Weekly musings

EAC investors promise nursing school while APR suffers a long week

BY GEORGE KAGAME

Arusha



The week started off with the best and worst extremes of news, it began with a group of influential investors from Kenya who were in the country to assess business opportunities they could exploit.

In their meeting with President Paul Kagame the investors promised to set up a nursing training school which, according to William Kituyi a former trade minister in Kenya will help strengthen Rwanda's ambition of being a knowledge based economy, the investors added that they will also train Rwandans involved service sector.

The service sector in Rwanda is the largest sector of Rwanda's economy by 2007 estimates, contributing Frw 173 billion. Talk about Rwanda's power of seduction in the East African Community. On the other side of the news, it was reported that Rwandans who are closely suspected to have committed genocide and crimes against humanity here in 1994 are still causing havoc in other parts of Africa.

Ex members of Interahamwe (who need no further introduction) are reported to have been very active in recent violent outbreaks during Zimbabwe's failed presidential election.

The Interahamwe, the media stated were recruited in Robert Mugabe's fanatical band militias commonly known as liberation fighters.
It was not reported however, whether the ICTR wanted fugitive, the former head of Juvenal Habyarimana's presidential guard Protais Mpiranya was among Zimbabwe’s ‘terror squads’. Mpiranya is reportedly chilling in Zimbabwe.

The Interahamwe along with Mpiranya met up with Mugabe's people when Zimbabwe used them to fight alongside the DR Congolese army during the war in that country beginning in 2002. The development of the media in Rwanda; "one story at a time" was a theme that National University of Rwanda in partnership with Carleton University in Canada took to practicing Rwandan journalists in a one week long training programme. While in parliament, the minister of information Louise Mushikiwabo was called to explain why radio transmission was not covering the entire country, leaving many Rwandans out of the 'information age' and susceptible to the infamous 'genocide ideologies'.
Mushikiwabo admitted the equipment used by ORNINFOR; the national information office is outdated and promised changes soon. ORINFOR is funded by the government and runs a thriving publishing enterprise in the country as a near monopoly. When ambition and pragmatism meet, the common folks suffer; therefore it comes as no surprise that Kigali kiosk owners are lugging it out with the city administrators about the location of their enterprises-this time in courts of law.
You see, the government has been very consistent with talk about helping create: "strong vibrant small and medium scale private sector in the country", cum the small investors who have opened up commercial sharks along main streets in a city, the city itself is striving to be a hallmark of beauty in regional capitals, in their determination to attract tourists, investors and conferences.

These kiosks serve "amata na fanta bikonje"or cold milk and soft drinks, cigarettes and mid day bars have since been chased away from the face of the city and the small investors are not happy, as a result, they have taken KCC to court. The sharks are accused of spoiling the beauty of the Kigali city which has cretwd itself a niche as one of the cleanest capitals in East and Central Africa.

The case, if it comes up for mention will be one of biggest so far for the recently created Commercial Court will have handled.
The developments come soon after Kigali's new and modern Master Plan is due for passing by the cabinet. Football players plying their trade in professional leagues have been known to live a life of paradise, blessed with mind boggling salaries, which are only dreamt of by professionals in other careers the soccer players led by Michael Ballack and Clarence Seerdorf have decided to clean up their image.

Recently the footballers, many of whom are from Africa formed an organization which will help reduce global poverty in an interesting and practical manner.
The organization known as Goal4Africa will see soccer fans donate a small amount of money whenever their favourite team scores a goal. The announcement comes only weeks before the extremely popular English Premiership resumes in August, the revenue from this project will be used to fund education and development on the African continent, it is estimated to have collected $90m by 2010 when the World Cup begins in South Africa. Also in the news;
The National Identity card issuing scheme begins in time for good preparations for parliamentary elections in September. The national identity cards will be used as the voting cards.

APR football club have been humiliated in the going Kagame Cup in Dar Salaam, after drawing in their opening match against Tanzania’s Yanga FC, APR were thumped by Zanzibar minnows Miembeni. By press time, APR were making mathematical calculations to qualify for the quarterfinals of the tournament in which they are considered as giants.