1. law, govt and politics
2. law enforcement
3. fire department

www.hope-mag.com
OCT-NOV 2014 ISSUE 45
Telling Rwanda’s Story
M agazine
Mugolds International
Bringing global expertise in
fire fighting to Rwanda
INSIDE
PRIME Life Assurance acquired and rebranded
Bralirwa Coca Cola Replenish Africa Initiative
Facilitating access to life-saving water
RDB Turns new business pages
Airtel Rwanda Community
Connect
E
E
FR PY
CO
COVER PAGE
Mugolds International Bringing global
expertise in fire fighting to Rwanda
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
HIGHLIGHTS
MUGOLDS INTERNATIONAL
“We are a well-connected company globally in regards to fire risk management, which
besides offering trainings on fire safety and firefighting to public and private enterprises, is
well placed to advise institutions in procuring the right fire equipment from the best suppliers.”
“With our combined experience, what we haven’t seen in this field has not happened; even
then we are well positioned to predict future fire risk trends for a fast developing economy like
Rwanda’s”
18
TIGO RWANDA
20 Airtel Rwanda Community Connection,
HOPE OCT-NOV 2014 ISSUE 45
34
TIGO RWANDA
24
RDB BUSINESS REFORMS
24 RDB Rwanda keeps the pace, turns
new business pages
30 RDB Electricity connection
7
EDITORIAL Fires can be contained
8
MUGOLDS INTERNATIONAL Bringing
global expertise in fire fighting to
Rwanda
12 Letshego now licensed to take deposits
16 Bralirwa CocaCola Replenish Africa
Initiative facilitating access to lifesaving water
18 Turkish Airlines Partners with Team
Rwanda halves travel bills18
Procedures and costs reduced by
50%
34 TIGO Rwanda’s Tech Incubator, think,
selects start-ups from four African
Nations
38 PRIME INSURANCE Rwanda’s COGEAR
and PRIME Life Assurance acquired
and rebranded
42 Bralirwa Bralirwa Concludes Tree
Planting Season 2013/14 OVER
200,000 Trees planted
44 Zen now serving Mixed Platter All favorite sea foods offered in a
single order 48 Kilimanjaro cement Steadily becoming
16
BRALIRWA
20
AIRTEL RWANDA
the builder’s choice in Rwanda
38
4
PRIME INSURANCE
Welcome to
Unique shopping experience
for your roofing sheets
Remera-Kimironko Road
Next to BANK OF KIGALI, REMERA
BRANCH, REMERA, KIGALI
Mob:0788389558
PUBLISHER’S WORD
TEAM
Abraham Rumanzi
Albert Ndata
Gahima Vital
Gaspard Mushambo
Karugahe Mutoni L.
Latim Lawrence W.
Manzi Joseph
Matthew Rwahigi
Muziba Sheilah
Noella Rugema I.
Rebero Daniel
Fires can
be contained
The recent spate of sporadic fires that has seen a number of
buildings gutted and razed in Kigali and other secondary and
satellite cities is particularly not a very good tale and sign of
our fire management systems.
PUBLISHED BY
ADVERTISING &
GENERAL INQUIRIES
P.O. Box 6176
Kigali-Rwanda
+250 788 524189 /
+250 788 404138
[email protected]
Website: hope-mag.com
COPYRIGHT 2013
reserved by Hope Magazine
Hope Magazine a monthly
Magazine is published by
Hope Magazine Limited.
All rights reserved.
The opinions expressed in the
magazine are not necessarily
those of the editors and
publishers of Hope Magazine.
Care is taken to ensure accuracy,
Hope Magazine assume no liability
for error or omissions in this
publication. All Advertisements
are taken in good faith, opinions
and views contained herein
are not necessarily those of the
Publisher. All copyrights and
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of the contents thereof may be
reproduced, stored in retrieval
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without written permission by
Hope Magazine. An exemption is
hereby granted for extracts with the
purpose of fair review. © 2013
P
roperty worth hundreds of millions of francs have been destroyed, livelihoods of
employers and employees affected and the process of wealth creation affected
in one way or the other. As Rwanda’s building and construction industry evolves
into vitality, there is an ardent and earnest need to ensure that all building,
architectural and electrical wiring codes are observed to the dot.
The process has to start with an efficient fire and safety management that considers
an efficient fire protection system, electrical systems installations, fire management
equipment, fire safety preparedness, public involvement, fire insurance and police
responsibilities in prevention, protection, detection and response. These are such very
salient notions that require utmost observation as their neglect spell loss of hundreds
of millions worth of property.
w w w. h o p e - m a g . c o m
Hope Magazine Ltd,
The police, in the process of fire fighting, should be at the end of the chain. Major efforts
should be dispensed in prevention by summoning best engineering practices in the
equation at the early stages of architectural designs, construction and installations. But
even after such measures have been put in place, it is important for property owners
to consider safety measures (such as a simple fire extinguisher) a norm; not a practice
that should be forced but enforced.
Building standards in Rwanda instruct for any public building or other public places to
have, at a minimum; a fire alarm system with an alarm bell on each floor; smoke detectors
and sprinklers on each floor; a fire extinguisher every 50 meters on each floor; hose
reels on each floor; closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras and a control room; and a
lightning arrester or rod. To what extent do we observe such simple codes?
Good enough, the government has employed Mugolds International, a UK-based fire risk
management firm, to carry out comprehensive training of practitioners in fire management.
It is not preposterous to say that even a Fire Management Authority should be created
to work in tandem with the Rwanda National Police for preventive, management and
fighting purposes. Otherwise, we all know it is possible to contain these fires.
We appreciate your feedback. Please keep sending more on
[email protected] or visit www.hope-mag.com, to post your comment
on any published story. We shall pick it and respond to you asap!
Rebero Daniel
7
MUGOLDS INTERNATIONAL LTD
SPECIAL FEATURE
Mugolds
International
Bringing global expertise in
fire fighting to
Rwanda
of Mugolds International Ltd, which has
partnered with WDA and Gishari Integrated
Polytechnic to train Rwandan fire safety
specialists, this structure of training aims
at ensuring that any actions taken by the
firefighters while on duty is backed by a
clear theoretical understanding of why
they are taking such action. “Many of the
people in the team we are training have
some practical understanding of the tactics
used in firefighting and rescue acquired
HOPE
HOPE OCT-NOV
OCT-NOV 2014 ISSUE 45
With combined staff experience of over 100 years, Mugolds international has the theory
and skills required to equip your team with knowledge in fire risk management. Here a
group of RNP Firefighters during a class session
“With the Rwandan economy on a steady
upward growth, the risks of fire outbreaks will increase and in which case, the entire Rwandan community has its trust in your
ability to not only provide timely response in the event of such threats but also to prevent and equip society with techniques
to safeguard against fires and their catastrophic consequences,” the Instructor cautioned the participants from the onset.
