were              cabulary I know, quitting was not           ing surpasses every other activ-                                              editor@newtimesrwanda.com
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16         THE NEW TIMES
           N O. 5 0 6 5 T U E S D AY, O C TO B E R 15, 2019                                                                                                                   BUSINESS TIMES
                                          Crypto-currencies and financial sector
                                          money like being used as medium of         value and for strengthening cyber-       Africa                                   riod of time. Despite of many good
                                          exchange and acceptability but they        security. Crypto-currency also suf-        Experts believe that Africa in fu-     features these currencies cannot be
                                          suffer from limitation of being vir-       fer from high level of liquidity risk.   ture will be popular destination for     left uncontrolled and unregulated.
                                          tual or digital, meaning that there is                                              Cryptocurrencies especially high         They need to be regulated by some
                                          no physical coin or bill that owners       Affect on Financial sector               inflation countries like South Su-       institutional framework to reduce
                                          of the currency possess. They can            There has been a debate on influ-      dan, Egypt, Ghana, Malawi, Mo-           their volatility. Most crypto experts
                                          be sent directly between two par-          ence of Crypto currencies on finan-      zambique, Nigeria, Zambia and            agree that regulation is needed in
                                          ties through private and public keys.      cial sector. Some experts from in-       Zimbabwe. Among Various Crypto           the crypto-currency space to protect
    Dr. Jaya Shukla                       These transfers can be done with           dustry assert that their circulation     currencies, Bitcoin is most popular      consumers and prevent scams.
                                          minimal processing fees, allowing          and adoption will in future affect       cryptocurrency in Africa. According        In order to protect financial sec-
CRYPTO-CURRENCIES are digi-               users to avoid the steep fees charged      competitiveness of financial sector.     to gobitcoin.io some countries us-       tor some countries may block use
tal currencies that use encryption        by traditional financial institutions.     Bank of America Corp. listed crypto-     ing Bitcoin in Africa are Botswana,      of crypto-currency, while others
techniques to regulate the genera-                                                   currencies among the risk factors        Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa      try to restrict its usage. Israel is de-
tion of units of currency and verify      Risks of crypto-currencies                 that could impact the bank’s com-        and Zimbabwe. According to BBC           veloping regulations designed to
the transfer of funds. It has been          Crypto-currencies are combina-           petitiveness. Crypto-currencies like     cryptocurrency is gaining ground in      treat crypto-currency as a sector of
created as an online version of cash      tion of financial instruments and          bitcoin by providing secure store of     Uganda.                                  its financial services industry, with
for enabling transaction without          a Web-enabled network. They are            value, trust less peer-to-peer pay-        According to Emmanuel Tokunbo          guidelines that will force transpar-
government interference. Over past        prone to technological and financial       ments and having complete mon-           Darko, vice president of marketing       ency and provide consumer protec-
three years usage of crypto currency      risks. Crypto-currencies are more          etary independence are becoming          for ICOWatchlist.com, Zimbabwe-          tions. Australia, Canada, and the
has become quite popular. Usage of        like a speculative instrument. Today       quite popular that could be a threat     ans and citizens of other African        Isle of Man recently enacted laws to
crypto currencies has registered sig-     crypto-currencies are generally held       to financial sector. Other upcom-        countries like to transact in Bitcoin    bring crypto-currency transactions
nificant growth due to their unique       as investments by people who ex-           ing crypto-currencies are also likely    as opposed to their local currencies     and institutions that facilitate them
characteristics like being difficult to   pect their value to rise. Some cryp-       to make impact on financial sector       plagued with hyperinflation.             under the ambit of money launder-
counterfeit and again they are not        to-currencies have risen in value but      through their new projects focusing        Due to increase in digital adoption    ing and counter-terrorist financing
controlled by monetary authority of       many have dropped considerably.            on helping the unbanked, making          in terms of infrastructure and skills    laws.
a country.                                Increase in their usage over past          block chain technology more scal-        African continent has high scope for       Some countries like Bangladesh,
  Recently crypto-currencies such         few years will create financial bubble     able, and providing functional inter-    growth of Crypto Currency. Accord-       Iran, Thailand, Lithuania, Lesotho,
as Bitcoin and Ethereum usage in          due to its volatility. The volatility of   faces.                                   ing to the GSM Association, there        China, and Colombia imposed indi-
performing online transactions has        the value of crypto-currencies is ex-        Some experts still believe that        will be 725 million mobile phone         rect restrictions by barring financial
been on the rise all over the world.      tremely high both in terms of value        crypto-currency are not threat to fi-    subscribers in Africa by 2020.           institutions within their borders
Some other popular crypto curren-         and usage. Thus Crypto-currency            nancial sector due to their volatility                                            from facilitating transactions in-
cies are LiteCoin and XRP.                market requires management of              and low level of acceptance among        Recommendations                          volving crypto-currencies.
