Gov’t names new envoy to France

KIGALI - As a sign of normalized relations between France and Rwanda, the government has appointed a new Ambassador to Paris, a week after France named an envoy to represent it in Kigali. A Cabinet meeting chaired by President Paul Kagame on Wednesday evening appointed Jacques Kabare as Rwanda’s new envoy to France. The move comes barely a month after both countries agreed to restore diplomatic relations that were severed three years ago. Prior to his appointment, Kabare was an adviser to the President of the African Development Bank (AFDB), Dr Donald Kaberuka, and was once a member of the National Constitutional Commission. In a similar development, Ernest Rwamucyo was named as Rwanda’s new Ambassador to the United Kingdom (UK). Formerly an expert at the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Rwamucyo was at one time a Director in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. The cabinet meeting also appointed Joe Ritchie, the former Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) as a Senior Presidential Advisor, while the Deputy Ombudsman, Immaculee Mukarurangwa, was named the new Secretary General of the Lower Chamber of Deputies. Kampeta Sayinzoga Pichette, the Chief Government Economist, was elevated to Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, while Edouard Kalisa becomes the new Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth. Cabinet also approved a Presidential decree transferring Jeannot Ruhunga, the former head of crime intelligence in the Rwanda National Police, to the Rwanda Defence Forces and promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. The meeting also approved Colonel Remy Sinkazi as Burundi’s new Ambassador to Rwanda and Hussein Awad Ali as Sudan’s envoy to Rwanda with residence in Kampala. The cabinet also received a report from the Commission of Inquiry into the 1994 plane crash that killed former Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana and approved a move to make the report public. Ends