A
s the instructor exhorted, the entire
team of trainees who are part of
Rwanda National Police’s (RNP) Fire
and Rescue Brigade and some Rwanda Air
Force personnel, were occasionally writing
a ny i nt e re st i n g po i nt i n t he i r p a d s a nd
throwing their arms up to seek clarification
or mention something in what was clearly an
interactive theory session.
The instructor is a man with 30 years’
experience in firefighting in the British Fire
Service, in addition to a couple of years in
the British Military’s Special Forces branch.
Michael William King is a chief trainer for
Mugolds International, a company that
specializes in fire risk management services,
including among others training personnel in
basic and advanced fire fighting and rescue
techniques. But before the day could end,
the trainees were then gathered around one
8
of the fire brigade’s grounds at Rwanda
National Police headquarters in Kacyiru
to inspect tools and equipment used in
firefighting and rescue interventions, so
that the instructors would have a moment
to share some valuable insights into the
effective use of firefighting equipment.
Thus is the structure for the training;
involving both theoretical and practical
sessions all geared towards attaining a
clear understanding by the Rwandan fire
fighters, of the effects of fire on people’s
lives, effects to national economy, causes
of fires and how fire spreads, building entry
scenarios while attacking a fire, ladder
drills and how to climb buildings, how to
prevent fire outbreaks in the country and
the dos and don’ts of firefighting, among
others. According to Richard Peter Golds,
a co -founder and Operations Director
while doing the job, but they generally
lack the right strategic approach and the
theories underlying their actions,” he noted
adding that this theoretical shortcoming
results into disorder while tackling fires. The
trainings, as reiterated by Commissioner of
Police in charge of Operations, Emmanuel
Butera, are part of bigger efforts by RNP
to equip the Fire and Rescue Brigade with
international skills and professionalism
required to protect and safeguard Rwandans
and their property against the destructive
impacts of fire accidents especially through
strengthening the force’s ability to prevent
such outbreaks. The Commissioner adds
that these particular trainings are part
of a consistent training program at RNP
which focuses on continuously upping the
skills of the force. The trainings currently
being conducted for selected members of
the Rwandan Fire and Rescue Brigade will
FIRE RISK MANAGEMENT
the four weeks long course for the first
batch undertaking the fire safety trainings
by Mugolds.
Over 100 years of Experience
at Mugolds to pass on
B o r n i n R w a n d a i n 2 0 0 8 , M u g o ld s
International Ltd is a private company
comprising of former British firefighters,
community fire safety officers among
others with wide expertise in various areas
of fire risk management, the team boasts
collective experience of over 100 years.
Imagine, therefore, a century of experience
Rwanda National Police
Firefighters in action during
trainings by Mugolds
a cq u i re d ove r t he fo u r we e k pe r i od .
Assistant Inspector of Police Jean Pierre
Rwemarika is one of those who completed
the course. A firefighter with five years of
experience in firefighting, AIP Rwemarika
disclosed that the training significantly
awakened his knowledge noting that with
the basic skills acquired, he is now better
prepared with techniques on what to do,
how and when to do it. “During the course
of training, I realized some things that I
may have done in the past but without clear
knowledge of why.
The trainings helped answer most of the
whys thus I can now comfortably plan
ahead of execution hence guaranteeing
fa st e r a n d e ffe c t i ve i n t e r ve n t i o n s. ”
The appreciation from firefighters is
reverberated by the C.O of RNP’s Fire and
Rescue Brigade Chief Sup. Paul Gatambira.
“After these basic training courses, the
t e a ms a re p la n ne d t o u nd e r go mo re
advanced courses from which selected best
performers will take trainings to become
trainers of other members in the future,”
he underscored at the event to conclude
all put together to equip Rwanda’s private
and public sector with the necessary
knowledge and skills in fire prevention,
fire protection, detection and response
strategies in firefighting. According to
Ignatius Mugabo, the company’s Managing
Director, Mugolds International has a pool
of knowledgeable persons in fire risk
management with experience from the
world’s best firefighters like the Britons,
who are always on standby to support the
team whenever required.
“We are a well-connected company globally
in regards to fire risk management, which
besides offering trainings on fire safety
and firefighting to public and private
enterprises, is well placed to advise
institutions in procuring the right fire
e q u i p me nt fro m t he be st s u p p li e r s. ”
“With our combined experience, what we
haven’t seen in this field has not happened;
eve n t he n we a re we ll pos i t i o ne d t o
predict future fire risk trends for a fast
developing economy like Rwanda’s” he said.
“Our vision is to bring British and global
fire risk management culture and best
practice to Rwanda, to safeguard people’s
lives and infrastructure, but we need serious
partners to do that. The fire safety centre
of excellence we are setting up in Gishari
with our partners will serve Rwanda and
the entire region” Mugabo added.
Fire safety is a collective role of both
the private and public
sector
Fire outbreaks are not selective in their
attack as both public and private structures
are susceptible to the risk. But while public
institutions like Police among
others remain responsible for
ensuring safety and curbing
such catastrophes, the private
sector should equally become
vigilant and be fully equipped
to hold off fires while they
are still small as they await
the former’s intervention as
delayed response to fires
a l lo w s t h e m t o g r o w a n d
increase destruction.Against
the backdrop, every institution,
private or public, is supposed
to have fire equipments and
trained personnel to use them
effectively.
w w w. h o p e - m a g . c o m
be completed in a period of three months
with 90 fire fighters slated to receive basic
knowledge in theory and best practices in
firefighting. Supported by WDA’s Skills
Development Fund (SDF), a centre of
excellence in fire training is being set up
at Gishari Integrated Polytechnic (GIP) in
Rwamagana District, in partnership with
Mugolds International Ltd. The centre is
envisaged to offer specialized fire safety
courses not only to Rwandans but also
people from neighboring countries and
beyond. As the first batch of the training
that included 30 firefighters came to close
on October 31st, members of the team
were glad for the invaluable knowledge
The Rwandan government
recently released directives
on the equipments each building
should have in place, but as
Mugabo underscored, having gadgets is one
thing and knowing how to effectively use
them is completely a different thing. “You
may have excellent firefighting equipment
ever built, but if you lack the ability to deploy
them while a fire is still small, everything
will be in vain”.Every fire starts small, and
it is normally easy to control and put out
at that stage, provided one has the basic
skills required and the relatively simple
equipments needed.
The reason fires get so big and uncontrollable is that they start and do not get noticed
or fought early, so they grow and spread
in a large area, and that may cause huge
losses in terms of lives and property, and
by extension damage to the economy. “The
whole firefighting philosophy is built around
timely response to tackle the fire while still
small” Mugabo said. Hence, in the event
that all buildings have the necessary fire
equipments and standby staff trained in
basic firefighting techniques, which Mugolds
International is ready to offer, fire risks can
then be effectively managed and outbreaks
contained in a timely manner.
