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Tag: Paul Kagame

  • BREAKING: Paul Kagame secures 99% votes, wins fourth term as Rwanda president

    BREAKING: Paul Kagame secures 99% votes, wins fourth term as Rwanda president

    President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame has won 99.15 percent of the votes from Monday’s presidential election to secure a fourth term in office.

    Only about 79 percent of ballots have been counted, according to the country’s electoral commission.

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    Authorities said 9.5 million Rwandans registered to vote. The country has a population of 14 million.

    Kagame’s opponents — Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda and independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana — each received less than one percent in the provisional results.

  • African leaders throng Glo stand at Kigali forum

    GLOBACOM’S stand at the just-concluded Africa Chief Executive Officers (CEO) Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, was the cynosure of all eyes as scores of chief executives of multinational companies visited to seek the operator’s connectivity solutions to drive their businesses.

    Conference host, Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, had kicked off the enquiries at a meeting with Globacom Executive Vice Chairman, Mrs. Bella Disu. Their deliberation centred on areas of bilateral collaboration between Rwanda and Globacom.

    Notable among those who visited the Globacom stand were Group CEO of Togo-based Ecobank, Ade Adeyemi; Chairman, KPMG Africa, Kunle Elebute; Group CEO of Ark Hudson, Ugo Ikpeazu, and Head of Business, Mara Phone, James Kasugi.

    Others were MTN Chairman, Cameroon, Colin Mukete; CEO, Credit Registry, Jameelah Sharrieff; CEO, Sodeico, Congo Democratic Republic, Djo Falanga and Director-General of Azur, Gabon, Jean Obambi.

    The business executives held discussions on internet connectivity, mobile money solutions, Wide Area Connectivity (WAN), credit check for postpaid subscribers, and bundled mobile solutions for government establishments.

    At the digital economy session, Mrs. Disu canvassed the need for governments across Africa to create the enabling environment for telecommunication companies to connect cities and rural communities to the internet. She said this would help operators adopt digital solutions that would keep Africa abreast of global trends.

    She said: “The world is experiencing rapid digital transformation, and because we live in an exponential world, it’s no longer a question of ‘do I have to innovate’, we must innovate.

    “So, telecom operators will spearhead this innovation. First, we provide the infrastructure, the network, the platforms and connectivity for digital transformation to occur, and the resulting effect is big data, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and internet of things which connects everything to everybody. So businesses must run on new business models to stay in business.”

  • FG tasks African leaders on corruption

    The Federal Government has stressed the need for African countries to continue to strengthen anti-corruption laws and enforcement institutions and systems.

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, made the call at the just concluded 33rd Session of Executive Council of African Union in Mauritania.

    A statement by Ms Sarah Sanda,  the Special  Assistant  to the Minister on Media, on Monday in Abuja, quoted Onyeama as saying “there is need to constantly promote a culture of transparency, credibility and accountability on the continent.

    “The cost of winning the fight against corruption is a price that must be paid by all African countries and governments.

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    “We are convinced that with greater determination and renewed political will, coupled with the required moral obligation and continued support of all Africans, we all will triumph over corruption.”

    Onyeama assured the Executive Council of the unwavering commitment of Federal Government to spearhead the fight against corruption.

    He added that “so far, President Muhammadu Buhari has continued to sustain the anti-corruption fight to ensure Africa’s transformation.“More anti-corruption activities are lined up to be hosted after this summit in Nouakchott in the second half of the year.

    “To this effect, the Champion-Leader for the annual theme will convene the African Youth congress in Abuja in the next quarter.”

    The minister said that Nigeria would work with the Chairperson of the African Union, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda to achieve the objective

     

    NAN

  • Rwanda’s president names new finance minister in cabinet reshuffle

    Rwanda’s President, Paul Kagame, appointed Uzziel Ndagijimana as finance minister in a cabinet reshuffle, his office said.

    Kagame swept to a landslide victory in a presidential election last year, securing a third term in office and extending his 17 years in power, Reuters reported.

    Late on Friday, he promoted state minister of finance Ndagijimana to replace Claver Gatete as finance minister, the office of the presidency said.

    Gatete, a previous central bank head credited with overseeing a period of relative monetary stability, was named minister for infrastructure.

    The economy has been rebuilt with a focus on technology, mining, tourism and agriculture following the 1994 genocide of 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus.

    Growth rates have averaged 5-6 percent over the last decade.

    This year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects its economy to expand by 7.2 percent.

    In another move, Kagame named Yvonne Manzi Makolo as chief executive of the national carrier RwandAir.

