The new boss at work has brought in a new sense of purpose and direction in the office. He cannot win any popular contest currently but he has brought back senior managers who were earning as they wished back to the basics.
Now i hope promotion will be mainly because of competence not tribe, relations with a boss or anything like that.

On a very different note, yesterday the friday ritual was on. The boys came home for drinks and we chilled with music from the 80s, we had great ood thanks to Hajji and his lying ways.
Its nice to hang out on a friday-when u have to report to work early morning on a saturday high!!!!

The problem habit

Finally Faustin sold his behicle and left Kigali. It was a long pimping escapade for him and i admire him for it. I had got attached to his little girsl-it will be a longwhile before i forget them..an even longet time before i write about Faustin again. He went to meet Josh in NYC and then latter......May he be lucky!!

My courting escapades are also improving; now i have someone to make regular calls to and or be jealous about..or maybe.
am now considering the possibility of getting a housemate so we can split the cost..that way i will be able to afford a Mac Book from David Kawai and my tution.
Sometimes solving one problem creates many more problems. Or to put it subtly, some problems look problems when they are actually not. When i quit smoking it was because of all the evils of that bad habit.
Now to square off smoking i found myself begining to learn drinking alcohol. Smoking could be evil but it leaves you with resources to manage your bills comfortably. However beer swindels and milks you slowly to financial and sometimes even moral ruin.

Sport

Arsenal and Liverpool’s lessons in humility; there’s never a permanent curve
BY GEORGE KAGAME

Rafael Benitez and Arsene Wenger had built a fortress around their teams this season, 17 games in the league; their teams had only conceded fewer goals but they did not know the taste of a loss.
But watching Liverpool against Reading and Arsenal loosing to Middlesborough was too much a lesson about humility for both managers.

With their unbeaten league record in tatters, the two teams now have lost their biggest aces before facing crucial fixtures this afternoon-Arsenal against Chelsea, Liverpool hoping to stop Manchester United’s excellent run.
Both had built a certain air of invincibility around themselves that in Arsenal’s case opponents would be frightened by their prospect of playing the Gunners even before kicking a ball.
But by the time Arsenal face Chelsea today, the game will be Chelsea’s to lose rather than Arsenal’s to win. Chelsea has steadily regained their confidence which was suspected to have disappeared with Jose Mourinho.

Unlike Arsenal, Liverpool’s unbeaten record was always stuttering along the way, drawing six games out of 14, even though by hook or by crook, they have always taken at least a point. However unlike Liverpool Arsenal’s loss was due to misfortune. Benitez either because of the luxury of a big squad or simply pushing his luck too much has put himself under intense pressure by changing his team too often too unnecessarily, along the way making irrelevant purchases-like Ryan Babbel.
It is now up to Rafa and his chosen team to lower that pressure and devote all their attentions to securing a place in the last 16 of the Champions League-by the time of writing this- Before the equally hard encounter with Manchester United.
The defeat of Arsenal and Liverpool exposed that both teams have players who are far below the standards of the clubs. Adebayor (even if he is leading scorer in the premiership) does not certainly qualify to lead Arsenal’s attack-he simply throws away too many chances. While Babbel like Theo Walcott as Arsenal needs to go back to the reserve teams and learn a lot more about running in the right directions-he just runs around-to nowhere in particular.

If Liverpool’s loss at Reading was humbling enough, Arsenal’s battering at Middlesborough was ridiculous. Devoid of their usual vivacious personality, Arsène Wenger's young team succumbed to a first defeat in 24 Premier League games stretching back to 7 April. That hardly represents a crisis of identity – Arsenal remains top of the table – but this was a pale imitation of the vibrant form that took them there.

Arsenal lacked creativity". An indication of that came when Tomas Rosicky drilled in a low shot from 16 yards in the fifth minute of injury time – it was literally Arsenal's first serious effort on target.
The defeat at Middlesborough and the manner in which it administered will enhance confidence in those who think Wenger's squad is too small, too lightweight and too inexperienced.


The fairytale of boxing today
Greedy promoters, rape charges and the next wannabe Tyson, Foreman or even Mohamed Ali have brought boxing to its knees.
Such is the dilemma in boxing circles that the recent welter weight contest between Ricky Hatton and Floyd Mayweather could only be promoted on the claim that both fighters had not lost a fight in their careers.
Now that Hatton lost, it remains to be seen what the next big boxing match will be marketed!

Mayweather who beat Hatton by a knock out in the 10th round had said prior to the fight– “I respect what Robinson and Ali did for the sport. But I am the greatest, and this is my time,” he told the world in reference to a world welterweight showdown.