  Crypto-currencies are used as           both financial and technical risk          businessmen and traders.                  Crypto-currencies have become                 Dr Jaya Shukla is a lecturer at
cash as they have some features of        in order to avoid volatility in their                                               very popular among in short pe-               Mount Kenya University Kigali
                                          Taxing the informal sector as a means
                                          of ensuring economic sustainability
                                          resources mobilization.                    from a long-term perspective, might      informal sector & widening the tax
                                            Domestic resource mobilization           contribute to the overall productiv-     net. Under the amended revenue
                                          plays a crucial role in financing sus-     ity of informal firms and thus ulti-     code of 2011, small taxpayers that
                                          tainable development, economic             mately lead to economic growth and       are a legal or natural person carrying
                                          growth and poverty minimization            a higher revenue potential.              on a trade or business with a turn-
    Gifty Asmah Lama                      and as such minimizing the activi-           In addition, the IMF regional re-      over of less than L$3,000,000 (three          Aimee Dushime
                                          ties within the informal sector to         port on taxing the informal sector       million dollars LRD) are required to
ACCORDING to the International            ensure formalization is crucial and        in Sub Saharan Africa highlighted        pay 4 per cent of their turnover.        is defined as a profession exercised
Labor Organization, the informal          governments should aim to ensure           that creating more opportunities for       Under the amended code, all            on the basis of special skills, in an
sector is broadly characterized as        that it’s achieved.                        resources to migrate from the infor-     smaller businesses that made a           independent manner, in offering
consisting of units engaged in the          Research by World Bank has               mal sector by expanding the formal       turnover of less than LRD 200,000        services to the clients.
production of goods or services with      shown that the average size of             sector would increase productivity       turnover were subject to an annual          With efforts already being made
the primary objective of generating       the informal sector in low-income          in the economy and could be an im-       tax deduction of 2,400 LRD, 1200         by different revenue authorities to
employment and incomes to the             countries is 40.6 percent. Taxation,       portant mechanism to unlock sus-         LRD,& 480 LRD based on the cat-          formalize the informal sector, we
persons concerned.                        in turn, is often seen as a key ingre-     tained inclusive growth, although        egory as provided by the code.           are of the stance that the informal
  These units typically operate at a      dient of formalization, and develop-       transformation is expected to be           Similarly, during the 2019/2020        sector when formalized has the
low level of organization, with little    ing countries might benefit from in-       slow as policies must also be set to     budget, the Rwanda Revenue Au-           potential of enhancing domestic
or no division between labor and          creases in revenues, growth effects        support household enterprises that       thority committed to increasing          revenue collection, create jobs and
capital as factors of production and      from improved productivity, and a          provide a safety net for those who       and strengthening domestic reve-         minimize poverty. Putting into con-
on a small scale. Additionally, the       more vital relationship between tax-       would otherwise likely be unem-          nue collections by pursuing policies     sideration factors such as associated
labor relations - where they exist -      payers and the state authorities.          ployed.                                  such as increase efficiency in admin-    costs of tax collection is high, reve-
are based mostly on casual employ-          The large informal sector in under-        In an effort to domestically mo-       istration and collection of domestic     nue authorities across Africa should
ment, kinship or personal and social      developed countries has a negative         bilise revenue, the Liberian revenue     revenue and widening the tax base        put in place administrative policies
relations rather than contractual         impact on tax revenue potentials           Authority in the 2017/2018 finan-        through identification and registra-     and regulations that will minimizes
arrangements with formal guaran-          and consequently, minimized coun-          cial year developed the domestic         tion of new taxpayers and formal-        informal activities, which will in
tees.                                     tries’ abilities to domestically mobi-     resource mobilization strategy that      ization of the informal sector.          turn help boost the economy.
  A research conducted by the In-         lize revenue to finance development        is focused on expanding the rev-           As a means of formalizing the in-
ternational Monetary Fund (IMF)           and other priority expenditures.           enue base through identification         formal sector, article 12 of the in-          Gifty Asmah Lama from Libe-
on the informal economy of Sub-             Further research shows that ef-          & registration of informal busi-         come tax was amended to specifical-           ria and Aimee Dushime from
Saharan Africa indicates that the         forts to improve informal sector           nesses and minimizing the revenue        ly, exclude “liberal professions” from       Rwanda are passionate about
informal sector is a significant          taxation do not necessarily lead to        loss through voluntary compliance        being taxed under the lump sum tax         tax research and tax education.
component of most economies in            substantial increase in governmen-         and tapping into potential sectors       regime of 3% of the annual turn-               They are also 2019 Mandela
sub-Saharan Africa, contributing          tal revenues especially in instances       (formalization). Liberia, like most      over. Under the repealed income          Washington Fellows from Virginia
approximately 25 to 65 per cent of        when the associated costs of tax col-      low-income countries is a hub for        tax law, all businesses that made a       Tech University (VT) and Andrew
total gross domestic product and ac-      lection are high. In this regard, tax-     untapped revenue potentials.             turnover of less than FRw 50 mil-            Young School of Policy Studies
counting for approximately 30 to 90       ing the informal sector as a means           The amended revenue code of            lion were subject to a flat-rate tax        (AYSPS) respectively. The views
per cent of nonagricultural employ-       of domestic revenue mobilization           2011, in section 200 allows “gener-      of 3% of the turnover. The new law            and opinions are those of the
ment. The informal sector in sub          is inherently a matter of costs and        ous provision” that are applicable       excluded liberal professions from           authors and do not necessarily
Saharan Africa remains one of the         benefits.                                  to various categories of businesses      this regime and they are now taxed       represent the views and opinions
largest in the world and this situa-        However, investing in the formal-        (presumptive tax for small taxpay-       under the real regime irrespective           of VT and AYSPS or the institu-
tion places constraints on domestic       izations of the huge informal sector       ers), as a way of formalizing the        of the turnover. A liberal profession         tions they currently work for.
