thank you my Lord because you have done a great job on this year.amen.

Trading obstacles hurt Umeme shares at NSE

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A customer care staff explains about different voltage metres at the Lugogo Umeme Centre in Kampala. Umeme shares began trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange on December 14, 2012. File Photo. 

By Nicholas Kalungi

Posted  Wednesday, December 19  2012 at  00:00

In Summary

The market systems of both Uganda Security Exchange (USE) and NSE are not inter-connected; thus, cannot facilitate trading for cross-listed companies.

1
inShare

Kenyans will have to wait a little longer before they can buy Umeme shares directly from the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE).

Even though Umeme—the country’s main power distributor— started trading its shares at the NSE secondary market on Friday, media reports reported yesterday that Umeme’s shares had failed to trade for the second consecutive day after entering the market last week.

This is attributed to the fact that the market systems of both the Uganda Security Exchange (USE) and NSE are not inter-connected; thus, cannot facilitate trading for cross-listed companies in the region.

While explaining this matter, Mr Kenneth Kitariko, the African Alliance chief executive officer, said the issue revolves around were the shares are located; how one can access them and later make a transaction.

“What is happening is there is no mechanism to facilitate trade. For a transaction to occur under the current circumstances, one needs to make these electronic shares (viewable on Nairobi counters) physical through getting a certificate from Uganda and then taking it to Kenya,” Mr Kitariko said.

He added: “These shares are originally listed on the USE market. The people in Kenya can electronically view them at the NSE market but cannot buy them.”

Mr Japheth Katto, the executive director of Capital Markets Authority (CMA), acknowledged the presence of both regulatory and infrastructure obstacles.

He, however, said the regional capital markets authorities are committed to fixing some of their problems in the first quarter of 2013.

“There is a regulatory problem that we are working to fix. Companies cross-list but cannot sell shares. Our infrastructure is not inter-connected. It is a complicated matter but we hope that within the first quarter of 2013, we will have a solution to it,” Mr Katto said, adding:“In the long run, we are looking at having one integrated system that will enable all the five markets in the region to communicate together. Provided we can harmonise the systems and have common standards, we would have fixed this problem.”

Challenge of cross-listed counters
Mr Patrick Mutimba, the Makerere University director for investments, said cross-listed counters also face exchange rate challenges which may limit arbitrageurs and hurt trade.

“Arbitrage is where a trader seeks to take a risk less return from concurrently trading two securities in the same sector that indicate a clear case of mispricing. One may do this by selling the overpriced security while buying the underpriced security,” Mr Mutimba said.

He further explained: “The challenge will still be currency considerations since the Ugandan company earns Ugandan shillings while the Kenyan companies earn Kenyan shillings. This difference may be mitigated since all will be using the Automatic Tariff Adjustment by 2013 January.”

Umeme became the first utility company registered within East Africa but outside Kenya to trade its shares at the Nairobi Stock Exchange after its introduction of 1,623,878,005 shares of Umeme Holdings Limited on NSE’s Main Investment Market Segment (MIMS) at a reference price of about Shs 273 (Ksh8.8).

Prior to this, several companies registered in Kenya had cross-listed and are trading at the Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania bourses but no company from these regional countries had ever cross-listed and traded at NSE.

In Kampala, Umeme’s share continues to trade at Shs275, the same amount it sold its share during the Initial Public Offering period.

UCC sets new deadline for counterfeit phones

A collection of mobile phones. Counterfeit phones have flooded the Ugandan market, prompting communications regulator UCC to set a deadline for blocking their usage. PHOTO. BY FAISWAL KASIRYE. 

By NICHOLAS KALUNGI

Posted  Friday, December 21  2012 at  02:00

In Summary

UCC’s move follows an increase in the influx of fake mobile handsets onto the Ugandan market.

Kampala

Communications regulator, Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), has issued a new deadline indicating that it will block counterfeit phones starting January 31, 2013.

