Business round up

Utility Agency to Review Interconnection Fees It was reported in the week that Rwanda Utility Regulatory Agency (RURA) plans to review the current interconnection fees among telecommunication operators, a move that might lead to a reduction in industry charges.Currently, the interconnection fee stands at Rwf 40 per call, a fee that operators with a smaller market in the telecom industry view as exorbitant. According to Régis Gatarayiha, RURA’s acting Director General, a study is being commissioned through an international tender to select a professional consulting firm that will conduct a consultative review of the current interconnection costing regime. Gatarayiha told Business Times on Monday that “We estimate that the review will take between three to six months from the time of commissioning of the consultancy.” EAC Not Delaying the Economic Partnership Agreement - Trade Minister Rwanda’s Ministry of Trade and Industry, refuted claims by the European Union (EU) that the East African Community (EAC) is moving at a slow pace towards the conclusion of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) that seeks to create favourable trade terms between the two trade blocs. The EU released a statement to the effect that the EPA Framework set in Kampala in 2007 has stalled due to the slow pace of the EAC. The EU said that this has put business within an unpredictable and uncertain environment, calling for an end to such legal uncertainty. “EAC is not delaying the EPAs conclusion, though we had hoped to have it signed before the end of this year; nevertheless there are major issues on which we have to agree,” said Emmanuel Hategeka, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Bankers Issue New Mortgage Rules The Rwandan Bankers Association (RBA) issued a new set of guidelines that will facilitate clients seeking to access credit facilities using secured property assets. This follows issuance of new application forms by Rwanda Development Board (RDB) to register a charge against property assets. According to the Chairman of RBA, Steve Caley, clients will have to present all the information as required when seeking facilities secured by property. “They need to be aware that this is a general requirement and not one of just a particular bank demanding too much information and documents,” he told Business Times.Caley, who doubles as the Managing Director of FINA Bank observed that the new registration requirements will reduce the time spent on processing such transactions in banks. RwandAir set to join IATA The national carrier, RwandAir revealed the intention of joining the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in February 2011. RwandAir said the move will boost its ticket sales through increased inter-line and code-share contracts with other Airlines. The airline was supposed to have joined the association last year. RwandAir’s Chief Executive Officer, Rene Janata, said the delay was caused by compliance procedures required by the international body. “We have been in the process of getting a certificate from IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) but the audit took longer than we anticipated,” Janata said. IOSA program is an internationally recognised and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline. The national carrier is in an expansion process that has seen the company acquire a fleet of five planes including two Boeing 737-500, two Bombardier CRJs and a Dash 8. UK firm seeks contract to sell Rwandan tea It was also revealed that a UK-based company, Yorkshire is seeking a contract with the Rwandan Tea Authority (Ocir-Thé) to sell Rwandan tea abroad. This comes with the government’s campaign to privatise all its tea factories and plantations in order to increase their competitiveness, productivity and tea revenues. In a phone interview with the Business Times, the Director General of Ocir-Thé, Anthony Butera said that Yorkshire and Ocir-Thé are in negotiations for a forward contract, were the UK based company is seeking to be buying tea in bulk and exporting it abroad. Butera said that “We had a meeting last month with Yorkshire representatives and now we are dealing with the paperwork; but we are yet to agree on the terms of the deal.” Rwanda eyes Middle East for its tea bag exports Rwanda is eyeing the Middle East as the main market for her tea bag exports, with 40,000 cartons of tea bags and lose packet in Dubai ready to be traded. Tea is Rwanda’s biggest export commodity. Antoine Butera Director General of Rwanda Tea Authority said that the teas were shipped to Dubai tea trading centre where they were branded and packed ready to be traded. “We intend to penetrate the Middle East market and other international markets through supermarkets in Dubai that have branches worldwide,” Butera emphasized. Butera said they also intend to contact brokers who can sell on a daily basis and experienced branders and packers to advise how to penetrate the market. Rwandatel’s subscriber base up 35.2% Barely two months after launching the lowest calling tariff on the market, the country’s leading Internet Service Provider (ISP), Rwandatel, has announced that its subscriber base has grown by 35.2 percent to over 600,000 subscribers. Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA) said in June this year that Rwandatel had registered 443,534 active subscribers. According to Rwandatel’s Corporate Communications Manager, Cleophas Kabasiita, the increase is attributed to the launch of the On-net Rwf 3 per minute tariff that attracted 156,466 subscribers in less than three months. “Our mobile subscribers have grown steadily and we have seen an upsurge with the introduction of each new product and/or service,’ she said in an interview. However, the operator was targeting the same figures by the end of 2009 when it launched its 3G, GSM technology in December 2008. Gov’t to boost cassava production The Rwandan government is set to promote cassava growing to boost food security in the country, a government official has said. Norbert Sendege, the Director General of Rwanda Agriculture Development Authority (RADA), said in an interview that the government intends to increase yields to 20,000 tons per hectare and total production to 2 million tons per year. “Cassava should be a priority, because it’s a staple food for most Rwandans and can be produced as different varieties. It is also drought-resistant, in comparison with other crops,” he said. Cassava can be consumed as fries, chipped-off dried tubers, a solid meal, and flour and tapioca starch. Dried cassava roots and meal are also used as raw material for compound animal feed while cassava starch is used for industrial purposes. Ends