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                                                                                                                                                                                     THE NEW TIMES
                                                                                                                                           No. 5 0 6 5 T U E S D AY, O C TO B E R 15 , 2 0 1 9                        17
                                                How Gisagara young fish farmers expanded
By Michel Nkurunziza
                                                the business thanks to BDF support
The university and secondary school
graduates from Gisagara district are reap-
ing big from fish farming business that
has hugely expanded thanks to Business
Development Fund (BDF) support.
   The members grouped in Mukindo
Fish Farmers Cooperative who hail from
Runyinya cell in Mukindo sector started
as a saving association with 11 members
in 2015 before thinking of fish farming.
   Today, they have increased to 18
members and most of them studied ag-
riculture and livestock while others did
wildlife and aquatic resources manage-
ment at university of Rwanda.
   Patrice Nzeyimana, the president of
Mukindo Fish farmers Cooperative said
they preferred the project so as to cope
with unemployment by creating their
own jobs after graduating.
   “In the beginning, each member had
to contribute Rwf500 every week in the
first two months but each member was
allowed to save with up to five shares.       Nzeyimana said Rwf9 million loan as BDF support was timely in July 2018.
Later the contributions per one share
increased to Rwf3,000 with aim to start
fish farming business,” he said.
   After eight months they spent
Rwf500,000 they saved in their saving
association launch fish farming business.
   “Local officials helped us to get fish
ponds that were lying idle so that we
leverage them. As some I had studied
wildlife and aquatic management like
me, we had also technical skills to do fish
farming,” he said.
   The fish farmers started with farming
Nile tilapia fish species.
   “We harvest the fish after every six
months. Each member had skills to con-
tribute to the project development,” he
said.
   How BDF intervened
   Nzeyimana said Rwf9 million loan as
BDF support was timely in July 2018.
   “Before BDF came to support us, our
fish production was very low. One Ti-
lapia fish we used to harvest was only        Mukindo Fish Farmers Cooperative has also started to grow pepper on one hectare. Photos by Michel Nkurunziza.                           Workers examine if the fish are mature.
weighing 250 grams. Thanks to BDF one
Tilapia fish’s weight increased to at least
500 grams,” he said.                            The cooperative is supposed to               Pepper growing                               agara district.
   Thanks to BDF support, they increased      pay back the loan in three years and           Mukindo Fish Farmers Cooperative               The fish farming project supported by
production.                                   Nzeyimana said they are on good track.       has also started to grow pepper on one         BDF contributes to national plan to in-
   The cooperative increased the fish           The cooperative supplies fish to restau-   hectare.                                       crease fish production.
ponds from 10 to 13 and introduced            rants, residents and others.                   “We have already harvested two tones           Rwanda’s fish output increased in 2018
other fish species namely Carp and Clar-        They sell one Kilogramme of fish at be-    of pepper. After deducting the invest-         on account of increased investments
ias.                                          tween Rwf2,000 and Rwf3,000                  ment cost, we get a profit of $1 dollar        in modern and commercially oriented
   “We had introduced 12,000 tilapia into       “We also fingerlings so that other peo-    per each kilograms of pepper,” he said.        aquaculture practices.
the fish ponds and when BDF came, we          ple embrace fish farming. This will help       This means that from last season har-          The country has about 1,424 fish
introduced more 36,000 composed of            to eradicate malnutrition and stunting,      vest, the cooperative a profit of Rwf2         ponds of which 731 are effectively pro-
Tilapia, Carp and Clarias,” he said.          end hunger and help the community            million.                                       ductive, 569 semi-productive, and 125
   They also expanded the business.           gets out of poverty as they supply fish to     “We are going to increase pepper pro-        which are not utilized.
   “While it was previous difficult to get    market,” he said adding that more peo-       duction on two hectares. We have a               In 2016, the country produced just
manure to put in fish ponds, with BDF         ple are eager for becoming their mem-        market in India,” he said.                     26,581 tonnes of fish before increasing
support we starting project to rear rab-      bers to increase to increase investments.      In all projects, they give casual jobs to    to 31,465 and 43,632 tonnes in 2017 and
bits and pigs that provide manure and           The fish farmers sell one fingerling of    22 people while there are six permanent        2018 respectively.
profits. We bought 10 pigs and they           between four and five grams at Rwf100,       employees.                                       Rwanda targets to produce 112,000
have increased to 22 pigs as they repro-      five and ten grams at Rwf150, 10 and 50        Among, the challenges, they are still        tonnes of fish every year by 2024.
duce. We bought 30 rabbits and they           grams at Rwf300 and those between 50         facing is that there are few infrastructures
have increased to 84 rabbits,” he said.       and 200 grams at Rwf500.                     such as hotels, fish trading centres in Gis-                                               Catfish from the ponds.