The commission’s latest position comes about two months after the same body back-tracked on its earlier commitment to block fake phones from accessing any network in November this year, and instead shifted it to next year.

In a press statement, UCC said that all new fake phones will be blocked starting January 2013 while old counterfeits but already in use will be denied network access in July of the same year. “New counterfeit mobile phones that have previously not subscribed to any network shall be denied access to all networks. The proposed date for the implementation of this phase is January 31, 2013,” part of the statement reads in part.

Implementing deadline
It adds: “All counterfeit mobile phones, including the ones that have already subscribed to a network, shall be disconnected. The proposed date for the implementation of this step is July 1, 2013.”

But, Eng Geoffrey Mutabazi, the executive director of UCC told the Daily Monitor on phone yesterday, that while the commission is committed to block counterfeit phones as stipulated on the schedule, the process is a matter of public interest that may need to be postponed.

Eng Mutabazi said: “That is our timeline and if the public can respond positively, we can even implement this much earlier. However, we are aware that this is a matter of public interest that may involve discussions over the dates.”

The move by UCC to eliminate fake phones follows a growing entry and use of such handsets on the Ugandan market in recent months, following Kenya’s September 30 de-activation of sim-cards carried in fake handsets. This is in addition to the fact that fake mobile phones are far cheaper compared to original ones.

If implemented, thousands of people both users and traders, will be affected. Although there are no figures to quantify the number of fake phones on the market, a move through down town Kampala shows that many of the shops trading in phones have a bigger stock of counterfeit phones and parts than original phones.

Single father of five needs Shs107m for new kidney

Achora Masaensio Gwokto, a single father of five, needs Shs107m for a kidney transplant. Because of failed kidneys, he cannot do anything on his apart from talking. Photo by Rachel Mabala. 

By Christine Katende

Posted  Thursday, December 20  2012 at  00:00

Achora Masaensio Gwokto survived death when he went into a coma for 10 days in August, after his kidneys failed.

The problem started with diabetes that manifested in form of blisters on his feet in 1993. “I discovered later that I could be having diabetes after a postmortem report of a colleague of mine who collapsed and died revealed that he had diabetes,” he says.

Gwokto rushed to Mulago National Referral Hospital for a test but he was immediately admitted after doctors found out that his blood sugar level was very high. To save his life, doctors had to control the sugar level before he could be discharged. He was later advised to treat himself with an insulin injection that he had to have once every day, it is on this and some drugs that he has lived until this year in August when he went into coma.

After 10 years with diabetes, he developed high blood pressure which forced him to get medical insurance at International Hospital Kampala so that he could get treatment at any time. “Life did not improve. Instead, it worsened. Soon I would spend a day without urinating yet I used to go for short calls more than three times a day. The swelling developed again on the feet, legs and stomach,” he narrates.

The diagnosis
The routine check-ups Gwokto went for revealed that his kidneys had started getting ill and thus the body reactions. Doctors gave him drugs (he can’t recall which ones in particular) to treat the kidneys in vain. “I was then referred to Dr Ssekasanvu, a kidney specialist in Kamwokya, who told me that my kidneys had only remained with five per cent functioning levels. With that, he would not even recommend dialysis saying that the only option was to undergo a transplant because dialysis treatment is every expensive and does not solve the problem either,” he says.

After three months, Gwokto says Dr Ssekasanvu referred him to Mulago for kidney failure tests that revealed both his kidneys had completely failed. It was after this test that he was advised to start dialysis treatment, towards the end of August. He received the treatment thrice a week at a fee of Shs1.2m but once missed a full week’s treatment, when his family failed to raise the money, as Charles Onen, his brother, notes. “Because we couldn’t sustain the treatment fees we asked the doctor to reduce the sessions to twice a week at Shs800,000, including the prescribed drugs.

Gwokto cannot walk so it is his brother, an air craft engineer with Uganda police, who lifts him from place to place. He cannot do anything for himself apart from talking. His diet is limited to posho, fresh fish and beans with some milk, once in a while, to balance his diet.

