Former sports and culture minister Protais Mitali is Rwanda’s new envoy to Ethiopia, while former state minister for  energy and water Eng. Emma-Françoise Isumbingabo becomes the country’s top diplomat in Seoul, South Korea. 

These are among new appointments announced after yesterday’s cabinet meeting which also appointed former agriculture minister Dr Agnes Mathilide Kalibata as University of Rwanda’s deputy vice chancellor in charge of institutional advancement.

Dr Anita Asiimwe, the former State Minister for Public Health and Primary Health Care, becomes deputy director general at the University Teaching Hospital.

In Addis Ababa, Mitali, who will also double as the permanent representative to the African Union, replaces long-serving envoy Joseph Nsengimana, while Eng. Isumbingabo takes over from Eugene Kayihura.

The quartet was among seven ministers and state ministers who were dropped in last week’s cabinet reshuffle after President Paul Kagame appointed former labour minister Anastase Murekezi as the new prime minister.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet yesterday also appointed three permanent secretaries, namely; Beth Murora (Supreme Court), Dr Solange Itulinde Hakiba  (Ministry of Health),   Fatina Mukarubibi (Natural Resources); and Innocent Musabyimana for Agriculture.

In the meantime, the cabinet edged closer to yet again splitting the Energy, Water and Sanitation Authority (EWSA) into two bodies – one in charge of energy, and the other water and sanitation – with the appointment of top leaders for the two entities.

The meeting also appointed board members for different  parastatals, including Rwanda National Investment Trust, Capital Market Authority, Special Guarantee Fund and Rwanda Energy Group.

Most of the appointments are subject to senatorial approval.