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18         THE NEW TIMES
           No. 5 0 6 5 T U E S D AY, O C TO B E R 15, 2019                                                                                                    FOREIGN NEWS
African migration to the United                                                                                                                              tery Program, better known as
                                                                                                                                                             the “Green Card lottery.” Coun-
                                                                                                                                                             tries like Ghana, which is also
                                                                                                                                                             among the top five African coun-
States is the fastest-rising
                                                                                                                                                             tries with a fast-growing immi-
                                                                                                                                                             grant population in the US, had
                                                                                                                                                             the highest number of applicants
                                                                                                                                                             than any other country in 2015
                                                                                                                                                             and at least a million applicants
                                                                                                                                                             in 2016.
                                                                                                                                                               The US State Department sets
                                                                                                                                                             regional quotas every year and in
                                                                                                                                                             2017, the largest number of visas
                                                                                                                                                             (about 19,000) went to citizens of
                                                                                                                                                             African countries.
                                                                                                                                                               However, recent moves by the
                                                                                                                                                             Trump administration could af-
                                                                                                                                                             fect these trends. His adminis-
                                                                                                                                                             tration has been accused of us-
                                                                                                                                                             ing “workarounds” to limit legal
                                                                                                                                                             migration from certain regions
                                                                                                                                                             of the world including Africa and
                                                                                                                                                             the Caribbean.
                                                                                                                                                               One of such policy is restricting
                                                                                                                                                             who can apply for a diversity visa
                                                                                                                                                             by mandating that all applicants
                                                                                                                                                             have valid passports.
                                                                                                                                                               Immigrant advocates say this
                                                                                                                                                             development could deter appli-
                                                                                                                                                             cants from the developing world.
                                                                                                                                                               “This seems like a backdoor
                                                                                                                                                             strategy to discourage low-in-
                                                                                                                                                             come people from applying for
                                                                                                                                                             the diversity visa lottery; we know
                                                                                                                                                             that this president has expressed
                                                                                                                                                             strong preference for immigrants
                                                                                                                                                             that are wealthy, white and Eu-
Changing demograhics.                                                                                                                                        ropean,” said Amaha Kassa, ex-
                                                                                                                                                             ecutive director of the nonprofit,
By Chidinma Irene Nwoye               influenced by the relatively small-     eroonian population the fastest        country.                                African Communities Together.
& Dan Kopf                            er African migrant communities          growing in the US.                       But the increase doesn’t just           While it remains to be seen how
                                      compared with the size of longer-         These numbers are based on           stem from Africans and Camer-           new US immigration policies will
Africa has the fastest-growing        established communities from            survey results and are likely to be    oonians seeking asylum or refu-         impact the flow of African mi-
number of immigrants in the           Central America, for example.           accurate within 10,000 people.         gee status, it also comes from          grants, Kassa says that any de-
United States, according to a           This is true even among African         The so-called Anglophone crisis      those coming to the US to further       clines in the numbers will likely
Quartz analysis of US Census          communities. While Nigerians            in Cameroon, where the govern-         their education. According to the       be temporary.
Bureau data.                          remain the largest population           ment’s crackdown on protests by        UNESCO Institute of Statistics,           “This is a detour because I don’t
 The number of African mi-            group of African immigrants in          English-speaking citizens has fu-      from 2006 to 2014, the num-             think majority of Americans
grants grew at a rate of almost 50    the US, Cameroon leads the list         eled a separatist movement in the      ber of African students pursuing        agree with Trump’s restrictionist
per cent from 2010 to 2018.           in terms of rate of growth.             predominantly French-speaking          post-secondary degrees abroad           agenda.
 This is more than double the           The number of Cameroonian-            country is likely partly respon-       grew 24 per cent, rising from             “As long as African migrants
growth rate of migration to the       born migrants in the US doubled         sible for the spike.                   about 343,000 to 427,000. It            have children who are becoming
US from Asia, South America or        to 80,000 in 2018 compared                The protests against the Franco-     rose 9 per cent from 2013 to 2014       citizens and voters, overtime we
the Caribbean.                        with 2010, with much of that            phone-led government have led          alone.                                  will become a more welcoming
 It’s worth noting the higher         growth occurring in the last sev-       to violent battles in recent years,      Africans have also benefited          and inclusive society.”
growth rate of Africans is partly     eral years. This makes the Cam-         causing Cameroonians to flee the       from the US Diversity Visa Lot-                                      Quartz
Tunisia presidential election: Kais Saied declared winner
INDEPENDENT LAW professor             dine Ben Ali.                           on Sunday, Saied had described         ing eloquent speeches to crowds
Kais Saied has won Tunisia's presi-     Saied, 61, is an independent          his projected victory as a "revolu-    in standard Arabic, rather than the
dential election with 72.71 percent   candidate with no political experi-     tion within the constitutional le-     Tunisian dialect during his cam-
of votes, the country's electoral     ence. Backed by the conservative        gitimacy."                             paign, as well as for his conserva-
commission has confirmed.             Ennahdha party, he has pledged to         "Thank you ... to those who          tive views.