What he needs
Dr Robert Kalyesubula a physician (Nephorologist) at Mulago says, “Gwokto was diagnosed with hypertension, diabetes which developed into kidney failure with reduced urine output, difficulty in breathing, and aneamia. Apparently he has developed end renal disease which means that he needs an urgent kidney transplant if he is to survive,” he says. He needs about Shs107m for the air ticket, hospital fees, a caretaker, and up keep for a donor who he has not got yet.

The 49-year-old single father of two, who is also guardian to a late brother’s three children used to work as a civil servant with the local government in Moroto and later Kiboga.

To Help:
You can call Charles Onen Gwokto on 077-2408273.
Or deposit money on account no. 0140529139001 in the name of Achora Masaensio Gwokto, Stanbic Bank, City Branch

NRA: Gun bans at schools create dangerous places

Bullet-proofing kids

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: NRA Executive Director Wayne LaPierre says NRA horrified at school shooting
• NEW: But he says that policies banning weapons at schools create risks
• The Obama administration has started debate on gun control
• More funerals of the victims will take place Friday

(CNN) -- The National Rifle Association is grieving the lives lost in last week's school shooting in Connecticut, but it is no-weapons policies at schools that put children's lives at risk, the group's executive director said Friday.

Wayne LaPierre spoke to reporters in an appearance that was interrupted twice by protesters shouting anti-NRA slogans and bearing banners in front of his podium, including one that said, "NRA killing our kids."

The nation's most prominent gun rights lobby joins "the nation in horror, outrage and earnest prayer for the families" who "suffered such an incomprehensible loss" in Newtown, Connecticut, LaPierre said.

However, he said, schools remain a target by criminal gunmen because they are not protected by armed security the way other important institutions are.

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Coach's Sandy Hook speech goes viral

Pastor: For some, too soon to forgive

Policies banning guns at schools create a place that "insane killers" consider "the safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk," LaPierre said.

Such policies leave schoolchildren "utterly defenseless, and the monsters and the predators of the world know it," he said.

Friday's event was billed as a news conference, but LaPierre only read a statement; he took no questions.

Funerals: A community says goodbye

One week ago, a gunman forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School and shot 20 students, six adults then himself dead in Newtown.

Adam Lanza had killed his mother before arriving at the school.

Across the nation Friday morning, church bells rang in remembrance of the victims. The NRA was among those groups that observed a moment of silence at 9:30 a.m., the same time as last week's massacre.

NRA power and money go a long way in states

Despite the relative silence early on from the powerful lobbying group's offices in Fairfax, Virginia, the NRA is regrouping in anticipation of a massive legislative push for gun control legislation, a gun policy expert said.

Kristin Goss, an associate professor of public policy and political science at Duke University and author of "Disarmed: The Missing Movement for Gun Control in America," said that strategy is part of the organization's playbook after an incident such as this one.

After such a terrifying event, when there is a national outcry, the NRA typically lays low, Goss said.

"They're used to seeing this cycle, express condolences and hope the attention will shift to a new issue."

Obama starts gun control debate

This week, the Obama administration put into motion an effort to change U.S. gun laws.

Vice President Joe Biden met with Cabinet members and law enforcement leaders at the White House to start formulating what Obama called "real reforms right now."

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More than 195,000 people have signed an online White House petition supporting new gun control legislation.

A slight majority of Americans favor major restrictions on guns: 52%, up five points from a survey taken in August after the July shooting inside a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, where 12 people died, according to a CNN/ORC International poll released Wednesday.

Parents defend right to keep guns in the home

Biden will lead a White House effort to craft proposals aimed at preventing another tragedy such as the Newtown shootings. The recommendations are due sometime in January.

That same month, several lawmakers have promised to introduce or reintroduce gun control legislation, ranging from a reinstatement of a federal ban on assault weapons to banning the sale of high-capacity magazines.

