Commonwealth release election report

The Commonwealth Secretary General, Karmalesh Sharma early this week released the final report of the Commonwealth Observer Group of the August 9 presidential poll. Sharma noted that the polls were peaceful. He further said that the Commonwealth Group is ready to work with its youngest member in areas where necessary improvements need to be made.

The report was completed and signed by all 13 members of the Commonwealth Observer Group prior to their departure from Rwanda.
Western province exceeds target in revenue

During the last financial year 2009/2010 which ended two months ago, the western province surpassed the targeted income from revenue collection. Statistics released by Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) indicated that three Districts of Nyamasheke, Rusizi and Rubavu were the best revenue collectors while Karongi and Ngororero districts were still under-performing.

While presenting the figures to local leaders in the western province last week, Peter Ruyumbu the RRA’s commissioner in charge of quality assurance, attributed the relatively better performance to the improved business relations with neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and internal business awareness of the local community.

Rwanda tops EAC in competitiveness

Rwanda was for the first time this year included in the Global Competitiveness Survey, where she emerged ahead of her East African counterparts and 6th overall in Africa. The annual Global Competitiveness Report published Thursday in Beijing, China, by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF), places Rwanda 80th globally, out of the total 139 countries analyzed
Kenya was ranked 106, Tanzania, 113, Uganda 118 and Burundi 137.  The report assesses business efficiency, innovation, financial markets, health, education, institutions, infrastructure and other factors.

Belgium sued over Kicuikiro massacre

Relatives of victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi may sue the Belgian government for having withdrawn its peacekeeping troops from Rwanda at the peak of the Genocide. In 1994, over 2000 Tutsi refugees camped at ETO Kicukiro under the protection of the Belgian troops were massacred after the troops withdrew leaving them at the mercy of the Interahamwe militia. 

Some of the survivors of Kicukiro massacre filed a lawsuit against the Belgian government in Brussels.
The charge was made at the opening of a civil trial in Brussels, brought by two genocide survivors against the Belgian state and three Belgian peacekeepers for having failed to protect the refugees and abandoned them.

 Illegal firearms recovered

Over 763 illegal firearms were recovered from several parts of the country between February and September this year. According to a police report, 203 weapons including grenades, were recovered from the Western Province, 176 from Southern, 156 from Eastern, 117 from the Northern Province and 111 recovered in Kigali City, most of the recovered firearms, were surrendered willingly by the community during the seven-month grace period which started on November 19 last year to June 18 this year.

By October last year, over 31,000 small arms and light weapons had been destroyed countrywide since the signing of the Nairobi Protocol in May 2005 that brought together 11 member countries from the Great Lakes Region, the horn of Africa and bordering states, aimed at prevention, control, and reduction of small arms and light weapons in the sub-region.

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