9
SPECIAL FEATURE
KENYA PORTS AUTHORITY
CARGO CLEARANCE
AT THE PORT OF MOMBASA SIMPLIFIED
MANIFEST LODGEMENT & CUSTOMS RELEASE PROCESSES
A
1. Long Hauls: Shipping Line/Agent lodges sea
manifest to KRA Manifest Management System
(MMS) 48 hours before Vessel Expected Time
of Arrival (ETA).
Short hauls: Shipping Line/Agent lodges sea
manifest to KRA Manifest Management System
(MMS) 6 hours before Vessel Expected Time of
Arrival (ETA).
Validation takes place to ensure conformity to
Extensible Markup Language (XML) and United
Nations rules for Electronic Data Interchange For
Administration, Commerce and Transport (UN/
EDIFACT) international standards.
2. If accepted, Shipping lines receive email
notification to show manifest has been lodged.
Notification comprises vessel name, voyage and
date/time when same was lodged.
B
1. Manifest Management System (MMS) system
validates manifest according to Customs regulations
and if passed, Shipping Line/Agent is notified.
2. Manifest is subsequently moved through
Uganda Revenue Authority(URA), Rwanda Revenue
Authority(RRA), Kenya Ports Authority(KPA),
Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) SIMBA and Cargo
Management Information System (CAMIS) Systems.
Once passed an electronic release message is sent
to Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) stating which Bill
of Lading, container should be delivered to which
forwarder.
There are two types of messages received by Kenya
Ports Authority (KPA).
Cargo release message which indicates to whom
the cargo is to be released to.
Inspection message that directs Kenya Ports
Authority (KPA) that the cargo is to move to
a stated Container Freight Station (CFS) for
inspection.
The transfer of the file takes a maximum of 10
minutes under normal conditions.
These files are sent directly to the Kilindini
Waterfront Automated Terminal Operations
System (KWATOS) system and there is no human
intervention.
The forwarder contained in the Customs release
should be the same forwarder contained in the
Delivery Order release. Where the forwarder
in the delivery order release is different from
the Customs release forwarder, the forwarder
details in the Customs release takes precedence.
G
1. Kilindini Waterfront Automated Terminal
Operations System (KWATOS) and Systems
Application Products (SAP) documentation and
payments procedures commence.
w w w. h o p e - m a g . c o m
I
mporting cargo through the port of Mombasa has been eased by the presence of the KPA Liaison
Office in Kigali. The Office offers customer support to enhance cargo clearance processes. KPA online documentation clearance system can be done conveniently from Rwanda. The manifest lodgment and customs release process of import cargo is as follows:
2. This process is initiated by the forwarder
H
1. Cargo delivery is effected.
2. The declaration process is initiated by the
forwarder.
D1
1. The manifest received on-line from Manifest
Management System (MMS) is used in Kilindini
Waterfront Automated Terminal Operations
System (KWATOS) for the documentation and
clearance/payment procedures.
D2
This is done through web services without human
intervention. Transfer of file takes a maximum of
10 minutes under normal conditions.
1. The manifest received on-line from Manifest
Management System (MMS) is used in SIMBA and
Cargo Management Information System (CAMIS)
for the normal Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA)
declaration and release procedures/processes.
C
E, F
1. The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and Rwanda
Revenue Authority (RRA) systems undertake their
different Organizations processes/procedures
which also include declaration processes.
1. The releases from the Customs Authorities and
the shipping line/agent are received in Kilindini
Waterfront Automated Terminal Operations
System (KWATOS).
KPA CUSTOMER SUPPORT
& CAPACITY BUILDING
WORKSHOP AT KIGALI
SERENA HOTEL ON TUESDAY
25TH NOVEMBER 2014
For more information on importing
through Mombasa and the KWATOS
& SAP clearance documentation &
payment procedures, please attend
the KPA WORKSHOP AT KIGALI SERENA
ON TUESDAY 25TH NOVEMBER 2014.
Importers, Exporters, Clearing &
Forwarding Agents & Transporters are
all invited to the workshop. Attendance
for the workshop is FREE.
11
LETSHEGO HOLDINGS LIMITED
SPECIAL FEATURE
Letshego
licensed
take deposits
now
to
Releases new products targeting low
income segments and the unbanked
Now as the MFI becomes a deposit
taking financial institution, customers
like Kanyamahanga Theobald who has
equally worked with it for a number of
years are looking forward to a widened
range of product offerings, better services
and low cost money that will allow them
to improve their lives.
“We want you to reduce the interest rates
such that we can be able to improve our
living standards even more and expand
our businesses further,” Kanyamahanga
addressed his concern to Letshego’s board
of directors.
Banking with Letshego
is building a valuable
relationship
HOPE OCT-NOV 2014 ISSUE 45
Ranking Letshego’s services,
Mr. Kanyamahanga said “working with
them is not similar to working with any
other financial institution, because their
model is not just a business one but a
relationship model, for besides responding
to my financial needs, they have helped
me handle some financial challenges that
I have faced in the past.”
The Director General of Financial Stability at the National Bank of Rwanda Jonathan Gatera
congratulates Letshego’s Chairman Kungu Gatabaki upon the company’s recent development into
a deposit taking Microfinance Institution.
12
he smile she wore as she received a cheque
of FRW70, 000 (an equivalent of US$100) as
a token of appreciation for having worked
with Letshego for over five years was
nothing but contagious.
T
Over the years, Nyiramanzi Faridha has worked with
Letshego, getting loan after another, a journey she
says has been very rewarding as her business in
Nyabugogo has now picked up and her life and that
of her family has improved tremendously.
The gift accordingly was to kick-start her savings
account in Letshego since following a recent licensing
from the National Bank of Rwanda on October 9th, the
latter now is a Deposit Taking Microfinance Institution.
“I have not seen any fault in their services and
as a matter of fact, I am sure there is no other
microfinance or for that matter banker that can serve
us to Letshego’s standards in the Rwandan market.”
Emphasizing on this relationship based
banking and assuring customers of better
days ahead, Mr. Tom Kocsis who is the
Head of East Africa operations in Letshego
Holdings Limited demonstrated with an
example from the company’s Ugandan
operation saying the MFI has enjoyed an
ever growing portfolio in housing loans but
with minimum default which is attributed
to the fact that “we walk the path with
the customer, supporting them as need
arises”.
Kocsis further noted that wherever
Letshego operates (10 countries in Africa);
the defining feature of their services has
been affordability and simplicity.
“In as much as we intend to grow and
attract corporate clients, our focus
in Rwanda is to become relevant and
attractive to the lower segment of the
market (low and medium income earners)
which comprises most of the unbanked
people, and these are the customers we
want to net into our services.”