Since the shootings, a number of conservative Democrats and some Republicans who have supported gun rights have said they are open to discussing the issue.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, said she will introduce legislation to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004. The White House has said that the president supports that effort.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi took her own step towards reform Wednesday by announcing a new task force on preventing gun violence.

Pelosi said the task force will work towards restoring the assault weapons ban, strengthening the background check system, and addressing mental health and violence issues.

The NRA, with its roughly 4.3 million members, is the standard-bearer for protecting the Second Amendment. It is also the source of hefty campaign donations.

During the 2012 election cycle, the NRA donated $719,596 to candidates. Republicans received $634,146 of that, according to the Center for Responsive Politics' analysis of federal campaign data.

Some $85,450 went to Democrats, many of them in states that are considered more conservative when it comes to gun control laws.

Gun owners fear new legislation could tread on their rights

Tributes ongoing for victims

Carloads of teenagers from a Minnesota school that suffered a mass shooting in 2005 headed toward Newtown on Thursday to offer their support.

Also Thursday, burials were held for three children and two teachers.

More than 2,200 miles west of Newtown, Ogden, Utah, the hometown of shooting victim Emilie Parker, was festooned with pink ribbons as her parents brought her body back for burial.

"This sucks -- there's no reason for us to be here tonight," her father, Robbie Parker, told friends and well-wishers at a memorial service Thursday night. "And I'm so thankful for everybody that's here."

His voice trailed off as he struggled for composure. Seeing the pink -- his slain daughter's favorite color -- made him and his wife, Alissa, "feel like we were getting a big hug from everybody."

Also buried Thursday, at an undisclosed location, was Nancy Lanza, the shooter's mother, whom he killed before the school rampage, said Donald Briggs, a friend of the family who grew up with her in Kingston, New Hampshire.

Plans had not been finalized for the burial of the gunman, her son, Adam.

Three 6-year-olds were among those buried Thursday: Allison Wyatt, who loved to draw and wanted to be an artist; Benjamin Wheeler, who loved the Beatles; and red-haired Catherine Hubbard, who loved animals.

Gun owners fear new legislation could tread on their rights

By Halimah Abdullah and Allison Brennan, CNN

December 21, 2012 -- Updated 1303 GMT (2103 HKT)

NRA promises 'meaningful contribution'

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Gun owners have walked a careful line in the wake of the Connecticut school shootings
• Gun sales are up across the country in anticipation of possible gun-control legislation
• Some gun owners part with the NRA on policies, calling its recent announcement "garbage"
• Taking away Second Amendment rights, some gun owners say, can lead to tyranny

Washington (CNN) -- Lou Klein, 64, shot his first gun when he was 11.

"My dad bought me a single-shot .22 rifle at an Ace Hardware store in Chicago for $19.95," Klein remembered. "I used to take that gun on the bus when I was 11 years old and go down to the shooting range. You couldn't do that now; you would have the FBI on you."

Those bus trips to the firing range started a lifelong passion for the Vietnam veteran and lifetime National Rifle Association member and recruiter who owns Lou's Sporting Goods in Bowie, Maryland.

His shop sells everything from handguns to AR-15 semi-automatic rifles -- the military-style weapon used in several mass shootings, including the one last week in Newtown, Connecticut, that claimed 28 lives, including 20 children, their principal, the shooter's mother and gunman Adam Lanza, who took his own life.

Klein's business is booming. And like many gun owners, he said he doesn't think limiting firearms will prevent another massacre.

"Gun control is not the answer; it's about education and about responsibility," said Klein, who supports background checks, a waiting period, gun safety courses and mental health screening.

Dershowitz: 'NRA is buying their facts'

Florida's Scott talks Conn. shooting, NRA

Fear of new laws drive gun sales

Could the NRA become obsolete?

Klein and millions of other small-town gun shop owners, hunters, housewives, former police officers and just plain everyday folks who proudly defend their right to bear arms have walked a tenuous line in the week following the Newtown shootings.

