Rwanda recognised as top tourist destination
Rwanda becomes the first country in East, Central and North Africa to become a member of the highly prestigious International Council of Tourism Partners (ICTP), enhancing its reputation as one of the favourite tourist destinations in the world.

In announcing Rwanda’s addition to the ICTP list, the Council said it gave the country a unique opportunity to promote itself through joint marketing and media programmes.

It is a rating that most countries which pride themselves as tourist destinations of choice pursue. Rwanda joins the ranks of elite destinations such as Seychelles and Johannesburg.

The International Council of Tourism Partners is a global alliance of responsible destination cooperation and marketing in tourism. It promotes best practices and being on its list is considered a sign of excellence.

Gov’t leases out Rukarara Hydro Project
The cabinet has approved the lease of Rukarara Small Hydro Power Project to a local firm Digitech Solutions as part of the government’s plan to involve the private sector in energy generation.

The company will run the plant located in Nyamagabe District, Southern Province, at a cost of US$23.5m.  The plant, which started operating at the beginning of this year, supplies 6 Mw of power to the national electricity grid.

According to the Minister of Finance, John Rwangombwa, the government made the decision to lease out the project as a way of involving the private sector in the strategic plan to generate 1,000Mw over the next seven years.

Kigali to lead campaign against illegal arms
Rwanda was,Tuesday, elected to spearhead a regional campaign against illicit small arms and light weapons.The country was picked by delegates attending a ministerial council meeting of the Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA), a grouping of 15 eastern and central African countries, dedicated to eradicating the proliferation of illegal arms across their borders.

The meeting was held in the Horn of African nation of Djibouti.

Rwanda was elected on the basis of its impressive record in destroying illegal arms, its outstanding role in peacekeeping efforts on the continent, and consistence in honouring in annual financial obligations to the regional body, Internal Security Minister, Sheikh Musa Fazil Harelimana, said Wednesday.

REMA seeks to cut pollution
Seven years after the government banned the importation of leaded petrol, it has now taken further steps to help reduce pollution, especially in urban areas.The measures are contained in a new national strategy designed to help tackle factors that cause climate change.

The policy, approved last week by the Cabinet, is also expected to check the number of vehicles in urban areas, and waste toxic fumes that contribute to climate change, according to officials.The Rwanda National Strategy on Climate Change and Low Carbon Development is part of a wider plan to control the increasing number of cars in Kigali City and other major towns, as well addressing environmental concerns.

The policy will also promote public awareness on the use of alternative clean energy sources, like hydro-power, geothermal and solar energy.

Gatsata garages get ultimatum
All garages operating within a designated wetland in Gatsata Sector, Gasabo District, have up to the end of this month to have relocated to a new site, authorities announced on Wednesday.

Willy Ndizeye, the Mayor of Gasabo, said that owners were given a deadline of not later than October 30, to relocate to a designated location nearby.

Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) and the City of Kigali, early last year, gazetted the lower part of Gatsata, mostly occupied by garages, as a wetland and directed all people in the area to relocate as soon as possible. All the garages in the area, including those in the neighbouring Nyabugogo and hundreds of families that are within the wetland boundaries, are obliged to relocate.

Genocide suspect loses appeal
Drama ensued on Wednesday as a Gacaca Court in Karongi District threw out an appeal contesting a life sentence handed to a Genocide suspect convicted earlier this month.

The suspect, Enos Kagaba, who was deported from the United States, six years ago, denied having any knowledge of what happened in the country saying he was abroad during the Genocide.

The statement was viewed as a mockery, throwing a fully packed courtroom into prolonged laughter because in 1994, Kagaba is known to have been the Director of Studies at Mugonero Secondary School, where thousands of victims perished.

In his defence, Kagaba maintained that an American court had tried and cleared him of any involvement in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. But the court, made up of five judges, still ruled that Kagaba, 55, played a major role in the Western Province during the 1994 slaughter.

Stakeholders move to curb sexual abuse
Different actors involved in the fight against Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) met in Kigali, early this week, for a national consultative forum to map the way forward in fighting the vice.

The meeting, which attracted various stakeholders, was convened to provide background information that would help guide governments in the Great Lakes region, to strengthen efforts for collective effective action against SGBV.

A representative of UN Women Rwanda, John Mutamba, said that over 250,000 women were raped during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, and at least one out of three women faces a risk of being abused.

The Director of the GBV Directorate at the Rwanda National Police, Morris Muligo, said there were 1,654 cases of child defilement and 324 cases of rape against adult women, in 2010, both of which registered an increase compared to the previous year.

More poor families get decent houses
Six vulnerable families in Kinazi Sector, Huye District, received decent houses, courtesy of a grassroots organisation in the Southern Province.All the beneficiaries previously lived in grass-thatched houses.

The Association for the Promotion of Twinning and Friendship between People, (APROJUMAP) constructed the houses in line with the government’s campaign to eradicate thatched houses, officials said.The association’s head, Eugene Niyigena, said the houses, valued at least Rwf 3 million each, were among more than 200 housing units the group has handed over to disadvantaged households since June.

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