Weekly review

Sezibera sworn-in as new EAC secretary GeneralThe newly appointed Secretary General of East African Community (EAC), Dr.Richard Sezibera, has said that he will advance regional integration to the desired level. Shortly after being sworn-in, by the registrar of The East African Court of Justice, Dr.John Ruhangisa, Sezibera, noted that his duties are clearly stipulated in the EAC treaty. Sezibera, a suave and eloquent medical Doctor has, among other posts, served as Rwanda’s ambassador to the United States and was special Presidential Envoy to The great Lakes Region, before becoming the Minister of Health, he was part of the committee that drafted and fronted Rwanda’s request to join the EAC and also played a prominent role in the process to restore relations between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Another FDLR officer defects Damien Kwizera, a member of the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR) militia, has joined other senior members in defecting from the outlawed group. He abandoned the outfit and returned to Rwanda on April 15, after 17 years in the Congolese jungles. His return was facilitated by the United Nations Mission in the DRC (MONSUCO). Kwizera, who was attached to the political wing of the outfit, left Rwanda in 1994 as a young second lieutenant. “Our objective was to capture power through armed struggle, but given the lack of support and the Umoja Wetu Operation, we were left without direction.” Umoja Wetu was a joint military offensive that was mounted by the Congolese army with help of their Rwandan counterparts that left the FDLR severely weakened. Over 80 university students get free laptops Compassion International-Rwanda chapter, Wednesday, donated laptops to 88 students from various institutions of higher learning. The beneficiaries are under the NGO`s Leadership Development Programme (LDP), that facilitates students to acquire university education as well as Christian-based leadership skills. The students were drawn from the National University of Rwanda (NUR), School of Finance and Banking (SFB), Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Umutara Polytechnic and Kigali Institute of Education (KIE). In addition to the laptops, the students were also given flash disks and modems to help them connect to the Internet. The whole project cost over Rwf 35m. The NGO plans to support at least 3,000 students to access university education. Currently, they support 105 students. Gov’t approves broadcasting policy A cabinet meeting chaired by President Paul Kagame, Wednesday, approved a new broadcasting policy that will facilitate the migration from analogue to digital. According to the acting Director General at Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency, Regis Gatarayiha, the approval of the new policy ushers in a new era in the history of the broadcasting industry. This paves way for the licensing framework which is in line with migration from analogue to digital. The approval of the policy follows a deadline of 2015, set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), for all member-states to switch off analogue signals. Broadcasting Digital Migration (BDM) is the process of converting the broadcast of television broadcasting signals from analogue to digital technology. Meanwhile, the cabinet meeting also approved organisational structures of ten new parastatals. Some of these parastatals are a result of merging of several state-owned institutions. The cabinet also approved the structures of Rwanda Education Board (REB), Rwanda Local Development Support Fund (RLDSF), Rwanda Correctional Service (RCS) and Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB). Others include Rwanda Natural Resources Authority (RNRA), Rwanda Transport Development Agency (RTDA), Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA) and Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC). Court appoints administrator for RwandatelThe Commercial Court in Nyarugenge, on Thursday, appointed Richard Mugisha as Rwandatel’s Administrator, effective immediately, for a period of two months. Reading the ruling, Judge Germain M. Bwasisi, said that according to section 18 and 19 of the Commercial Law of 12/2009, the court has the powers to appoint an administrator in the event that the company is deemed to be heading for bankruptcy. The ruling spelled out the specific roles and responsibilities of the administrator, which included total management of all of the company’s assets and accounts. The administrator will also provide periodical reports when asked to. The government, through the Registrar General, instituted insolvency proceedings seeking court orders to shut down the company after audit reports indicated that it was in a state of bankruptcy. Ends