They've tried to balance responding to the nation's grief and horror at a crime that ended so many young lives, while worrying about what gun rights advocates see as a threat of knee-jerk legislation that could tread on their constitutional rights.Florida

"I believe the Second Amendment provided that the average American citizen should have the same rights to armaments as the military. But do I want my next-door nut job neighbor to have a bazooka? No," said Noel Flasterstein, a Florida attorney and gun rights advocate.

Mike Zammitti, a young gun owner in New England, agrees.

Zammitti, 22, lives in Boylston, Massachusetts, and has three guns -- a .22 rifle, a .25-caliber pocket pistol and a .22 Luger handgun. He also is a Class-A license holder, which allows him to "conceal and carry" his guns with him. But that doesn't mean that he does it.

Poll: Are Singaporeans least happy?

By Alexandra Hoegberg

December 21, 2012 -- Updated 1608 GMT (0008 HKT)

Singapore is 'least emotional' country

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• A Gallup survey shows that Singaporeans are least likely to report positive emotions
• Singapore has one of the highest per capita GDPs globally
• U.S. economists have found that income only affects happiness up to a certain amount
• Panama is the world's happiest place

(CNN) -- Perhaps money can't buy happiness. A recent Gallup report shows that Singapore's wealthy population is the unhappiest -- less happy than the populations of Iraq, Haiti, Afghanistan, and Syria.

Singaporeans were least likely to report having positive emotions-- despite the fact that they enjoy one of the highest per capita GDP values in the world.

The international pollster measured "positive emotions." Carried out last year in 148 countries, the survey asked around 1,000 persons in each country five questions about what positive experiences people had had the day before: if they had been well-rested, treated with respect, if they smiled or laughed a lot, and whether they'd done or learnt something interesting.

In Singapore, only 46% of the interviewed answered "yes" to these questions, compared with 55% reported from people in Haiti and Afghanistan. Even in Syria, where the uprisings that later developed into a civil war took place in 2011, 60% of the people asked answered yes to the survey's questions.

Economists in the United States have found that domestically, income only affects daily happiness when earning up to $75,000 annually. A higher income than that doesn't make much of a difference for American citizens' well-being, Gallup wrote.

The population that reported the most positive emotions was Panama, a country with a per capita GDP ranking 90th in the world. In fact, eight out of the 10 happiest countries in the survey are located in Latin America.

As for Singapore, this is not the first time it has come in last in a Gallup poll.

Last month, Singapore ranked as the least emotional country, which measured the daily emotions of people in 150 countries during a three-year period.

MPs withdraw from Nebanda death probePublish Date: Dec 21, 2012

Dr Bitekyerezo (L) congratulates pathologist Onzivua after his release from police custody at Dr. Baryomunsi looks on

newvision

By Robert Mwesigye
The team of medical parliamentarians led by Kinkizi  West MP Chris Baryomunsi has officially withdrawn from the investigations into the sudden death of Butaleja woman legislator Cerinah Nebanda.

A report presented by Workers MP Sam Lyomoki to the Parliament  said that they had withdrawn from the investigations because there had been continuous attempts by the Police to frustrate their efforts to independently establish the truth.

Reading the report Lyomoki said that despite the fact the pathologist – Dr. Sylvester Onzivua- commissioned by Parliament to fly Nebanda’s tissue samples to South Africa for tests went through the right procedures, and was transporting the samples in bio-hazard bags as per international standards, Police arrested him even after he had been cleared by the Health ministry.

Lyomoki said no law or procedure had been breached in attempting to carry out independent investigations. He attacked the Police saying they were insistent on harassing them other than pursuing suspects in resolving the death of Nebanda.

“Police has not been interested in the team appointed by parliament and the family of the late to carry out independent investigations,” he said.

Before concluding the report, he said it was not admissible for the family of the late to continue going through the trauma of losing their loved one.

Concluding his report, he said the Police should stop harassing the MPs who were involved in the investigations and the pathologist, Dr. Onzivua.