SPECIAL FEATURE
NEW PRODUCTS RELEASED
Having received the license to start taking
deposits, Letshego on 24th October 2014
announced a list of new products on offer,
widening its reach and enchanting to drive
financial inclusion further.
Among others, the Microfinance institution
now has a Savings account dubbed “Nziza”, and
Fixed deposit account, alongside the flagship
MSE loan product for working capital, Housing
loans, salary loans, education loans and Asset
finance loans.
Explaining the new product offering, the
Chief Executive Officer of Letshego Rwanda
Limited, Bernard Kivava said that their new
savings products were designed in manner
that they answer the needs of a very diverse
market and are competitive and attractive to
customers. “No matter the individual needs,
our products are designed with high level of
flexibility such that they can be fine-tuned
to answer specific customer demands.” Mr.
Kivava further noted that besides the diversified
product offering, Letshego now boasts of the
shortest turnaround times in service delivery
in the Rwandan market.
He further said the process of opening an
account is fast and simple and the customers
does not need to provide a passport size
photo and ID photocopy among other many
requirements that conventional banking has
been known to request. These are done instantly
at the branch and you only need to produce
your original identification documents. For
credit facilities, Kivava shared that the dossier
is normally analyzed and vetted and if all
requirements have been met and documents
legalized, in less than three days the customer
will receive communication on the position
of their request. The CEO’s statement was
confirmed by Kanyamahanga’s testimony who
said that his first time to work with Letshego
was on intelligence he had acquired from a
fellow trader and that has never changed.
“I wanted to clear some cargo at the customs
office in MAGERWA but was short of cash,
then working on information I had gathered
from a friend, I visited Letshego who in return
processed my loan request and gave me the
money in just two days; that was a record period
for me ever since I started working with banks.”
IMPROVING THE LIVES OF CUSTOMERS AND RWANDANS IN GENERAL IS A CONSIDERED A MANDATE AT LETSHEGO
Charged towards impacting lives for the better,
Letshego during the official launch of savings
products presented a cheque worth RWF 2.7million
to the Mayor of Nyarugenge district, Solange
Mukasonga, to support in paying medical health
insurance premium for 900 vulnerable residents in
her district (mutulle).
Excitement for the dawn of a new
era at Letshego abounds
Speaking at Letshego’s first product launch after
receiving the license to take customers’ deposits, the
Director General of financial stability at the National
Bank of Rwanda (BNR) Jonathan Gatera said that
the National bank of Rwanda expects the facelift to
give way to innovativeness in order to yield better
products and services that will enhance increased
financial inclusion.
“We want to see every Rwandan gain access to formal
financial services which we believe is a fundamental
step in an individual’s development.” Reiterating
the same, Eric Rwigamba, the Director General for
Financial Sector Development at the Ministry of
w w w. h o p e - m a g . c o m
Becoming a deposit taking microfinance means that
one can now walk into any of its six branches in the
country, open an account, save, and enjoy the various
financial products on offer. The CEO confirmed that
Letshego is committed to improving lives in Rwanda
in its quest to enhance financial inclusion. “We have
made this step forward no just to grow our business
but rather to do so while we make people’s lives
better than before. We want to use our new status
to drive more products into the market, attract more
savings, guide and support our customers in economic
transformation.”
Eric Rwigamba Director General for Financial Sector Development at MINECOFIN presents
the cheque to Mayor of Nyarugenge Solange Mukasonga on behalf Letshego
finance and Economic Planning confided that
he personally had worked with Letshego in
the past and had a good experience with them
which he expects will be the same reaction from
every customer who works with this financial
institution. “Before you think about impacting the
entire country, you should remember that this will
begin by you impacting that one customer who
enters into your branch; this is for every staff,
manager and the board of Letshego Rwanda.”
Mr. Rwigamba noted that financial institutions
such as Letshego should always recall that the
intended result for a client visiting them is to
improve their standards of living hence the team
should always strive at enabling the customer
attain this goal and in the long run the widespread
impact on lives of Rwandans will be achieved by
supporting each person individually. Letshego
Rwanda Limited is a subsidiary of the Letshego
Holdings Limited which was incorporated in 1998
with headquarters in Gaborone, Botswana.
The group has been publicly listed on the
Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) since 2002.
Letshego Holdings Limited is strong in consumer
and micro lending and has subsidiaries across
ten countries in Southern and East Africa which
include Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique,
Namibia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Swaziland,
Tanzania and Uganda. Letshego Rwanda Limited
has been in Rwanda since 2004, and has been
operating as a Microfinance institution lending
money to individuals and small enterprises only
before it was licensed late last year for deposit
taking activities.
13
Replenish Africa Initiative
Facilitating access to life-saving water
Having filled two 20litre plastic
jericans and a 10litre bucket, 54
year old Mukandangiza Eugenia
then got out a clearly well-kept
but obviously used bottle of mineral
water, opened the tap and filled it
to overflowing.Then she gulped at
least half of the bottle in a matter
of seconds before she rested it to
catch a breath. As she talked, she
continued to occasionally drink from
the half filled bottle of water.
W
henever I drink water from this tap,
which I have done for the last one
year ever since our many years
of suffering from fetching water
in a swamp source six kilometers away was
ended by this infrastructure, it feels like my
wrinkled body straightens little by little as I
begin to forget the hardships and the labor of
carrying heavy jericans of water for that long
a distance climbing the hill to my parent’s
home and later on after growing older to
my own home.”
Mukandangiza a mother of five children said
that besides the burdensome life she had to
endure ever since her childhood living in this
largely rural area of Kigali City, the cross was
16
later on carried by her children and on several
occasions, this hardship made it hard for many of
them to enjoy their childhood days because they
would have to make several trips to the swamps
to fetch water required for all household chores.
But even as they made the many tiresome trips,
having to climb up the hill from the valley where
the source of the water was situated, families as
far as her aging mind recalls never used to have
enough water to do all the required activities.
For instance, she says that until she begun to
fetch from the WASAC constructed piped water,
bathing at home especially for her and the kids
was a luxury only afforded when there was a big
event to attend or when going to church.
“Kids had to wear the same cloth for a long period
without resulting into a bunch of dirty little ones
in the neighborhood, because considering the
many challenges of getting a 20litre jerican of
water home; giving this rare resource to such uses
as bathing and the likes would be squandering.”
Mukandangiza and a few other women in
Nyabikenye cell, Gatenga Village of Nyarurama
Sector in Kicukiro district were found fetching
water from a recently completed piped water
tap constructed by the Water and Sanitation
Corporation Ltd (WASAC).