  Saied secured 2.7 million votes     fight corruption and support de-        opened a new page in history," he        Saied is a supporter of the death
against one million received by his   centralisation.                         said. "For those who did not vote      penality and opposes homosexual-
opponent, Nabil Karoui, in Sun-         His austere demeanour earned          for me, thank you too, because         ity, as well as equal inheritance for
day's runoff vote, the commission     him the nickname "Robocop" dur-         they have chosen freely."              men and women - a proposal in-
said on Tuesday.                      ing campaigning, while his anti-                                               troduced by his predecessor, Beji
  Karoui, a business tycoon who       establishment platform helped to         A conservative leader                 Caid Essebsi, who died in July, five
was in jail for most of the cam-      woo younger voters disenchanted          Born in Ariana, a town close to       months before the end of his term.
paign, conceded defeat earlier on     with politicians whom they accuse       the capital, Tunis, Saied spent          Under Islamic law, a daughter
Monday.                               of failing to improve their lives       most of his career teaching law at     inherits half the share a son does.
  The electoral commission said       since the Arab Spring uprising.         a university in Tunis, later serving     Saied now faces several challeng-
turnout stood at 55 percent, higher     Some 90 percent of 18-to-25-          as a member of the committee that      es including social unrest, attacks
than during the first round on        year-olds voted for Saied, accord-      supported parliament as it drafted     by armed groups and an economic
September 15, in Tunisia's second     ing to estimates by the Sigma poll-     the North African country's post-      slowdown, three factors that have
free presidential election since      ing institute, compared with 49.2       revolution constitution, which was     afflicted the country on its fledg-
the 2010-11 uprising that toppled     percent of voters over 60.              adopted in 2014.                       ling democratic path.                   Kais Saied has promised to fight
long-standing ruler Zine El Abi-        Following the release of exit polls    He became known for deliver-                                      Agencies    corruption and support decentralisa-
                                                                                                                                                             tion. Net photo.
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           THE NEW TIMES
22         No. 5 0 6 5 , T U E S D AY, O C TO B E R 15, 2019                                                                                                                                   Lifestyle
Cedric Mizero showcases rural
women project in London
                                                                                                                                                               One of Mizero’s portraits featured at his “A
                                                                                                                                                               new life in the village,” in London.
                                                                                                                                   ation of his work with women in ru-        artists like Doug Aitken, Sophia Al-
                                                                                                                                   ral areas that seeks to attract public     Maria & Victoria Sin, Harley Weir &
                                                                                                                                   attention to the issues surrounding        George Rouy and many others.
                                                                                                                                   their reality. It highlights some of the   The exhibition is organised by The
                                                                                                                                   challenges and responsibilities faced      Store X The Vinyl Factory, in collab-
                                                                                                                                   by rural women in their relationship       oration with Fondation Cartier Pour
                                                                                         Fashion designer Cedric                   with medicine.                             L’Art Contemporain, Paris.
                                                                                         Misero poses next one of his              The exhibition intends to question         The 25-year-old fashion designer
                                                                                         artworks. /Courtesy photos.               what the medicine revolution meant         mixes local artisanal techniques with
                                                                                                                                   for the people living in rural areas       a wide range of media and disci-
                                                                                                                                   and what challenges and responsi-          plines, repurposing everyday objects
                                                                                                                                   bilities are left for women acting as      to showcase the vibrancy of life in
                                                                                                                                   the family cornerstone.                    rural areas.
                                                                                                                                   The exhibition consisted of film, pic-     He won a curation award at the In-
By Sharon Kantengwa                                              rated by Jefferson Hack, and United Visual Artist Other           tures and an installation he has been      ternational Fashion Showcase (IFS)
                                                                 Spaces at 180 The Strand, London. It seeks to foster and          working for the past two months in         2019 in London in February.
RWANDAN fashion designer Cedric Mizero, on Satur-                connect creatives, entrepreneurs, dynamic thinkers and            Rwanda, making Mizero the first
day October 12, opened his exhibition, “A new life in the        culture explorers.                                                Rwandan to exhibit in that space, as        editor@newtimesrwanda.com
village,” at TRANSFORMER: A Rebirth of Wonder cu-                Mizero’s project, ‘A New Life in the Village’ is a continu-       well as share space with important
Culture ministry, Nyundo music
school reject IP infringement claims
By Emmanuel Come Mugisha                           The renowned singer and songwriter             Jacques “Mighty Popo” Muligande, also
                                                   has also written a letter, whose content       dismissed Mani Martin’s concerns, stat-
SINGER Mani Martin (pictured) recently             he hasn’t revealed, to the Federation of       ing that what the students did was per-
caused a stir on social media after he ac-         Rwandan Artists to follow up on the mat-       mitted by law.
cused Nyundo School of Music students              ter.                                           “The band was not hired by anyone. Stu-
of infringing on his intellectual property         Though many on social media supported          dents are invited to represent the coun-
and the Ministry of Sports and Culture of          the singer, officials and legal experts have   try, so they can be financially facilitated in
undermining artistes’ work.                        brushed off his concerns.                      lodging and transportation. Intellectual
“When will I benefit from my own work if           MINISPOC’s spokesperson Karambizi              property law only prohibits reproduction
MINISPOC is hiring the Nyundo School               Olivier, and Pius Ntazinda, a lawyer with      and commercial uses,” Muligande said.