In the fight itself, (which one journalist described as a fight between the black and white races, the disparity in class between the two became blatantly apparent and the supreme ring intelligence of Floyd Mayweather left Hatton with too much to learn.
Mayweather and the world media exploited the current vacuum in the boxing arena to fire up interest in a fight that back in the days would have been an under card.

Sport

Torres relieving Gerard from the weight of Anfield

BY GEORGE KAGAME

The events at Anfield in recent weeks were just like Kigali’s weather, rain there was in some abundance but the storm clouds have, for the time being at least, most definitely cleared from over Liverpool.
It is hard to conceive after the travails of recent days that Liverpool remain unbeaten in the league and the assured manner with which they have stepped up to fourth place in the table last week (with a game in hand) allowing Rafael Benitez to revel in his present, rather than future, workforce and seriously aspire to bring back a certain piece of silverware which has been missing for 17 years. In their upward movement Liverpool have conceded fewer goals than the top four, United are warned.
All this change has had the name Fernando Torres inscribed all over that a certain Christiano Ronaldo should be worried as the Spanish superstar is currently emerging as a potential candidate for best Premiership player. Torres is supplying as effectively as he finishes and removing the weight of responsibility from Steven Gerrard, whose own form is slowly peaking to the level we all know already.

All said however, the biggest test for Liverpool will be against Manchester United come 16 December, where Torres will have to prove to the world who is the current king of the Premiership between him Tevez, and of course Ronaldo.
In a year missing the World Cup, European Championship only the European Champions’ league was the avenue through which the best players in the world showcased their talent. Kaka collected twice the number of votes than his closest competitor for the award-Christiano Ronaldo, while the prolific Messi was third.
Kaka was a key figure in Milan winning the UEFA Champions League last season, so was it a fully deserved award. Milan was reeling from the punishment from the fall out of Calciopoli in Italy.
The same three players are up for the World Player of the Year award. Kaka deserved this award because he dominated most of the high profile AC Milan played last season, especially single-handedly kicking Manchester United out of the champion’s league with two superb goals-that will remain long in the memory of Rio Ferdinand.
Ronaldo is a great player, but he only performs against smaller teams not the likes of AC Milan, Chelsea, or even Arsenal. Messi is an infant genius and will definitely win many more awards in the future.
In typical Kaka style, the Brazilian said he won the award because he plays in a winning team-AC Milan.
. 'That is the key. You have to play in a winning team.'

For this year's award, 96 journalists from around the world voted and the shortlist of 50 players featured players based in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, the United States and Qatar.
The elegant Kaka is already the winner of the FIFPro world Player of the Year and UEFA European Club Player of the Year awards and is the big favourite for FIFA's World Player of the Year award to be announced later this month.

On another note, it is not just coincidence that the awards season is taking place at the same time with the draws season-the anticipation degree will extremely high in 2008, first comes the Africa Cup of nations where Drogba will have to justify whether he Africa’s best player. Meanwhile Italy will have to face France once again in the Euro 2008 finals that begin June.

Italy faces a tough task if they are to add the European title to their world crown after being grouped with the Netherlands, France and Romania in the finals of Euro 2008 on Sunday.

AU EU equal?? NO

AU-EU partnerships will not make Africans equal in the relationship

BY GEORGE KAGAME

Mugabe’s attendance of the latest EU Africa conference in Portugal resembled that of African migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea to the coasts of Spain and Italy, looking for “a better life” as Boniface Tushime from Cyangugu put it.

Tushime came from to Kigali from Cyangugu searching for a better life before he got stuck on the streets of Kiyovu, before World Vision came to his rescue. Like Tushimwe whom Kigali did not welcome, Mugabe’s journey to Lisbon was mired in controversy. Gordon Brown the British Prime Minister refused to attend the meeting while John Sentamu the second most important person in the Anglican church dramatically protested by cutting into pieces his dog collar, till Robert Mugabe goes out of office.s

