July 5, 2010

Kigali — Rwanda International Network Association (RINA), over the weekend, awarded President Paul Kagame for his continuous efforts in the promotion of Education.

The award was received, on behalf of the President, by James Kimonyo, Rwanda’s Ambassador to the USA at a function held at Georgetown University in Washington DC.

The function was organized to celebrate 16 years after the liberation of Rwanda.

Presenting the award, Jean Pierre Kayinamura, the president of RINA reiterated President Kagame’s belief of the country’s reliance on human resource for development, thereby prioritizing and investing heavily in education.

Among the efforts, he cited education reforms, free primary education and opportunities presented to Rwandan students to study abroad, which has empowered Rwandans academically.

Alongside the liberation event, a conference named Urugwiro was held, bringing together Rwandan and friends of Rwanda for networking purposes, sharing experience and exchange of critical information regarding professional, business and education advancement.

Addressing participants, Ambassador Kimonyo said that Rwanda has achieved a lot, citing good governance and creation of a business-friendly environment.

“Many people who have been to Rwanda have told you how things are, with no corruption, no bureaucracy and how favourable it is for businesses,” he told participants, adding that the country will have a free and fair election come August.

Copyright © 2010 The New Times. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).

More Rwanda News

Kigali — President Paul Kagame, yesterday, told the youth that they form the engine that the country can run on to achieve its development goals and build the country that the Rwandan people want.

Addressing thousands of youth from across the country, who had converged at the national stadium to mark the end of the Youth Week, as well as celebrate 10 years since the establishment of the National Youth Council, President Kagame said that the country expects a lot from the youth and they should live up to the expectations.

Kagame assured the upbeat and evidently energetic youth – who had filled the Stadium to capacity – that they have what it takes to drive the country towards its development aspirations, if they have the will and determination to do so.

The President further promised continued Government support in helping the youth to maximise their capacity, noting that it will take everyone’s effort to achieve Rwanda’s vision of development.

President Kagame told the youth that rebuilding Rwanda, a country that was devastated by the genocide, seemed like an impossible task, but with the will and commitment of the people, the country has recorded remarkable success.

He cited the achievements registered within the last 16 years as an example that everything is possible, urging the youth to base on what has already been built, as a foundation, to steer Rwandans to better standards of living.

Kagame called upon the youth to take advantage of the many friends of Rwanda to acquire additional knowledge and skills.

The President further reminded the youth that, unlike in the past when bad leadership encouraged them to commit Genocide, today, their energy is constructively used to build the nation.

Kagame pointed out that the government considers the youth to be a pivotal part of the population and that is why institutions such as the Ministry of Youth and Rwanda National Youth Council were formed.

Amidst applause, Kagame called upon the youth to shun politicians who want to drag the country back to divisive politics of ethnicity and hate. He urged the youth to be examples of good values and result oriented people.

Copyright © 2010 The New Times. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).

Tony Blair, Patron of the Africa Governance Initiative (AGI), completed a two-day visit to Rwanda where he reviewed ongoing progress by the Government of Rwanda in delivering its priorities for social and economic development. He met with President Kagame, the Prime Minister, senior ministers and officials, to discuss AGI’s continuing support to the Government of Rwanda.

Speaking during the visit, Tony Blair said: “I am always impressed by the progress being made here and by the energy of the Government in improving the lives of all Rwandans across education, health, skills and employment. I am also extremely proud that my team from the Africa Governance Initiative is working side by side with their Rwandan counterparts to deliver these aims.”

President Kagame said: “This partnership with AGI is exemplary; in the last two years, it has produced substantive and tangible results.”

During the trip, Tony Blair and President Kagame visited the new multi-million dollar Inyange Processing plant, where they saw state of the art facilities and heard how the industry had grown since the birth of the company in 1999.

Tony Blair said: “Projects like this demonstrate what Rwanda is capable of. This factory not only offers employment to those working here but it also provides a much needed market for Rwandan farmers to sell their produce. Investments such as this are evidence of the great strides being made to create a business friendly environment in Rwanda.”

Ahead of the upcoming Presidential election Tony Blair met, aside from President Kagame, with the two other candidates Damascene Ntawukuriryayo and Prosper Higiro from the Social Democratic Party and Liberal Party respectively. He also met with a number of development partners such as the World Bank, the UK Department for International Development (DfID) and the Belgium Technical Corporation, to discuss the effectiveness of capacity building initiatives in driving Rwanda’s development.

Tony Blair’s visit takes place two years after the Africa Governance Initiative first started work in Rwanda. The charitable organisation works with select African governments to assist them in developing their capacity to deliver on their reform agendas and attract sustainable investment. AGI provides advisors in the President and Prime Minister’s Offices, the Rwanda Development Board and the Public Sector Capacity Building Secretariat.

