Business round-up

Magerwa to develop Rwandan dry ports in the region As part of its expansion strategy, Magerwa Ltd-a local logistics firm is set to develop Rwanda`s dry ports in Tanzania, Kenya and Djibouti. The logistic sector imports goods worth US$1.2 billion which is 25 per cent of the country`s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually. This makes it crucial to economic growth of the country. Magerwa Ltd was recently taken over by Portek International, a Singaporean company. The company received financial support from International Finance Corporation (IFC) worth US$4.8m. The fund is meant to facilitate its planned expansion program. The company will introduce international best practices; improve efficiency as well as reducing costs. This will be through creation of better linkages between Rwanda and ports of Mombasa and Dar-es-salaam. The Director General of Magerwa Ltd, Lambert Kanyoni, said the expansion project will involve developing facilities in three locations in Kenya, Tanzania and Djibouti. Insurers want KCC to review palm trees compensation procedures Insurance companies urged Kigali City Council (KCC) to review the settling of claims involving motorists who damage the city’s palm trees. The move aims at aligning such processes with the standards and procedures of the insurance industry. Currently, when a motorist damages a palm tree, KCC charges them a fixed sum of Rwf1 million in a process which does not involve insurance companies. However, since motorists insure their cars against such risks, insurance companies want KCC to realign their damage policy so that insurance companies are directly involved. The Deputy General Manager of Operations in Phoenix Insurance Company, Gaudens Kanamugire said that they are meant to pay for damages but not fines or penalties. He explained that fines or penalties are not insured but damages are, adding that there is an element of penalty in the amount asked for each damaged palm tree. Government orders 50,000 Digital TV sets The government placed an order to purchase 50,000 digital Television sets as a way of facilitating the migrating from analogue to digital broadcasting. The move is supposed to be implemented by next year. Digital broadcasting will use digital data rather than analogue waveforms in carrying broadcasts over television channels or assigned radio frequency bands. The Chief Executive Officer of Digitech, a company hired by government to assist in the implementation of the program, Andrew Nyamvumba, said that there were delays but the order has been placed with the manufacturers and specifications are being generated. Once the digital TV sets are in the country, they will be taken to five distribution centres in all provinces across the country. The Director of Industrial Systems, one of the service providers in the new program, Wilson Kagabo, said Digitech is in discussions with various financial institutions to facilitate the public get access to new TV sets. Manufacturers asked to meet international standards to enhance exports Local manufacturers were urged to meet conformity and quality standards of products so as to boost the country’s exports drive. The Director General of Rwanda Bureau of Standards (RBS), Mark Cyubahiro, said meeting quality standards of products especially for exports promotes trade and increases sustainable development. He said that there is need to meet conformity assessment, technical regulations and guidelines to access and maintain such markets. Cyubahiro also noted that consumers need assurance about standards and regulations especially during production, saying that this would boost the manufacturer’s turnover. He noted that non-tariff-barriers involving conformity assessment has made it difficult for developing countries to enter markets in industrialized countries. He added that conformity assessment is a vibrant and evolving industry, governments and consumers in industrialised countries are increasingly asking for certain rigorous standards to be met. Rwanda bounced back - AfDB African Development Bank report indicated that Rwanda’s economy made a quick rebound from the economic turbulence and attendant decline it experienced in 2009. According to “The African Economic Outlook 2011”, despite a gloomy picture awaiting African countries that will witness high food, fuel prices and political upheavals, Rwanda is one of the few countries that rebounded and is expected to remain stable. The country`s stability will be ensured through a quick rebound witnessed starting from 2009 and beyond. An important indicator of the rebound stated in the report is the estimation that Rwanda’s real GDP grew at 7.4 per cent last year. This followed the crisis that involved a reduction in demand for Rwandan exports as well as liquidity constraints faced by banks in its domestic economy. Business round-up By Grace Mugoya Magerwa to develop Rwandan dry ports in the region As part of its expansion strategy, Magerwa Ltd-a local logistics firm is set to develop Rwanda`s dry ports in Tanzania, Kenya and Djibouti. The logistic sector imports goods worth US$1.2 billion which is 25 per cent of the country`s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually. This makes it crucial to economic growth of the country. Magerwa Ltd was recently taken over by Portek International, a Singaporean company. The company received financial support from International Finance Corporation (IFC) worth US$4.8m. The fund is meant to facilitate its planned expansion program. The company will introduce international best practices; improve efficiency as well as reducing costs. This will be through creation of better linkages between Rwanda and ports of Mombasa and Dar-es-salaam. The Director General of Magerwa Ltd, Lambert Kanyoni, said the expansion project will involve developing facilities in three locations in Kenya, Tanzania and Djibouti. Insurers want KCC to review palm trees compensation procedures Insurance companies urged Kigali City Council (KCC) to review the settling of claims involving motorists who damage the city’s palm trees. The move aims at aligning such processes with the standards and procedures of the insurance industry. Currently, when a motorist damages a palm tree, KCC charges them a fixed sum of Rwf1 million in a process which does not involve insurance companies. However, since motorists insure their cars against such risks, insurance companies want KCC to realign their damage policy so that insurance companies are directly involved. The Deputy General Manager of Operations in Phoenix Insurance Company, Gaudens Kanamugire said that they are meant to pay for damages but not fines or penalties. He explained that fines or penalties are not insured but damages are, adding that there is an element of penalty in the amount asked for each damaged palm tree. Government orders 50,000 Digital TV sets The government placed an order to purchase 50,000 digital Television sets as a way of facilitating the migrating from analogue to digital broadcasting. The move is supposed to be implemented by next year. Digital broadcasting will use digital data rather than analogue waveforms in carrying broadcasts over television channels or assigned radio frequency bands. The Chief Executive Officer of Digitech, a company hired by government to assist in the implementation of the program, Andrew Nyamvumba, said that there were delays but the order has been placed with the manufacturers and specifications are being generated. Once the digital TV sets are in the country, they will be taken to five distribution centres in all provinces across the country. The Director of Industrial Systems, one of the service providers in the new program, Wilson Kagabo, said Digitech is in discussions with various financial institutions to facilitate the public get access to new TV sets. Manufacturers asked to meet international standards to enhance exports Local manufacturers were urged to meet conformity and quality standards of products so as to boost the country’s exports drive. The Director General of Rwanda Bureau of Standards (RBS), Mark Cyubahiro, said meeting quality standards of products especially for exports promotes trade and increases sustainable development. He said that there is need to meet conformity assessment, technical regulations and guidelines to access and maintain such markets. Cyubahiro also noted that consumers need assurance about standards and regulations especially during production, saying that this would boost the manufacturer’s turnover. He noted that non-tariff-barriers involving conformity assessment has made it difficult for developing countries to enter markets in industrialized countries. He added that conformity assessment is a vibrant and evolving industry, governments and consumers in industrialised countries are increasingly asking for certain rigorous standards to be met. Rwanda bounced back - AfDB African Development Bank report indicated that Rwanda’s economy made a quick rebound from the economic turbulence and attendant decline it experienced in 2009. According to “The African Economic Outlook 2011”, despite a gloomy picture awaiting African countries that will witness high food, fuel prices and political upheavals, Rwanda is one of the few countries that rebounded and is expected to remain stable. The country`s stability will be ensured through a quick rebound witnessed starting from 2009 and beyond. An important indicator of the rebound stated in the report is the estimation that Rwanda’s real GDP grew at 7.4 per cent last year. This followed the crisis that involved a reduction in demand for Rwandan exports as well as liquidity constraints faced by banks in its domestic economy. Ends