The report recommended that no further postmortem should be carried out on Nebanda’s body and that burial arrangements should proceed. He also submitted that the report was the position of parliament.

Mbabazi bashes report

Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi took the floor and refuted that the report was the position of the house. “I am not only a member of this house, but a very old member of this house. That is not the position of parliament,” Mbabazi said as MPs booed and heckled him. The session continues.

Ethnic violence kills 39 in KenyaPublish Date: Dec 21, 2012

newvision

RIDERS armed with guns, machetes and spears killed 30 people, including several children, and torched their houses in Kenya's coastal region on Friday, police said, heightening security concerns ahead of next year's election.

 

Nine of the raiders were also killed in what appeared to have been a revenge attack by settled Pokomo farmers against the semi-nomadic Orma pastoralists after a series of clashes in August in which more than 100 people were killed.

 

The two groups have fought for years over access to grazing, farmland and water, but human rights groups have blamed the latest violence on politicians seeking to drive away parts of the local population they believe will vote for their rivals in presidential and parliamentary elections in March.

 

Paramedics at the Malindi district hospital assist injured people

 

If those charges are true, it further raises fears of a repeat of the ethnic violence that rocked Kenya after the disputed 2007 presidential election, in which more than 1,200 people were killed countrywide and many more thousands driven from their homes.

 

"About 150 Pokomo raiders attacked Kipao village which is inhabited by the Ormas early on Friday. The Ormas appeared to have been aware and were prepared," Robert Kitur, Coast Region deputy police chief, told reporters.

 

One survivor said the attackers stuck at dawn.

 

A nurse at Malindi district hospital attends to an injured woman

 

"There were too many gunshots. They used also spears and machetes. I ran out of my house and left behind my wife and two children, and told them not to leave ... but the enemies reached my house, killed my family and burnt my house as I watched from where I was hiding," said Osman Amran, 63, of the Orma tribe, who lay on a hospital bed with deep cut wounds on both thighs.

 

President Mwai Kibaki instructed security forces to prevent further deaths. Kibaki imposed a curfew in September and sent extra security forces to the area to try to end the violence, intensified by an influx of weapons in the last few years.

 

Children injured during an attack in their village in Tana River district receive treatment inside a ward at the Malindi district hospital

 

Burns and bullet wounds

 

Police sent an additional team of 200 paramilitary officers to the region to quell the fighting.

 

Police had already been deployed to the area in September after the attacks in August. It was unclear how the latest violence erupted while officers were on the ground, something which also baffling to the police.

 

"We are still trying to establish how these attacks escaped the knowledge of the officers on the ground. The officers responded after most of the damage had been done," Kitur said.

 

Police said six women and 13 children were among the dead and nine of the attackers were killed. Many bled to death from wounds inflicted with machetes. The village was deserted as the survivors fled for fear of further attacks.

 

A child injured during an attack in her village in Tana River district rests inside a ward at the Malindi district hospital 

 

Kenya Red Cross, which has a team on the ground treating the wounded, put the death toll at 32, including several children, with about 45 houses set on fire. Red Cross photographs posted on Twitter showed the injured being treated for serious cuts to the arms and head. One person had lost an arm.

 

"We have been administering first aid services to many with cuts, some very deep on various body parts especially the head and back. Others have burns and bullet wounds," said Mwanaisha Hamisi, the Coast regional Red Cross coordinator.

 

"It is almost overwhelming but we have mobilised our people from other areas of the province."

Kagame’s RPF Jubilee speech

President Kagame delivers his address during RPF’s 25th Anniversary celebrations yesterday. The New Times / Village Urugwiro.

President Paul Kagame delivered a historical speech to thousands of people who turned up for the 25th Anniversary celebrations of Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) at Amahoro stadium yesterday.

Below is the President’s speech in full:

Today is an important day in our history as we celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the Rwandese Patriotic Front, and I am pleased to share it with you. I extend a special welcome to President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, as well as friends and delegations from fraternal political organisations from across the world that are here with us to mark this historic occasion.

