Kigali, Rwanda | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Rwanda on Wednesday for a symbolic stop on his “historic” African tour, boosting ties between two countries with a history marked by genocide. Welcomed on arrival by Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Netanyahu visited the Kigali Memorial Centre where …
Read More »A tale of two roundabouts
Why the story of Rwanda’s economic success keeps being juxtaposed with human rights abuses Last week I was in Kigali, Rwanda, after only two weeks of absence. Driving from the airport to the city, I found two new roundabouts near the new Convention Center complex. On my right was a …
Read More »Rwanda suffocates ‘mivumba’ importers
Rwandan has massively hiked import duties on secondhand clothes and shoes, coming mainly from Europe and North America, to help promote local manufacturers, officials said Friday. The measure “takes effect from July 1,” a manager in the Rwandan Receipts Agency, Drocelle Mukashyaka, told AFP. RWANDA: Rwanda multiplies import duties on …
Read More »Beyond national politics, policies
Why good leadership at a national level is not enough to make a country successful economically THE LAST WORD: Let us do a thought experiment. It is often said that the problem of Africa is poor leadership: if our continent had leaders dedicated to serving their people rather than lining …
Read More »M23 rebels in DR Congo want new demob scheme
Lubumbashi, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo’s disbanded M23 rebel movement has called on the government to agree a new demobilisation scheme following deadly clashes near a camp housing former rebels dissatisfied with their conditions. M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa said in a statement that the deaths of several people …
Read More »Kenya’s arrival growth curve in Q1 at 17% rise from last year
ATC News by Wolfgang H. Thome Tourism arrivals for Kenya, since November last year, have been rising again after several years of constant downturn. The Kenya Tourism Board is targeting an annual arrival number of over 1.5 million visitors for 2016 – over 400.000 more than in 2015, and early …
Read More »What makes Rwanda different?
The drivers of cleanliness, order, and the brand of dignity Rwandans are building In mid-May we were in Kigali, Rwanda, attending the World Economic Forum meetings. Across most of Kigali, there was something that has become a signature of everything in this country – order. The streets were clean to …
Read More »To tap into digital revolution, Africa needs power: WEF delegates
Kigali, Rwanda | AFP | For the digital revolution to succeed, Africa must improve public access to electricity, delegates at the World Economic Forum on Africa said as they met for a second day in Kigali. Plugging households in to the grid remains a major challenge on this continent where …
Read More »20 killed, mostly children, by Rwanda landslides
Kigali, Rwanda | AFP | At least 20 people, many of them children, were killed overnight by devastating landslides in northern Rwanda triggered by torrential rainstorms, the disaster management ministry said Sunday. “Up until now we have counted at least 20 dead in landslides that buried houses in the district …
Read More »After oil pipeline, Tanzania pushes for rail link project to Rwanda
After formally bagging the new oil pipeline from the Ugandan oilfields through Tanzania to the port of Tanga, yet more good news emerged for Tanzania today. The proposed railway extension from the inland dry port of Isaka to Kigali and Bujumbura will after all be built, providing a safe, …
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