of Music at events and festivals Jamaf-            Trust Law Chambers Cabinet, cited to           Instead, he said the performance benefit-
est to perform my music while I am here,           article 213 concerning free public perfor-     ed the Afro-pop singer, as many people
alive and available? Isn’t this even the           mance in law N° 31/2009 of 26/10/2009          at Jamafest liked the song and started
abuse of intellectual property?” the singer        on the protection of intellectual property.    searching and viewing Mani Martin’s
tweeted, tagging the Ministry and Rwan-            The law permits any person or group of         songs.
da Development Board (RDB).                        people to perform publicly someone’s           “It was a promotion for him if anything
The tweet was accompanied by a video               work without authorisation of the author       and he should be proud the next genera-
of Nyundo students performing his song             or payment of remuneration “during the         tion looks up to him,” he said.
“Afro” at a regional festival in Dar es Sa-        official or religious ceremonies where the     But the artiste demanded institutions
laam last month, clearly expressing dis-           public performance is made on non-com-         that use artists’ work for free to stop be-
pleasure that they were paid to attend the         mercial interests.”                            cause this is another form of exploitation.
festival while he wasn’t yet his music was         Ntazinda adds that public performances         Mani says the school should instead teach
used.                                              for educational purposes make no excep-        the students how to compose their own
He also pointed out that his other song            tion to the article.                           songs.
‘Rwagasabo’ was sung at the national dia-          MINISPOC refutes the accusation of hir-        Muligande noted that they do teach stu-          plained about his songs being played during Kwita Izina event
logue, locally known as ‘Umushyikirano’,           ing the band and challenged the singer         dents how to write their own songs and           yet he was not earning anything.
without his consent. In an interview with          to prove any commercial benefit accrued        even teach them to build a repertoire of         Despite the law being in place, hope for Rwandan artistes to
The New Times, Mani Martin shared his              from the Nyundo students performing at         their own.                                       harvest from their work remains a pipeline dream, as to date
displeasure.                                       Jamafest.                                      This is not the first time the Rwandan           there is no mechanism to ensure that musicians and other art-
 “I don’t like this at all. I don’t see the rea-   But Mani Martin insists that there is no       music industry has been rocked by copy-          ists get paid whenever their intellectual property is used.
son why you should hire someone else to            artiste, who can go to perform at Jamaf-       right related controversies. A while back,       JAMAFEST (Jumuiya ya Afrika Mashariki Utamaduni Festi-
perform my music when I am here, alive             est from Rwanda when they are not hired        Cecile Kayirebwa sued several media out-         val) is a regional arts and cultural extravaganza.
and available. Imagine other people reap-          by the ministry.                               lets for using her products, while singer          editor@newtimesrwanda.com
ing fruits of the tree you planted?”               The Nyundo School of Music head,               Senderi International Hit, last year com-
                                                                                                                                                                                        LOG ON www.newtimes.co.rw
SPORTS
                                                                                                                                                                             THE NEW TIMES
                                                                                                                                No. 50 6 5 T U E S D AY, O C TO B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 9                               23
‘Athletics in an era of exciting possibilities
but it also faces more questions than ever’
TO GET an idea of the challenging place ath-
letics finds itself in right now, the media cen-
tre at Chicago’s Hilton hotel immediately
after the city’s marathon on Sunday was an
instructive place to be.
  On a platform sat Brigid Kosgei, just min-
utes after running into the history books by
becoming the fastest female over 26.2 miles
the world has ever seen.
  The Kenyan’s astonishing performance
completed a momentous weekend for dis-
tance running, coming just 24 hours after
compatriot Eliud Kipchoge’s historic sub two-
hour effort over the same distance in Vienna.
  On paper at least, both feats breathe new
life into the sport, generating front-page cov-
erage, lighting up social media, capturing
the imagination and inspiring genuine awe
among the general public, at a time when ath-
letics is crying out for positive stories and new
stars after the retirement of Usain Bolt.
  Kipchoge’s achievement was not without
controversy of course, with many seeing it
partly as a marketing stunt for the benefit         Kipchoge runs marathon in under two hours. Net photos.                           Kosgei smashed Radcliffe’s marathon world record.
of Nike, whose prototype shoes the Kenyan
legend wore, and a publicity coup for petro-
                                                                                                        parent.                                                      in 2015 to bypass the usual formal bidding
chemicals giant Ineos.                              in the US Anti-Doping (Usada) case against            The Salazar scandal has brought this all into              process, and award hosting rights to the city,
  Its logo was prominent throughout, the            Salazar for being aware of a testosterone ex-       considerably sharper focus.                                  something that has since been the subject of
company’s lavish funding ensuring nothing           periment he conducted on the company’s                And having been forced to defend the de-                   investigations by both French prosecutors
was left to chance, from the rotating pace-         premises - was not made available to the me-        cision to take its flagship event to Doha, the               and the FBI.
makers and laser-beaming support vehicle to         dia here in Chicago, though he has said he did      IAAF must now start preparing for the 2021                     Athletics finds itself in an era of exciting
the perfectly flat running surface.                 not believe the test was breaking any rules.        World Championships in Eugene. The Ore-                      possibilities and brave new frontiers, but it
  Such artificial advantages meant Kipchoge’s         This has been an extraordinary few weeks          gon city is closely associated with Nike, whose              also faces more questions than ever too.