WASAC is one of the two companies that emerged
from a recent split of what was formerly known as
the Energy Water and Sanitation Authority (EWSA)
which government of Rwanda says it implemented in
bid to improve its efforts of effective management of
the water and energy resources, increase production
and distribution so as to meet set targets of 100
percent access to clean water and sanitation facilities
by 2017/18.
NUMEROUS PLAYERS JOIN HANDS TO
ADDRESS ACCESS TO WATER HINDRANCES
WASAC though a key player in the process that
saw this piped water supply network erected and
operational in Nyarurama, credit for this success
that has seen close to 4000 people gain access to
clean water is shared amongst local government
authority (Kicukiro District), Civil Society (the not for
profit international Organisation Water for People
which mobilized funds and coordinated the execution
of the project) and the Coca-Cola Company through
its Rwandan representative BRALIRWA Ltd under
the Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN) in which the
multinational beverage company supports the setting
up of infrastructures to increase access to clean
water and sanitation facilities, creating new better
sources of this basic life need in Africa.
During a daylong event to inaugurate numerous
projects realized through the partnership in the
financial year 2013/14 on October 16th, the Mayor
of Kicukiro District Paul Jules Ndamage noted that
through working together with the partners, the
district which was one of those most challenged by
...this gesture of “joining hands for good” will not only see
residents of Nyarurama enjoy a reliable supply of clean
water but also will impact their
lives for the better.
NEW BUSINESS FRONTIERS OPENED
limited access to piped water now boasts 100
percent access. “Every sector, village and cell
in our district now has clean piped water supply
system which means that every one of our
residents is located in a Kilometer’s distance
from a piped water source.” He however
affirmed that the speed at which his district has
managed to realize its ambitions in increasing
access to piped water has only been possible
because of support received from various
partners like BRALIRWA Ltd and the Coca-Cola
Company through Water for People Rwanda.
Echoing appreciations for the partnership,
the Lord Mayor of Kigali City Fidele Ndayisaba
commended the model of cooperation that
brings local government authorities, civil
society and private sector all joining hands to
improve the welfare of Rwandans.
He added that the fruits of this gesture of
“joining hands for good” will not only see
residents of Nyarurama enjoy a reliable supply
of clean water but also will impact their lives
for the better. “Now that the water challenge
is solved, there will no longer be a reason for
poor hygiene in homes. Now people will manage
to wash clothes, take baths, and eat clean food
because they will have managed to clean their
utensils, cleansing them with enough clean
water.” Ndayisaba reiterated that with access
to clean water, numerous infections especially
waterborn diseases will significantly reduce.
Besides boosting access to clean piped water, the
water supply system inaugurated in Nyarurama
has created new business opportunities to locals.
Rwamatabaro Jean Pierre, a resident of Nyarurama
and a local trader now runs the business of selling
water to fellow residents. In return, he uses the money
that we maintain the infrastructure,” Mr.
R wa m a t a b a ro e x p la i ne d . Re i t e r a t i n g t he
importance of maintaining the installed water
infrastructure by all the communities benefited
by the initiative, Perpetue Kamuyumbu the Country
Director of Water for People reminded residents
of Nyarurama that they own the infrastructures
and so are responsible
for maintaining it so
that it can benefit their
community for many
generations to come.
“When there was no
water, the people of
Nyarurama suffered
fetching the not-soclean water from far
hence we should take
the first step to protect
A Jolly Mukandangiza
Eugenia fills her
jerican
to pay the water bills from WASAC, get a surplus for
maintaining the infrastructure surrounding the water
delivery point and a profit of course. “A 20litre jerican
costs FRW20 but it is not a fixed amount as some of
the residents who cannot afford this much are allowed
to fetch water at no cost. By buying the water, we
are sure to pay the bills such that there are never
inconveniences as a result of defaulting and ensure
the infrastructures because we understand its
importance in our community,” she said while
addressing a gathering of village residents at
the inauguration. In addition to Nyarurama piped
water system, other projects achieved under the
partnership of Kicukiro district, Water for People,
WASAC, the Coca-Cola Company and its bottler
company BRALIRWA Ltd also inaugurated on
October 16th include 50 rainwater storage tanks
with a capacity of 2,500 liters each, benefiting
50 households in Rusheshe
settlement of the
Masaka Sector, 8rainwa water harvesting
tanks benefiting 2,457 students and teachers
of Kanombe School Complex in Nyarugunga
Sector, 2 rainwater storage tanks benefiting
789 students and teachers of Kagina School
Complex in Kicukiro Sector, and 10 ecological
latrines benefiting 624 students and teachers of
Kagarama Primary school in Gatenga Sector. The
Coca Cola RAIN’s support to Water for People has
seen the former finance projects in the Kicukiro
and Rulindo districts in Rwanda, projects that
are credited for making access to clean water
possible for over 20,000 school children among
many more thousands
of residents in these areas.
Mayors, Jule Ndamage of Kicukiro and Fidele Ndayisaba of
Kigali City, James Sano MD WASAC and Perpetue Kamuyumbu
Country Director of Water for People lauching the water
supply in Nyarurama in Kicukiro District
17
TURKISH AIRLINES
SPECIAL FEATURE
Turkish Airlines
Partners with
Team Rwanda
halves travel bills
Now a household name in the cycling sport in Rwanda and beyond, just
less than a decade ago Abraham Ruhumuliza was simply a bicycle taxi
delivery boy, transporting people and cargo to whichever destination the
client chose, earning only but a few francs to see him through each day.
I
HOPE OCT-NOV 2014 ISSUE 45
nside younger Ruhumuliza back
then, there was a talent which when
nurtured made him one of Rwanda’s
most popular riders in the cycling
sport something that took a group of
people determined to make a lasting
impact in individual lives of the riders and
the cycling sport in general. The team
was none else but Team Rwanda Cycling
Inc. When Ruhumuliza and a number of
Isler Burcin (R) receives
a T-shirt signed by
all team captains for
Team Rwanda Cycling
from Jonathan Jock
Coats (L) as a token of
appreciation for Turkish
Airlines’ support
his colleagues were brought into the camp
precisely eight years ago, none of them had a
tangible vision of where there life was headed.
All they saw was some project plied by some
bazungu (whites) that would help them make a
living for the day’s survival. Eight years later,
just like many others, Ruhumuliza cannot list
in his head the international destinations he
has been to, riding the bicycle he earlier had
passion but lacked respect for.
Captains of Team Rwanda Cycling
clubs pose for a photo with General
Manager of Turkish Airlines in
Rwanda, Isler Burcin (in red)
18
WIDEN YOUR WORLD
ride while he was still a taxi delivery boy, but
has had to seat atop some of the best models
of multiple geared racing bicycles in the
course of eight years. But these achievements
have not come on a silver platter, only that
Ruhumuliza and his colleagues are not among
those who feel the budget demand. The weight
falls squarely on the shoulders of Jonathan
Jock Coats and his wife Kimberly Coats who
are the Technical Director and Director of
Marketing and Logistics respectively for Team
Rwanda Cycling Inc.