    The airline sacked its previous head in April last year.

  • AU unveils plaque inaugurating single African air transport market

    AU unveils plaque inaugurating single African air transport market

    The African Union ( AU ) on Monday inaugurated the Single African Air Transport Market ( SAATM ) in the framework of the ongoing 30th AU summit in Ethiopia’s Capital Addis Ababa.

    President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, who is the current chair of the 55-member African bloc, and Moussa Mahamat, Chairperson of the AU Commission, unveiled the plaque on the premises of the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, marking the inauguration of the SAATM.

    The SAATM is a flagship project of AU Agenda 2063, which aspires to create a single unified air transport market in Africa, the liberalisation of civil aviation in Africa and as an impetus to the continent’s economic integration agenda.

    According to the AU, the launch of SAATM is expected to spur more opportunities to promote trade, cross-border investments in the production and service industries including tourism, resulting in the creation of an additional 300,000 direct and two million indirect jobs.

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    In order to move the continent forward towards the concrete implementation of the AU Agenda 2063, the 24th Assembly of Head of States and Government, which took place between Jan. 30 and Jan. 31, 2015 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, adopted the Declaration on the Establishment of a SAATM.

    Eleven African Member States championed the Declaration by signing the Solemn Commitment to actualise the Yamoussoukro Decision creating the single market.

    These Member States were constituted as a Ministerial Working Group with the responsibility to follow-up implementation progress, provide guidance, and spearhead the advocacy campaign to urge more Member States to join the single market.

    In May 2016, the AUC wrote to those States that have signed the Solemn Commitment to highlight a number of concrete measures for them to undertake to initiate operationalisation of the single air transport market in the continent as soon as possible.

    Among these measures, each State is required to officially publish in accordance with its national regulations or gazette that they are committed to the immediate implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision under the terms of the Declaration of Solemn Commitment in line with the AU Agenda 2063.

    NAN

  • Osinbajo to attend Rwanda President’s inauguration

    Osinbajo to attend Rwanda President’s inauguration

    Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has travelled to Kigali, Rwanda, to attend President Paul Kagame’s inauguration.

    The Friday’s ceremony which is expected to be witnessed by several African Heads of State and Government, followed President Kagame’s victory in the Rwandan presidential election held on August 4.

    A statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, said Osinbajo was accompanied on the trip by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama.

    The acting President is expected back in Abuja later on Friday.

  • Rwanda’s Kagame sweeps presidential polls to win third term

    Rwanda’s Kagame sweeps presidential polls to win third term

    Rwanda’s incumbent leader Paul Kagame has sealed a crushing victory in presidential elections that granted him a third term in office, extending his 17 years in power.

    Kagame has won international plaudits for presiding over a peaceful and rapid economic recovery in the Central African nation since the 1994 genocide, when an estimated 800,000 people Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed.

    But he has also faced mounting censure for what critics and rights groups say are widespread human rights abuses, a muzzling of independent media and suppression of political opposition.

    With 80 per cent of votes accounted for, the 59-year-old former guerrilla leader secured 98.66 percent, the National Electoral Commission’s Executive secretary Charles Munyaneza told a news conference.

    “We expect that even if we get 100 percent of votes, there will not be any change,” he said.

    The board expected turnout to top 90 per cent in the East African country of 12 million citizens once full details emerged, in elections that fielded only a single opposition candidate, Frank Habineza, and an independent.

    Kagame, who cast his vote in Kigali’s Rugunga polling station earlier on Friday, said he would work to sustain economic growth in the tiny nation.

    “This is another seven years to take care of issues that affect Rwandans and ensure that we become real Rwandans who are (economically) developing,” he said in a speech broadcast live on television.

    Under his rule, some dissidents were killed after they fled abroad, in cases that remain unsolved. The government denies any involvement.

    Kagame, a commander who led Tutsi rebel forces into Rwanda to end the 1994 genocide, banned the use of tribal terms after becoming president.

    He won the last election in 2010 with 93 per cent of the vote and during this campaign for a further seven-year term, said he expected an outright victory.

    Habineza, who has so far won 0.45 percent of the early count, had promised to set up a tribunal to retry dissidents whose convictions by Rwandan courts have been criticized as politically motivated.

    Another would-be opponent, Diane Rwigara, was disqualified by the election board despite her insistence that she met all the requirements to run.