Let me also take this opportunity to congratulate members of the RPF on coming of age – not just in years, but in terms of all that we have achieved together.

The RPF has come this far because of the dedication and sacrifice of many of its leaders and cadres.

I would like to pay particular tribute to the many patriots who laid down their lives so that today Rwandans can enjoy liberty and lead dignified lives. In particular I wish to single out the founding chairman of the RPF, Major General Fred Gisa Rwigema, Colonel Alexis Kanyarengwe, Major Peter Bayingana, Aloysia Inyumba and Rutabayiru Modeste.

I also wish to acknowledge others still with us today whose dedication to their nation and to the ideals and goals of the RPF have contributed immensely to our ongoing struggle. Among them are:

Tito Rutaremara, Mugengana Bosco, Protais Musoni, Rugogwe Innocent, Michael Rugema, Bwitare Eulade, Joseph Karemera, Rumongi,  Zeno Mutimura,  Karenzi Theoneste, and Connie Akayezu.

This list is by no means exhaustive, and we owe our eternal gratitude to all those who have been an indispensable part of the RPF from the start.

The RPF had precursors - there had been earlier efforts by organisations such as the Rwandese Alliance for National Unity (RANU) and the Rwandese Refugees Welfare Foundation (RRWF) to confront the very grave national issues affecting their country. But these were largely fragmented.

In December1987, Rwandans living in this region and some from farther afield, imbued with a vision for a free, just and democratic country, convened a meeting to consolidate and breathe new life into these earlier efforts.

In its very first congress, the Rwandese Patriotic Front was formed to correct the effects of several decades of misrule and restore respect for the sanctity of life as well as reinstate full citizenship to all Rwandans, including those  exiled in neighbouring countries.

The RPF was always driven by the desire to reunite a fractured country and build a nation in which all Rwandans could live in dignity and freedom.

In addition to addressing political and other injustices, the RPF had a vision for the socio-economic transformation of Rwanda and a plan to set the country on the road to development.

From the beginning, the RPF chose to engage the then Government of Rwanda in making the necessary reforms to restore citizens’ rights.  This approach did not yield the desired results and instead extremism continued which left the RPF with no other choice but to wage an armed struggle. The extremist government which had all along ran the country on a divisive ideology intensified its policy of killing sections of the population, culminating in the genocide which the RPF brought to an end in July 1994.

Excellencies;

Distinguished Guests;

Since then, the RPF has made significant progress in resolving many of the complex challenges facing Rwanda against overwhelming odds.  For sure, the country is much better off today than it has ever been.

Under the leadership of the RPF, Rwandans have built a unified nation and, through citizen participation, have succeeded in laying a strong foundation for the country, so that it gains  its rightful place.

All this could not have been done without investing in our people by :

creating and making available equal opportunities to all Rwandans in education, healthcare and employment,

empowering women and youth and giving people living with disabilities their rightful value.

Improving the business environment and promoting entrepreneurship.

Good progress has been made in socio-economic development, leading to poverty reduction and increased incomes, Even in the most hostile environments, the RPF did not lose focus and, together with the people of Rwanda, continued to make enduring contributions to the improvement of their livelihoods.

The RPF has, and will always, follow that ideological line which places country, institutions and systems above any individual or other interests.

This ideology fosters open debate and continuous dialogue, embracing divergent ideas from all members and sections of the society towards consensus and a shared vision.

Excellencies;
Ladies and Gentlemen;

The road we still have to travel is very long; the RPF has only made a small portion of that journey. We intend to stay the course and remain as forward-looking as we were 25 years ago.

At 25, the RPF is as old as a generation. People born around the time it was formed are now adults. Unlike them, however, our party did not have the opportunity or privilege to go through the normal stages of growth – the RPF was forced to run before we could barely crawl because circumstances required it.