milestone did not count as an official world        for athletics. Salazar’s ban was announced in       birthplace is only a few miles away.
record. Kosgei’s, meanwhile, most certainly         the middle of one of the most controversial           Expect fresh scrutiny of the IAAF’s decision                                                          Agencies
did. Paula Radcliffe, the British woman whose       World Championships, in Doha. The event
16-year-old record she obliterated, was at the      will be remembered as much for the sight of
finish line to congratulate her.                    empty seats and the oppressive heat as it will
  But on Sunday in Chicago, Kosgei could            for the gold medals that Dina Asher-Smith
not escape questions from journalists about         and Katarina Johnson-Thompson secured so
precisely which running shoes she had been          thrillingly for Great Britain.                                                          FH ASSOCIATION RWANDA
wearing, and if they were the same as Kip-            Equally, it is impossible to think of Christian                                          (Food for the Hungry)
choge’s. Her performance, coming so soon af-        Coleman’s 100m gold in isolation from the                                               P.O.BOX 911 Kigali, Rwanda
ter his, intensifying the mounting controversy      ban he narrowly avoided on a technicality in                        KG 5 Road, UMUYENZI PLAZA 2nd Floor Remera, Kisimenti, Tel +250-255-120-278
over whether the latest technology results in       the build-up after three missed doping tests.
too great a marginal gain, and makes com-           Nor can one celebrate the incredible 1500m-
parisons with previous eras of running unfair.      10,000m double of Sifan Hassan without ac-
                                                                                                                                         VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
  And she had to reassure those present that        knowledging her association with her former                          FOOD SECURITY & LIVELIHOODS (FSL) SPECIALIST (1 POSITION)
such a performance could be trusted, given          coach Salazar and the NOP which she joined
the recent spate of doping scandals involving       in 2016.                                                 ABOUT FH
high-profile Kenyan runners.                          The fall-out from Salazar’s ban is far from            FH Association Rwanda (Food for the Hungry) is an International Christian Relief and Development
  After all, Kosgei has the same agent - Fed-       over. Not when the disgraced coach intends               Organization with a vision “All forms of poverty ended worldwide” and a mission “Together we follow
erico Rosa - as a number of banned Kenyan           to appeal and denies any wrongdoing. And                 God’s call responding to human suffering and graduating communities from extreme poverty
athletes, and while there is no suggestion of       not when the IOC wants the samples of all                We are seeking to hire qualified, dedicated and experienced Rwandan National for the “Food Security
any wrongdoing by either of them, the asso-         athletes who trained at the NOP to be retest-            & Livelihoods (FSL) Specialist” position for our Rwanda Country Program to be based at the Head
ciation led to some awkward questions, the          ed.                                                      Office in Kisimenti, Remera, Kigali with frequent travel to the field.
softly spoken world record holder insisting           UK Athletics (UKA) performance director                PURPOSE OF THE POSITION
she was clean.                                      Neil Black - here in Chicago to help Farah -             The FSL Specialist will provide technical support in the development and implementation of
  There was no sign of Mo Farah. Just two           may be leaving his post after facing criticism           Food Security and Livelihoods Strategy as well as increasing funding portfolio through
days earlier in the same room, he had angrily       but other officials at the governing body will           proposal development, networking and fundraising. The FSL Specialist has the responsibility to
blamed journalists for the scrutiny he was          also be asked to explain their links with Sala-          provide technical support, quality improvement, represent FH in national level technical
under following the downfall of his former          zar, who acted as a consultant to Britain’s en-          working groups and in resource mobilization for this sector.
coach Alberto Salazar, banned two weeks ago         durance runners for several years.
for various doping violations, even seeming           Was the UKA review that cleared Farah to               MAIN KEY RESULTS
                                                                                                             # 1 – Program development and technical support (40%)
to suggest a racially motivated agenda by the       continue working with his former coach in
                                                                                                             # 2 – Resource Mobilization (30%)
media.                                              2015 after the allegations of unethical practic-         # 3 – External Relations (30%)
  Neither Farah - nor any other of Salazar’s        es were first aired in a BBC Panorama investi-
athletes - were implicated in the scandal. But      gation robust enough? And will UK Sport, or              To see the full job description, and to apply, go to the link below.
many will now wonder whether the fallout af-        maybe UK Anti-Doping, now feel the need for
                                                                                                             HOW TO APPLY
fected his performance on the streets of Chi-       a further inquest into the decisions taken by            Interested and qualified candidates should fill in the Job Application Form and attach their cover letter
cago, the slowest marathon of his career.           one of the country’s best-funded governing               and updated CV/Resume with three referees (including email addresses and day telephone contacts),
  If so, perhaps he would not be alone. After       bodies?                                                  not later than Friday, 25th October 2019 using the following link: http://41.216.97.161/fhrwandajobs/
all, two other athletes with links to Salazar -       But perhaps above all, the most important
Americans Galen Rupp and Jordan Hasay               legacy of the Salazar case could be to force             Note:
- also struggled here, both failing to finish.      athletics to re-examine its relationship with               •    Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for the next stage of recruitment.