    “To me I see this as a one-man race. I simply did not go to vote,” said one man in Kigali who asked not to be named. (Reuters/NAN)

  • Obasanjo, Adesina to speak on African trade at Afreximbank AGM

    Obasanjo, Adesina to speak on African trade at Afreximbank AGM

    The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) says former President Olusegun Obasanjo will speak on African trade at the bank’s 24th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) scheduled for June 28 in Kigali.

    This was announced in a statement by the bank’s spokesman, Mr Obi Emekekwue, on Wednesday in Lagos.

    Emekekwue said the President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, and Okechukwu Enelamah, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment of Nigeria would also speak at the event.

    He said Prof. Justin Lin, Director, Centre for New Structural Economics and Honorary Dean, National School of Development, Peking University, China and Ade Ayeyemi, Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Transnational, would speak on integration.

    He said that Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, Anastase Murekezi, the Prime Minister and Claver Gatete, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, among others, would address the four-day event.

    According to Emekekwue, the theme of this year’s meeting is: Boosting intra-African trade and integration.

    He said the event would feature a meeting of the Afreximbank Advisory Group on Trade Finance and Export Development in Africa, which would focus on Africa’s trade opportunities in a world of rising protectionism.

    “There will be an investment forum to be hosted by the Rwandan Government while a trade exhibition will also take place on June 30,” he said.

    Afreximbank is the foremost Pan-African multilateral financial institution devoted to financing and promoting intra- and extra-African trade.

    The bank was established in October 1993 by African governments, African private and institutional investors, and non-African investors.

    Its two basic constitutive documents are the Establishment Agreement, which gives it the status of an international organisation, and the Charter, which governs its corporate structure and operations.

    Since 1994, it has approved more than 51 billion dollars in credit facilities for African businesses, including about 10.3 billion do0llars in 2016.

    Afreximbank has total assets of 9.4 billion dollars as at April 30, 2016 and is rated BBB+ (GCR), Baa1 (Moody’s), and BBB- (Fitch). The bank is based in Cairo.

     

  • Vote ‘allows’ Rwandan president to extend term

    Rwandans have voted overwhelmingly to allow President Paul Kagame to extend his term in office, initial referendum results show.

    Some 98 per cent of voters support changing the constitution to allow him to run again in 2017 after his second term ends, the National Electoral Commission said.

    Mr. Kagame, 58, could remain in power until 2034 if the changes are passed, the BBC reports.

    The vote took place despite criticism of such an amendment by the United States and other Western donors.

    Rwanda’s electoral commission said 21 out of 30 districts had published results so far, covering about 70 per cent of voters.

    Full results are due to be released later on Saturday.

    Mr. Kagame has not said if he will run again, but he is widely expected to.

    Asked at the polling station if he would stay on, he said: “What is happening is the people’s choice. Ask people why they want me.”

    However, the U.S has said Mr. Kagame should step down in 2017 to allow a new generation of leaders to emerge.

    Rights groups accused the government of stifling the media and political opposition.

    The small opposition Democratic Green Party claimed it had been prevented from campaigning against the change.

     

  • Rwandan President warns of genocide in Burundi

    Rwandan President Paul Kagame implored neighbouring Burundi to avoid the ethnic violence that ended in genocide in his country in 1994, in an emotional speech that was shared on social media on Sunday.

    Regional and world powers have grown increasingly concerned that the security situation in Burundi could lead to civil war or mass atrocities, and that a weekend deadline for Burundians to give up weapons could spark widespread bloodshed.

    At least 200 people have died and tens of thousands have left the country after months of violence and protests since President Bueundi  declared he would seek a third term in office, which he then won in a contested vote in July, Reuters reported.

    “They should have learnt the lesson of our history,” Kagame told a gathering in the Rwandan capital Kigali on Friday, according to audio of the speech shared on social media.

    Some 800,000 people, most of them Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were massacred before rebel forces led by Kagame ended the genocide in Rwanda. Burundi is about 85 percent Hutu and 14 percent Tutsi.

    Kagame has mostly avoided talking about the unfolding political crisis in Burundi. Rwanda is currently in the process of adjusting its own presidential term limit rules, which would pave the way for Kagame to seek a third term in office.

    In the speech he was pointedly critical of Nkurunziza – a former Hutu rebel leader before he became Burundi’s first democratically elected president after its civil war. Kagame said Nkurunziza was allowing his people to die.

    “No one knows where he is, no one can talk to him. How does he lead his people? People are dying every day, dead bodies are being dragged on the streets every day,” Kagame said.

    Also on Saturday, Burundi’s minister for security, Alain Guillaume Bunyoni, told a news conference the disarmament process had been launched, “with respect for human rights.”