Thus Turkish Airlines’ recent move to
support Team Rwanda coming to their aid
on the issue of transporting players across
the globe is a more than welcome gesture to
the team’s management. According to Isler
Burcin, Turkish Airline’s General Manager in
Kigali, the global best in the airline business
for over four years will discount travel
tickets for Team Rwanda to a tune of 50
percent, in addition to scrapping any extra
charges levied on cargo while flying any
destination.
Though they do not foot the bills that run
the projects of Team Rwanda Africa Rising
all by themselves, the weight they feel is one
of having to run the world mobilizing funds
to pay the over US$30,000 (21,000,000)
monthly bills. The money according to
Kimberly is largely spent in managing the
camp, paying the 18 riders on Team Rwanda
and other members of the team among others
coaches, and transport fares to and from
international tournaments.
“What we wanted is to support team Rwanda
in a more sustainable manner since if we
had given them cash, it would definitely be
used in just a little while but with this kind of
partnership, the team will be sure to travel
at a lower cost for the whole duration of
the contract,” Burcin shared.
For transport alone, Jonathan Jock shared
that the annual cost is way above US$60,000
not considering the additional costs that are
normally charged on extra cargo usually
made up of the team’s bicycles.
More travels and exposure for the team envisaged
In a record partnership
Turkish Airlines
pledged to discount
travel tickets and
scrapp cargo charges
for Team Rwanda
Cycling in efforts to
develop the cycling
sport
But Burcin’s perspective is a whole world
different from how Jonathan Jock sees the
partnership. He said that the Contract with
Turkish Airlines is a big boost forward for the
Rwandan team underpinning that with the over
50% reduction in transport expenses, they will
now be in position
to fly more people
t o i nt e r n a t i o n a l
tournaments.
“In the past, we
were occasionally
l i m i t e d by h i g h
tr anspor t costs
and the additional
cargo charges
s o t h a t i n most
cases we kept the
team small while
on international
tournaments but
with this new deal, we will be more at liberty
to transport a bigger group of riders.” On
a typical flight, Jock shared that the team
normally pays an additional not less than
US$1,000 and all these have been scrapped
by Turkish Airlines in the new deal.
He disclosed that though the contract
signed recently is for two years, the global
leading and best airline in Europe for four
consecutive years is ready and willing to
renew the contract when time comes. “Of
course though it is a way of supporting
the team reach for its potentials, our
partnership with Team Rwanda is no charity
but a win-win for both parties.”
w w w. h o p e - m a g . c o m
That is how his life has taken the turn of a
lifetime for the better. Now a married man
and a father of two, owning a beautiful (big
as he says) house, Ruhumuliza’s life has
become better just because of his bicycle,
of course not the single gear one he used to
Why the contract is
very beneficial to Team
Rwanda
Tu r k i s h A i r l i n e s ’ r e c e n t l y
introduced flight to Asmara
Eritrea brought the number of
i t s d e st i n a t i o ns i n Afr i c a t o a
bold 32, perhaps one, if not the
highest an international airline
does on the continent, while its
global destinations are recorded
at over 190.
Locally in Turkey, the airline flies
42 destinations which in a nutshell
m a ke s i t t he most co n ne c t e d
a i r li ne t h u s fo r Te a m R wa nd a
to enter into a partnership that
allows it to fly Turkish anywhere
at discounted rates means
that no matter the location of
a tournament in the world, the
team will easily get there with
the Turkish Airlines than with
any other.
19
COMMUNITY CONNECT
Airtel Rwanda
Community
Connect
One of the the airtel staff marketing an airtel modem
40 families in Muhanga receive one year health insurance
...
HOPE OCT-NOV 2014 ISSUE 45
a number
of the families
are poor and
cannot afford
the annual health
insurance. “This
contribution
from Airtel is
what is most
needed by these
residents as
health insurance
remains a major
need in the lives
of Rwandans,”
...
A
total of 200 persons
fro m 4 0 fa m i l i e s i n
M u h a n g a a re s e t t o
benefit from a one year
health insurance donation from
Airtel Rwanda. As part of the
company’s activities to give back
to the community, Airtel Rwanda
will stipend health insurance fee
commonly known as Mutuelle
de Sante for 200 people mainly
inclusive of vulnerable mothers
and children.
that support us.” He added, “This
is a small contribution but we hope
that it will go a long way in helping
the beneficiary families get their
health needs met.” Representing
the beneficiaries in Nyamabuye
sector, the district leader in
charge of social welfare Mr.
Gabriel Habimana thanked Airtel
for the heartfelt contribution.
He highlighted that a number of
the families are poor and cannot
afford the annual health insurance.
During the handover in Muhanga
district, Airtel Rwanda’s Head
of Finance, Mr. Tano Oware said,
“Health insurance remains a major
necessity for families in Rwanda
a nd a s a co m m u n i t y ce nt r i c
telecom, we feel the responsibility
to give back to the communities
“This contribution from Airtel is
what is most needed by these
residents as health insurance
remains a major need in the lives
of Rwandans,” he added. He asked
Airtel to continue supporting the
community in areas of health and
social well-being. Airtel staff also
participated in a market day in
Muhanga where they marketed and
sensitized the people of Muhanga
community on Airtel products
and services while bonding with
them and understanding their
communications needs. Mr. Oware
said, “Bonding with our customer’s
and the community is the only way
we can understand their needs
and therefore work to serve them
accordingly. We shall continue to do
market visits across the country in
order to best serve our customers
and the Rwandan public.”
About Bharti Airtel
Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading
g lo b a l t e le c o m m u n i c a t i o n s
company with operations in 20
countries across Asia and Africa.
Headquartered in New Delhi, India,
the company ranks amongst the
top 4 mobile service providers
globally in terms of subscribers.
In India, the company’s product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce,
fixed line services, high speed DSL
broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise
services including national & international long distance services to
carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G wireless
services and mobile commerce.
Bharti Airtel had over 300 million
customers across its operations
at the end of August 2014.
(L-R) Airtel’s Head of Legal, Regulatory and CSR, Mr. Brian
Kirungi, Finace Director, Mr Tano Oware pose for a picture
with some of the health insurance beneficiaries
20
To know more please visit,
www.Airtel.com
DOING BUSINESS REFORMS
Rwanda keeps the pace,
turns new business
pages
HOPE OCT-NOV 2014 ISSUE 45
When all is said and
done, when 2015 dawns,
when time-honoured
investors read and
close books and
websites on investment
opportunities in the
world, Rwanda will
ring a reverberating
bell among them;
in their minds and
boardrooms.