This generation, the youth of RPF and Rwanda, must now be prepared to assume their responsibility and take our country to the next level. The foundation for true transformation has been laid and the opportunity to build on it must be seized.

The RPF welcomes the old and new partnerships with other African movements and political organisations that are working to make Africa a significant global player.

Africa cannot remain on the margins when we have the people and resources to make it a key player.

We Africans must recognise that no one is going to hand that role to us. We have to continue to struggle for it.

Let our celebrations today remind us of how far our country and our continent have come. Let this important milestone re-invigorate us for what lies ahead because the struggle for dignity and prosperity of Rwandans and Africans as a whole is not yet over.

Thank you and I wish us all a happy Silver Jubilee

Tigo to foster women entrepreneurship

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Tigo has teamed up with Cherie Blair Foundation for Women and USAID to benefit women from Rwanda, Ghana and TanzaniaThe New Times. File.

Rwandan women entrepreneurs will be among 4,000 people to benefit from a scheme set up by Millicom International Cellular, (Tigo), to foster women entrepreneurship in the fast growing African mobile financial services industry as well as enhancing household income. 

The initiative, which is a partnership between Tigo, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) aims at supporting and training the beneficiaries to set up businesses as Tigo Mobile Money agents enhance financial inclusion.

Experts believe the scheme that also targets women from Tanzania and Ghana, will help alleviate poverty in Africa.

 “This initiative enables our women agents to access additional working capital to support more transactions on Tigo Cash which means more people can be financially included,” Tongai Muramba, head of Tigocash at Tigo Rwanda told Business Times

Muramba added that the partnership will also enable Tigo to recruit more women to become Tigo Cash agents and thereby give them a chance to increase their incomes.

 “For the Tigo Cash business, this is a great way to increase the level of liquidity in our agent network, even as we increase the size of the agent network,” he said.

“All these will enable us to better serve our customers and build a microfinance institution service that is the pride of Rwanda,” he added.

The initiative will be launched in the country next year with hope that many women will be able to start businesses to boost their incomes.

“We welcome any woman interested in participating in this programme,” Muramba said.

Hans-Holger Albrecht, Global President and CEO of Millicom said that the initiative will deliver financial literacy and business development training for the women’s entrepreneurship to benefit all local communities.

“I am proud that we at Millicom can be part of financial inclusion in Africa,” he said in a statement.

Experts are optimistic that such initiatives will help the continent increase the level of financial inclusion on the continent. Statistics indicate that sub-Saharan Africa has the largest unbanked population.

Statistics from World Bank indicate that only 12 percent of Africa’s population has access to any form of formalised banking while globally, an estimated 2.5 billion working-age adults have no access to formalised financial services.

Accordingly, the 18 month project will be working with over 4,000 women entrepreneurs with women involved having access to 12-month working capital loans for their mobile money businesses distributed by local MFI partners through Millicom’s mobile financial services platform.

USAID Chief Innovation Officer, Maura O’Neill said that with the right business training and working capital available, women entrepreneurs will benefit from the continent’s growing mobile operator’s value chain.

Indeed according to a GSMA study, a significant gender-gap exists in the adoption of mobile services in sub-Saharan Africa, where women are 23 percent less likely to own a mobile device.
MFI“Our opportunity to economically empower women through powerful, wide-reaching mobile technologies is more achievable now than ever before,” she said

It is hoped that having more women agents will increase the number of women who benefit from mobile services

hey friends whyn don't give your comments on my blog?God loves you all.Bye.

Musore ifashishe imirongo isa n’iyi mu gihe ugiye kwambika uwawe impeta

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Written by: UKURI Jean Claude/gukunda.com

My friends i can't justify the love of the Lord! He has: Mercy, sherter, Sympathy;He is also Savior,shepherd friends be happy for him let me tell you this :All of you stand up and serve him.You will be in peace, full of happiness ,joy, fulfilled, and have good relationship with others.THE ALLMIGHT GOD HAS DONE A WONDERFUL WORK ON ME THIS MONDAY