-ENDS-

The Africa Governance Initiative helps some of Africa’s most dynamic leaders deliver the change their people need to relieve poverty and drive economic development. The innovative, ’hands on‘ approach embeds small teams, working side-by-side with staff in Presidential Offices, Investment Agencies and key Ministries to support government to deliver poverty reduction as a national priority. This unique model of development is not just about handing out aid, but building the capacity to create sustainable long-term change. By providing high level political and business advice, AGI has already started to deliver real change in Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Tony Blair is an unpaid adviser to President Koroma of Sierra Leone, President Kagame of Rwanda and President Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia.

© 2010, Newstime Africa. – For the latest African News – All rights reserved.

Kigali, Rwanda

The Rwanda Investment Forum to be held in Kigali on 10-11 May 2010, will be the first large scale investor event organised in the country since Rwanda became the 54th Member of the Commonwealth at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad last November. The Forum will be organised by the Commonwealth Business Council in partnership with the Rwanda Development Board and with the collaboration of the International Private Sector.

Two years ago the East African International Business Forum, the first event CBC had organised in the country, drew over 500 leaders from business and government, including 250 delegates from over 30 countries outside the East African region. This year’s Forum aims to build on Rwanda’s expanding network of relationships created by joining the Commonwealth, and its reputation for stability and good economic management. Its purpose is to enhance foreign direct investment by communicating national development goals and by bringing international investors and operators face-to-face with Rwandan project holders and entrepreneurs to discuss new economic and investment opportunities.

Sixteen years after genocide, Rwanda is facing a new test. President Paul Kagame, who is seeking re-election, is widely admired abroad. Among his fans are some of the world’s most famous do-gooders, from Bill Clinton and Tony Blair to Rev Rick Warren and Dr Paul Farmer. His enemies hope to use this election campaign to tarnish his image and show these admirers that he is no democrat.

Rwanda is more stable and prosperous than many would have predicted following the 1994 genocide. The reconciliation process has been at least partly successful. Yet beneath the surface, Rwandan society remains volatile. Hatreds are unexpressed, but no one believes they are gone.

Kagame’s government has passed laws against disseminating “genocide ideology”, meaning views that could inflame communal hatreds. People are supposed to describe themselves only as Rwandan, never as Hutu or Tutsi. Kagame claims these laws are necessary to keep Rwanda back from the abyss of violence. If he enforces them during the political campaign, though, critics will accuse him of suppressing free speech.

Last month, a Rwandan-born businesswoman who has spent more than a decade in the Netherlands, Victoire Ingabire, arrived in Rwanda and announced that she was a candidate for president. Her party is based abroad and not recognised in Rwanda. According to a UN report (in French), she is supported by leaders of the principal Hutu insurgent group, which is among factions terrorising the eastern Congo.

Ingabire’s first statements after landing in Rwanda were thinly veiled appeals for Hutu solidarity. “There is no shame in saying I am Hutu or am Tutsi; there’s nothing wrong with that,” she told one interviewer.

Appealing to ethic identity this way is illegal. The official press launched a sharp campaign against Ingabire, and her campaign group has been attacked at least once. She has been interrogated by police and warned that she will be arrested if she continues preaching “genocide ideology”. Amnesty International responded by accusing the government of “intimidation and harassment”.

Nonsense, replies President Kagame. He believes western human rights activists underestimate the prospects for a new outbreak of ethnic violence in Rwanda, as well as the danger of allowing ethnically charged speech. “We’ve lived this life,” he said angrily at a news conference. “We’ve lived the consequences. So we understand it better than anyone from anywhere else.”

Kagame won the last presidential election, in 2003, with a reported 95% of the vote. Critics complained that the campaign was unfair, but Kagame emerged relatively unscathed because few outsiders were paying attention.

Seven years later, Rwanda is in the midst of a promising transformation and Kagame is a darling of the global development community. His enemies know they cannot defeat him in this election; he is the strongman and will do whatever is necessary to win. Their strategy is to bait him into taking actions – like arresting a rival candidate – that would make him look bad abroad and thereby weaken his regime.

Many people in developed countries look suspiciously, as they should, on leaders who impose restrictions on free speech. Even in the US, though, it is illegal to cry “fire!” in a crowded theatre. That is what Rwandan leaders accuse the foreign-based opposition of doing – fanning hatreds that could explode into another genocide. The opposition, in reply, insists it is merely speaking truths Kagame does not wish to hear.

Kagame, who was called the “Napoleon of Africa” during his march to power in the early 1990s, is acknowledged to have great military skills. His political skills are less tested. Between now and the election on 9 August, he must navigate a delicate course that will assure him three things: re-election, national stability and minimum damage to his reputation. This is to be his last campaign, since the Rwandan constitution limits presidents to two seven-year terms. How he conducts it will shape both his legacy and Rwanda’s future.