B
24
RDB Center for
Registration
eing among the top three
e a s i e st co u nt r i e s fo r d o i n g
b u s i n e s s, t h e c o u n t r y h a s
demonstrated consistence and
pragmatic innovations, reforms, policy
review and implementation strategies
that have seen her keep on a global
positioning of the World Bank doing
business report. Of the 189 countries
within which the World Bank carried
out the survey,
survey conducted on how easy it is to do
business in the country. A high ranking on
the ease of doing business index means the
regulatory environment is more conducive
to start and operate a local firm. In the
overall performance, Rwanda is still the
best performing country in the East and
Central Africa and 3rd easiest place to do
business in Africa (1st is Mauritius which
ranks 28th globally, 2nd is South Africa
which ranks 43rd).
Rwanda was ranked the 46th, with
significant improvements in the major
indicators that were put under close
scrutiny. Over the years, Rwanda has
deregulated in a number of sectors,
removing the hurdles and red tape that
would have made it difficult for smooth
flow of business. This presents a
strong performance given the widened
scope in the new methodology that
assesses new areas. The report is a
According to the 2015 Doing Business Report
dubbed ”Going beyond Efficiency” which
goes beyond assessing normal regulation
and also examines quality of regulation,
Rwanda has made significant improvements
in the following areas:
Rwanda made major leaps in Getting credit
(moved from 13th to 4th in the world),
Dealing with Construction permits (moved
from 85th to 34th), Resolving insolvency
(moved from 137th to 101st)Rwanda improved
greatly in the areas/indicators where we had
traditionally registered poor performance.
Rwanda’s distance from frontier metric
(DTC) went up from 69.40 last year to
70.47 this year. In other words, Rwanda’s
business environment as captured by doing
business indicators improved as a higher
score indicates a more efficient business
environment and stronger legal institutions.
During the release of the 12th edition of the
report, the Chief Executive Officer, Rwanda
Development Board, Francis Gatare noted
that Rwanda has “consistently implemented
bold reforms to improve the ease of doing
business and this has resulted in a significant
promotion from 150th globally in the 2008
report to 46th today. We have achieved
this mainly through constant dialogue
with the private sector to determine their
perspectives and needs.” He added that;
“As the theme for this year’s report, Going
SPECIAL FEATURE
the Doing Business sample since 2005. This
allows users both to see the gap between
a particular economy’s performance and
the best performance at any point in time
and to assess the absolute change in the
economy’s regulatory environment over time
as measured by Doing Business. An economy’s
distance to frontier is reflected on a scale
from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest
performance and 100 represents the frontier.
beyond Efficiency suggests- Rwanda will
continue to enhance progress beyond the
World Bank indicators to the business and
investment climate as a whole. We remain
fully committed to ensuring business is at
the center of our development agenda.”
World Bank Country Manager, Carolyn Turk,
congratulated Rwanda for its improvement
in the key areas. “We congratulate the
Government of Rwanda on another great
year at the cutting edge of investment
climate reforms. Progress made in important
areas, including access to credit, securing
construction and occupancy permits and
in the affordability of electricity is a clear
proof of the government’s commitment
to providing an attractive environment for
business,” she observed.
“I’ve had an opportunity to visit the onestop shop for certifying a new business and
have been very impressed with the simplicity
and efficiency of the process.” Melissa
Johns, Advisor, Global Indicators Group,
Development Economics, World Bank Group
also applauded Rwanda for its impressive
performance noting that, “Rwanda has been
an example for emerging economies in SubSaharan Africa and worldwide. The country
has successfully implemented a strategy to
improve the business environment for local
entrepreneurs that has brought tangible
results.”
The changes that were introduced this
year to the doing business methodology
and which have had a profound impact on
Rwanda’s scores include;
Calculation of the ease of doing business
rankings which is now based on the distance
to the frontier score, a cardinal measure that
shows how far a particular economy is from
the regulatory best practice.
This replaces the ordinal ranking based
on percentile which only took into
a cco u n t t h e d i st r i b u t i o n
of economies and not the
actual distance to the
best practices. The Doing
B u s i ne ss t e a m co lle c t e d
additional data to broaden
the indicators that are
considered for the calculation
of ranking. This data was not
part of the calculation in the
previous years. For example,
in resolving insolvency, the
team broadened the scope
of the indicator beyond
efficiency of its regulatory
processes by including
aspects of the quality of
regulations of insolvency
regimes.
For getting credit and protecting
i nve st o r s, w h e re t h e fo c u s i s
already on quality of regulations,
n e w va r i a b le s we re co l le c t e d
i n o rd e r t o b ro a d e n t he s co pe
of indicators. For paying taxes
indicator, the main change relates to
how the total tax rates are scored.
In Starting a business, new areas for
consideration were included.
Distance to Frontier
The distance to frontier score aids
in assessing the absolute level of
regulatory performance and how it
improves over time. This measure
shows the distance of each economy
to the “frontier,” which represents the
best performance observed on each of
the indicators across all economies in
For example, a score of 75 in DB 2014 means
an economy was 25 percentage points away
from the frontier constructed from the best
performances across all economies and
across time. A score of 80 in DB 2015 would
indicate the economy is improving. In this way
the distance to frontier measure complements
the annual ease of doing business ranking,
which compares economies with one another
at a point in time.
w w w. h o p e - m a g . c o m
Chief Executive
Officer, Rwanda
Development
Board, Francis
Gatare
BUSINESS
REFORMS IN
RWANDA OVER
THE YEARS
DB2015:
Starting a Business:
Rwanda made starting a business more
difficult by requiring companies to buy
an electronic billing machine from a
certified supplier, but also made it easier
by launching free mandatory online
registration.
25
DOING BUSINESS REFORMS
SPECIAL FEATURE
Connection Processes and Stipulated Timeframes
Connection Process
Category
Industrial area
Service delivery
Timeframes
Cost
Application Submission
1 Day
Free of charge
Field Survey & Quotation
2 Days
Material Issuance Construction
& Installation
11 days
Free of charge
1 Day
Free of charge
Installation, Testing &
commissioning
Maximum
15 days
Industries between
1 and 5km from
Industrial area
Application Submission
1 Day
Field Survey & Quotation
2 Days
Payments
1 Day
Material Issuance
10 Days
20,000,000 rwf
Construction & Installation
Installation, Testing &
commissioning
plaintiffs to cross-examine defendants
and witnesses with prior approval of the
questions by the court.
Paying Taxes:
Rwanda made paying taxes easier and less
costly for companies by rolling out its
electronic filing system to the majority of
businesses and by reducing the property
tax rate and business trading license fee.
Trading Across Borders:
Rwanda made trading across borders easier
by introducing an electronic single-window
system at the border.
