Works to install the long awaited printing press of the Rwanda Office of Information (Orinfor) are in the final phase and it is expected to start functioning in two to three weeks.

In a phone interview Oscar Kimanuka, the Orinfor Director General confirmed the development saying that the final installation of the state-of-the-art machine is underway and technicians are working around the clock to finalise the installation.

"The machine will be ready for visiting from Monday and currently technicians have been working long hours every day to ensure that the installation is done properly and in time,” said Kimanuka. He however added that machines are already up and that what is being worked on is the finalizing of the installation.

In a separate interview Shyaka Kanuma, who heads the committee of journalists charged with following up the process to install the machine, said, "There is progressive work being done and in a period of about two to three weeks we will start using the machine”.

Kanuma is the Managing Director of Focus, a weekly English newspaper. The selected committee of journalist also has on it Mark Ramba and Jean Bosco Gatete, the chief editors of vernacular papers, Umuseke and Umulinzi, respectively.

"Orinfor is doing a good job, the technicians are being facilitated well and in return working hard to ensure the full installation of the machine is achieved within this time,” said Kanuma.

The printing press is expected solve worries of several local print media houses that have for the past years decried high printing costs and poor quality, forcing many to print their newspapers from neighbouring countries especially Uganda, and in the process, incurring high production costs.

The machine has the capacity to print about newspape30,000 copies in one hour and according to experts, one of Uganda’s leading printing companies just acquired the machine of the same kind while, Nation Media a leading Kenyan printing company also use the same technology.

The machine can handle standard magazines and different types of newspapers in different formats at ago.

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