Both are also now looking for a new place           Nike.                                                       •    Shortlisted candidates will be required to show originals and provide notarized copies of degree,
to train after Salazar’s Nike Oregon Project          Whether in Doha, Vienna or Chicago, it is                      diploma or certificates. They will also provide copies of testimonials of rendered services from
(NOP) was dramatically shut down on the eve         hard to avoid its presence.                                      former employer and a recommendation from his/her church.
of the race as the sportswear giant - a sponsor       From shoe technology and sponsorship,                     •    if any issues are experienced please contact us separately at rwanda@fh.org
of the Chicago marathon - tried to get a grip       through to its links with the media and senior
of a crisis that has done serious damage to its     officials, and the support it gave Salazar in his        Done at Kigali, on 14th October 2019
reputation.                                         legal battle with Usada, the scale of the influ-
                                                                                                             FH Association Rwanda Management
  Sadly, Nike CEO Mark Parker - implicated          ence the company wields in this sport is ap-
 LOG ON www.newtimes.co.rw
 ‘Athletics in an
 era of exciting
 possibilities but
 it also faces more
 questions than ever’
 P23                                                                                                   NO. 5065, KIGALI, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019
FOOTBALL Mashami says the match was meant to try different formations ahead Ethiopia CHAN tie
Tanzania’s Taifa Stars
hold Amavubi in friendly
By Damas Sikubwabo
 Monday
 Rwanda 0-0 Tanzania
AMAVUBI were on Monday
held by Tanzania in a friendly
match at Kigali Stadium.
  Amavubi started brightly con-
trolling possession for much of
the first half but they failed to
put the ball in the net. The first
half ended with Amavubi the
better side.
  Haruna Niyonzima, who cap-
tained the team, failed to capi-
talise from a free kick in the
second half. Jacques Tuyisenge
and Meddie Kagere, some of
the foreign based players who
were summoned for the game,
played a crucial role upfront
but could not find the net.
  They were replaced with Dja-                                                                                                                                        Haruna Niyonzima
bel Manishimwe and Ernest                                                                                                                                             in action against
Sugira in the second half as                                                                                                                                          Taifa Stars in a
                                                                                                                                                                      goalless friendly
coach Vincent Mashami gave
                                                                                                                                                                      at Kigali Stadium
minutes to majority of players                                                                                                                                        yesterday. Sam
ahead of the team’s return leg                                                                                                                                        Ngendahimana.
of the 2020 CHAN Qualifying
return leg against Ethiopia due
Saturday in Kigali.
  After the match, Mashami said         play the Walias of Ethiopia tie     advantage from last month’s            tie will secure their spot in the     nent’s second-biggest football
the match was meant to try dif-         on Saturday at Kigali Stadium.      first-leg at Mekelle Stadium, in       2020 CHAN finals as one of the        tournament.
ferent formations and get him            Amavubi will go into the do-       Ethiopia.                              three teams that will represent
an idea of which players would          or-die encounter with a 1-0           The aggregate winner of the          the Cecafa region in the conti-          editor@newtimesrwanda.com
 Basketball: Patriots off to Dar es Salaam for BAL Qualifiers
                                                   By Damas Sikubwabo                  The team, comprised of 15        Sports, that, “We have been        amba, Diedonne Ndizeye,
                                                                                     players, spent a week in in-       drawn in a hard group, but         Steven Hagumintwali, Ally
                                                   PATRIOTS basketball club          tensive training at Amahoro        the good thing is that we are      Ruzigande, Kenneth Gasana,
                                                   were in upbeat mood as they       Stadium.                           aware of the competition that      Aristide Mugabe, Junior Au-
                                                   departed Kigali on Monday           The Patriots are placed in       we face and have prepared ac-      bin Kasongo, Joseph Bukuru,
                                                   ahead of the inaugural Bas-       Group D along with Hawassa         cordingly ”.                       Sanny Munyandamutsa, Di-
                                                   ketball Africa League (BAL)       from Ethiopia, City Oilers of        Patriots will train on Tues-     dier Ishimwe, Michael Ma-
                                                   qualifiers.                       Uganda, JKT from Tanzania,         day at the National Indoor         kiadi, Pascal Rurangirwa,
                                                    Rwanda is in Group D and         Brave Hearts (Malawi), and         Stadium in Dar es Salaam,          Guibert Nijimbere, George
                                                   kick off their qualifying cam-    Burundi’s Dynamo.                  just a day before their open-      Wilbert JR Blakeney, and Li-
 Patriots BBC departed Kigali on Monday ahead      paign on October 16 at the          Shortly before they left,        ing tie.                           onel Hakizimana.
 of the inaugural Basketball Africa League (BAL)   National Indoor Stadium in        Claude Mukurarinda, the
 qualifiers in Tanzania. Sam Ngendahimana.         Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.          Assistant Coach told Times          Final Squad: Sedar Sag-           editor@newtimesrwanda.com
         A publication of The New Times Publications Ltd, P. O. Box 4953 Kigali, Rwanda. Tel. Editorial: (+250) 780303436. Marketing: (+250) 0782859324. Website: www.newtimes.co.rw