Gordon Brown-whose country is responsible for the rise to power of despots to power in Africa like Mugabe refused to attend the Lisbon meeting in protest of Mugabe’s attendance of the same meeting, many African leaders also threatened to boycott the meeting, if Mugabe was refused entrance to Portugal. As it was, Mugabe attended the meeting and Brown boycotted. Bizarre or insane?
The EU-AU meeting was basically about the recently signed Economic partnership agreement between Africa and Europe aimed at increasing trading relationships between the two continents. But is the EU ready to take Africa as an equal partner in trade? Or is Africa ready for that relationship?
Last month, the Swiss right-wing government together with the EU began broadcasting a television advertising campaign in Africa that depicts Africans begging and being arrested in Europe in an attempt to deter would-be immigrants from travelling; to the Continent in search of work and a better future. The Africans depicted are in the advert are Africans that legitimately go to Europe in search for jobs to reduce poverty in their economies, the poverty that so many European governments and NGOs are financing to end.
European NGOs come with the main aim of creating employment for their own citizens and find politically right catchphrases like capacity building or empowerment for poverty reduction. It does not require a sociologist to discover that most jobs in NGOs are held by citizens from countries where they originate. It does not help that Africans have consistently been depicted as very corrupt incompetent people not capable or trusted to such jobs. Africans who try to go Europe to find cheap dead end jobs to develop their societies are drowned in seas.
"Fleeing does not mean starting a new life," is the last message of the film which was broadcast on Nigerian state television at half-time during a televised football match between Switzerland and Nigeria last week.
From my interactions with so many western employees stationed in Kigali, I find to my surprise that many of them prefer working in Africa-while Africans are stepping over themselves in the quest for a very elusive visa to the western world.
But it is simple ideally-Western citizens who work in Africa live like royalty, just like their colonialist forefathers before them. The Aid industry is the new version of imperialism. While the Africans in the western world live like their forefather slaves before them. Fair relationship?

The majority party in the Swiss parliament, (that country so famous for being tolerant) won their election campaign this year by depicting a white sheep standing on a Swiss flag kicking a black sheep from their midst, and yet many governments in the EU are easily supporting Robert Mugabe.
EU is a partner in the Swiss campaign which is intended to act as a deterrent to migrants. The advert starts with a phone ringing in a sparsely furnished home somewhere in Africa. An elderly African picks up the receiver and is shown speaking to his son talking on a public phone from somewhere the father asks if the young man has found accommodation.
He says he is staying with friends. Images of an asylum camp under a bridge fill the screen. The son lies to his father that his studies are going well. He is depicted sitting on a kerbstone and begging in Europe while standing in pouring rain.
This is unfortunately is true of many Africans in Europe, which is a stack contrast to many adolescent Europeans that work in Kigali that can easily afford to rent plush residences in the leafy environs of Kimihurura-thanks to the donor funding from their countries.
Instead of letting a whole continent live off the crumbs and charity of the western world, is it not better to let competent Africans search for work in the west and then contribute to the development of their own counties?
As politicians make cliché statements about the recent EPA treaties between Africa and Europe, they should reflect on the unbalanced nature of our relationships with the west. As young people from the west head to Africa, sometimes as interns in universities, they come with the security of finding a job-a good paying job with NGOs and live in paradise. While highly educated Africans who flee to Europe survive off the streets of western cities or if they are lucky enough are piled in camps awaiting deportations.

Kigali suburbs-review

Kigali’s evolving suburbs and their social economic upturns; what attracts people to settle there and what is the most happening joints where national and international policies are deliberated upon whiling away a couple of pints of Mutzig and Amstel.

Nyarutarama’ architectural gem from shrubs, rocks and shacks

By GEORGE KAGAME

It's one in the morning in the once dull but now busy Nyarutarama nightlife and the area's near-permanent non-stop party is getting into full swing.
Reggeaton music echoes from one bar where Kigali’s new twenty-and thirty-something residents drink Mutzig beer and Uganda Waragi from the bottle.

Crossover, a mixture of new school rap and techno music belts out of another bar in an adjacent corridor; where almost identical-looking customers in black leather jeans and jackets with hoods do the same. This is the famous MTN Centre.

The facades of the palatial residential and commercial blocks in this formerly wholly-jungle area are inviting, today the shrubs and very poor housing structures which dominated this area just below a decade ago have been replaced by all glistening with coats of new plaster, paint and glass partitioning.

Boutiques selling the latest fashion accessories from Paris, New York, Milan and Hong Kong are some of the main businesses. At MTN centre particularly Kigali’s expanding ultra modern architectural designs jostle for space with new bars, restaurants, clubs and shops selling second movies or used CDs.

Down the street an up market is Green Hills Academy; an educational institution that fulfills all the requirements of an ‘international school’ to serve basically needs of the residents of Nyarutarama. As day schooling children head to class in the mornings at Green Hills on Mondays; many are thinking about their gear for a Friday night out in the adjacent MTN Centre. A stone’s throw from MTN Centre is Christian Life Assembly Church or CLA to take care of the spiritual needs of the folks here.

It is hard to imagine that just a few years ago; Nyarutarama like the nearby Kibagabaga suburb looked as if the Genocide had ended yesterday. Far from being pristine and white, the brick fronts of these buildings were non existent in the early 2000s; instead the land was covered in shrubs and rocks. Since the days of independence in the late 50s, the downtrodden residents of Kigali’s commercial life resided in this area and remained imprisoned by the lack of infrastructure here and rarely ventured out from their dingy sharks after six in the evening.

Yet if Nyarutarama is defining a new image for itself as one of Kigali’s coolest neighbourhoods and hangout joints, then it owes this reputation to the open embrace of the nocturnal adventure by Kigali city local government authorities. And thank many of the clients plying the Nyarutarama road will have pay tribute to the essential Moto operators on this route!

Nyarutarama is also unique in that unlike similar inner-city areas in Kigali like Nyamirambo or Kiyovu, the area's new cool residents are nearly all white, nearly all in their 20s and 30s and for the Africans here nearly most of them weren't even born in the city or the country even. What's more not a few of them are either students, wannabe artists, or surviving on their parents fortunes.

Many are young, essentially middle-class people from the far-flung corners of the world, and they are attracted by the quite exclusiveness of Nyarutarama and the almost faultless roads here. Yet many who reside in far off suburbs are yearning for the perceived excitement of the new MTN Centre and the newly acquired reputation of the bars there as ‘hip joints’.

Nyarutarama began its rise from the forgotten and almost empty land to the leafy zone it is today around 2001, earlier inhabitants of the area were pushed further to the countryside as the classic theory of the culture of poverty states. But those who fled to the inner city were replaced by Kigali newbies.

Gerd Mubaza, 29, is one of the suburbs tribe of new, young middle-class Rwandans. He moved from Kiyovu the other side of Kigali’s inner city, to Nyarutarama with his wife and baby son two years ago. He studied graphics and now works as a website designer in a non governmental organisation. He does not earn much money by his admission but earns enough for his accommodation; "Why did I choose Nyarutarama? If you come from a village in whih I was born (Kibungo) like I do, it's the only residential place, it's where its happening," he said.

MTN Centre
Kigali’s leading corporate class wannabes hangout at MTN as one of several attempts to dodge the lower class folk, the class with smelly armpits, poor French or English accents and an even poorer sense of fashionable attires.
Since MTN is always happening every weekend, there’s never any need for programme or Gahunda so to speak of. All the holiday makers (even from the nearby two secondary schools) have to do is dress up in the flashiest of attires and head towards Nyarutarama. (I will return to the dress code later)

I arrived at MTN centre after attending midnight prayers at the nearby Christian Life Assembly church on 1st January. Standing in the parking lot, I noticed that more teenagers came in on foot and in groups-at the hour of one o’clock the parking lot was fully occupied and I wondered who was driving these vehicles, when most clients were walking.

The majority of the boys at MTN centre are simply clad in overflowing jeans and extra large t-shirts; there are a few who are in G-Unit outfits complete with bling that is slinging around their necks; it makes them look like the famous slaves heading to the US and the Persian gulf and their chains in early 1850s.

The girls, however, seem to be a lot more fashion-conscious. Leggings, dress tops, hot pants, revealing and body-hugging tops, shorts, transparent and inviting short dresses and boots are what most of them were wearing. The hairstyles were quite as exotic as the make up on their faces.

From the way the boys and girls hold their pause while smoking and how they avoid other people looking directly at them I can tell that they just began the habit.
Many of the people around the two bars inside MTN Centre are dancing in groups of single sexes — very few groups are mixed up.

From where I am seated at the Virunga pub, I can see a group of girls whose outfits and dance moves are unmistakably from MTV Base. They dance in a similar manner to the now popular Brick and Lace and there is another circle of boys standing next to them and watching in awe. Behind me, another girl has found her friends and the shrieks of joy lose all the words that she is saying.

Most of the girls here have unusually big bags (for a night out)

If anyone ever read John Grisham's Partner. There's a character called Randon Fitch. To describe Fitch i can only use one quote from the book. "Fitch was always in a constant state of anger, it is believed that even in his sleep; Fitch wKigali is awas always annoyed. Fitch was never seen even once at the office eating. It was only rumoured that he ate, but it was just a rumour"
That comes close to someopne i met today. Kigali is a wonderful place to live around this time. That is if you have a job, a couple of sweaters and in my case a few jerseys.
In the mornings its cold, not too cold but enough to encourage you to wear a sweater, have hot coffee and reach work with very high spirits. So today was one of those days, a drizzle in the morning, a taxi nearby and no appetite and not even story ideas.
So when i reach at work and complete yesterday's stories and the head goes puh. I decide to begin laughiing; this is meant to annoy someone, anyone actually to irritate them and get them to shout at me. When i get depressed story ideas easily come in the head.
Edwin is very reliable when it comes to shouting and forgeting, he will even forget his weight or size and so try to engage in a fight with a Russian spetnaz as he once did on a KBC drinking spree.
You see am not making any sense from the above rantings because now i have acquired myself a girlfriend-she even calls me 'Honey'. Interesting because i have not been called that in a very long- actually in two years. so am not making sense anytime soon because am not single anymore.
I have a girlfriend, you Babyface's song along with Jon B? 'Someone to love'. Its nice to have a woman in your life; whom you can gossip about your friends and boss with. Whats more? She was born in Uganda, doesnot like going to Uganda alot, not a fan of MTN centre. I think i like her. But its too soon to call me honey before i even taste like candy.

The track

I love jogging, around the national stadium every evening from monday to Friday im always here doing a fiver, then i head to the gym to stretch. But the track around the stadium is the best thing that i look forward to everyday. Apart from the usual reasons for which people engage in exercise, the track allows to feel very nice about myself because it enhances my small sense of achievement. Every lap i make feels like i have outrun life, outrun my problems. Then whenever i find someone lese running i tell myself, this is your tuff; you must not let anyone else beat you from here. So nomatter what pace the other guy is running,i will catch up with him and only overtaking him is when i will great again.
Its always nice to run for fitness..

Welcome to 24 hour-almost MTN centre

It's one in the morning in the once dull Nyarutarama leafy environs and the area's near-permanent non-stop party is getting into full swing.
Reggeaton music echoes from one bar where Kigali’s new twenty-and thirty-something residents drink Mutzig beer and Uganda Waragi from the bottle.

Crossover, a raw new school rap music and techno music belts out of another bar in another corridor next door where almost identical-looking customers in black leather jeans and jackets with hoods do the same. This is the famous MTN Centre.
Kigali’s leading corporate class wannabes hangout at MTN as one of several attempts to dodge the lower class folk, the class with smelly armpits, poor French or English accents and an even poorer sense of fashionable attires.

The threat

Our Managing Director comes to the early monday morning with a couple of copies of the paper. This meeting has been publicised enough on all our notes boards..as usual many peole come in late plus the boss, atleast he is humble enough today to apologise.
He gets down to business.

"This newspaper is a very poor quality paper. The business of newspapers is very serious business, you donr come here to learn how to write. I find more mistakes of this nature, YOU ARE OUT OF HERE."
He looks around; and our eyes collide for a couple of seconds.
"Any questions?"
Husssshhhhh.

Sunday Breeze....first rabbit

We stay at home chatting with Faustin about his forthcoming trip to the US and the likelyhood that he will not be coming back to Africa. Am actually supposed to talk to Drew so she can help him out when he goes to To but somehow i have not yet done it.

Anyhow after we idle away the whole day talking stuff about how we should do something with our lives-we remind each other that since Faustin has a wife and two beautiful children the phrase about doing something clearly refers to me only.

So we decide to go Nyamirambo to buy jeans and Tshirts. They really have nice clothes in Nyamirambo.

After we get the jeans wecomeback home with no clear sense of direction, but we have a shared purpose-we need to have a couple of beers. So we drop the children at home where Faustin's mother in law is waiting to prawl. It is my opinion that she looks like a wounded cobra all the time. She is always looking for a fight with anyone. I dont like that old bitch. She is actualy the only woman who qualifies to be called bitch.

So Faustin somehow escapes from his own house and we head out to Kabeza to a certain bar-Matutina i think.

The place is a typical Kigali bar-red small bricks, small private yet open cubicles and a wide expanse area. We hook up with some guys and there;s fight as to what-who must order.Since Faustin is paying the bill, the instructions are that we only take a beer each,

On the menu there's rabbit. I have never tasted rabbit, so i order for one rabbit-only that the waiter says it has to be identified from the pack they are having and then they slaughter it. I feel sorry for the poor rabbit and ask for fish instead-but someone else asks for the rabbit anyway.

When the rabbit arrives five beers later-it tastes like chicken i must say, of course everybody knows how good chicken is. i loom forward to having good chicken back in Kampala.

I watch a very lively match between Athletic Madrid and Valencia-which predictably Valencia looses.
i hope one day one John Honderich comes good on his promise.