1 Day
Maximum
15 days
HOPE OCT-NOV 2014 ISSUE 45
Industries falling
beyond 5km from
industrial area.
Application Submission
1 Day
Field Survey & Quotation
2 Days
1 Day
Payments
Material Issuance
10 Days
Installation, Testing &
commissioning
1 Day
20,000,000 rwf, for 1 to 5 km
and 20,500,000 rwf per km
beyond 5 km
Maximum
15 days
Dealing with Construction
Permits:
Rwanda made dealing with construction
permits easier by eliminating the fee
for obtaining a freehold title and by
streamlining the process for obtaining
an occupancy permit.
Getting Credit:
Rwanda improved access to credit by
establishing clear priority rules outside
bankruptcy for secured creditors and
establishing clear grounds for relief
from a stay of enforcement actions by
secured creditors during reorganization
procedures.
Getting Electricity:
In Rwanda the electricity company
made getting electricity less costly by
eliminating several fees.
DB2014
Starting a Business:
Rwanda made starting a business easier
26
by reducing the time required to obtain a
registration certificate.
Dealing with Construction Permits:
Rwanda made dealing with construction
p e r m i t s e a s i e r a n d le s s cost ly by
re d u c i n g t he b u i ld i n g pe r m i t fe e s,
implementing an electronic platform
for building permit applications and
streamlining procedures.
Registering Property:
Rwanda made transferring property
easier by eliminating the requirement
to obtain a tax clearance certificate and
by implementing the web-based Land
Administration Information System for
processing land transactions.
Getting Credit:
Resolving Insolvency:
Rwanda made resolving insolvency easier
through a new law clarifying the standards
for beginning insolvency proceedings;
preventing the separation of the debtor’s
assets during reorganization proceedings;
setting clear time limits for the submission
of a reorganization plan; and implementing
an automatic stay of creditors’ enforcement
actions.
DB2013
Enforcing Contracts:
Rwanda made enforcing contracts easier
by implementing an electronic filing system
for initial complaints.
Getting Electricity:
Rwanda strengthened its secured
transactions system by providing more
flexibility on the types of debts and
obligations that can be secured through
a collateral agreement.
Rwanda made getting electricity easier
by reducing the cost of obtaining a new
connection.
Protecting Minority Investors:
Starting a Business:
Rwanda strengthened investor
protections through a new law allowing
DB2012
Rwanda made starting a business easier
by reducing the business registration fees.
SPECIAL FEATURE
Trading Across Borders:
Rwanda made transferring property more
expensive by enforcing the checking of the
capital gains tax.
Rwanda reduced the number of trade
documents required and enhanced its
joint border management procedures
with Uganda and other neighbors, leading
to an improvement in the trade logistics
environment.
Getting Credit:
In Rwanda the private credit bureau started to
collect and distribute information from utility
companies and also started to distribute
more than 2 years of historical information,
improving the credit information system.
Paying Taxes:
Rwanda reduced the frequency of value added
tax filings by companies from monthly to
quarterly.
DB2010
Starting a Business:
Rwanda made starting a business easier by
eliminating the notarization requirement;
introducing standardized memoranda of
association; putting publication online;
consolidating name-checking, registration
fe e p a y m e n t , t a x re g i st r a t i o n a n d
company registration procedures; and
reducing the time required to process
completed applications.
Labor Market Regulation:
Rwanda increased the maximum duration
of fixed-term contracts and eliminated
the obligation to notify and seek the
approval of a third party in cases of
redundancy dismissals.
Registering Property:
Rwanda reduced the time required to
t r a nsfe r p ro pe r t y t h ro u g h o n go i n g
improvements in the property registration
process.
Getting Credit:
Rwanda strengthened its secured
transactions system by allowing a wider
range of assets to be used as collateral,
permitting a general description of debts
and obligations in the security agreement,
allowing out-of-court enforcement of
collateral, granting secured creditors
absolute priority within bankruptcy and
creating a new collateral registry.
DB2011
Dealing with Construction Permits:
Rwanda made dealing with construction
permits easier by passing new building
regulations at the end of April 2010 and
implementing new time limits for the issuance
of various permits.
Getting Credit:
Rwanda enhanced access to credit by allowing
borrowers the right to inspect their own
credit report and mandating that loans of
all sizes be reported to the central bank’s
public credit registry.
Protecting Minority Investors:
Rwanda strengthened investor protections through a new company law requiring greater corporate disclosure,
increasing director liability and improving shareholders’ access to information.
Trading Across Borders:
Rwanda reduced the time required for
trading across borders by introducing
administrative changes such as expanded
operating hours and enhanced border
cooperation and by eliminating some
documentation requirements.
Resolving Insolvency:
Rwanda improved its insolvency process
through a new law aimed at streamlining
reorganization procedures.
DB2009
Dealing with Construction
Permits:
Rwanda made dealing with construction
permits easier by streamlining project
clearances for the second year in a row—
combining the procedures for obtaining a
location clearance and a building permit
in a single application form—and by
introducing a single application form
for water, sewerage and electricity
connections.
Registering Property:
R wa nd a re d u ce d t he cost a nd t i me
to register property by replacing the
6% registration fee with a flat rate,
regardless of the property value, and
by creating a centralized service in the
tax authority to speed up the issuance of
the certificate of good standing.
w w w. h o p e - m a g . c o m
Registering Property:
Trading Across Borders:
Rwanda reduced the time for exporting
and importing by extending the opening
hours of customs points, implementing or
improving electronic data interchange and
risk-based inspection systems and making
improvements in the transport sector.
Enforcing Contracts:
Rwanda made enforcing contracts easier
by launching 3 commercial courts—
in Kigali, in Northern Province and in
Southern Province.
DB2008
Dealing with Construction
Permits:
Rwanda made dealing with construction
permits easier by decentralizing the
p e r m i t s y st e m — w h i c h re d u ce d t h e
time for getting a building permit and
an occupancy permit—and by reducing
the time for obtaining an electricity
connection.
Trading Across Borders:
Rwanda made trading across borders
easier by expediting the acceptance of
customs declarations and liberalizing the
warehouse services market.
27
DOING BUSINESS REFORMS
HOPE OCT-NOV 2014 ISSUE 45
28
SPECIAL FEATURE
w w w. h o p e - m a g . c o m
SPECIAL FEATURE
29
SPECIAL FEATURE
MUGOLDS INTERNATIONAL
DOING BUSINESS REFORMS
Electricity connection
Procedures and
costs reduced
by 50%
Electricity supply and connection is very
important in the country’s development
because it comes with multiple business
opportunities for the general population
and as EARP, we are determined to
continue extending electricity to more
households every year
HOPE
HOPE OCT-NOV
OCT-NOV 2014 ISSUE 45
Having easy access to credit
is crucial for any country
as it helps the private
sector to set up or expand
businesses, thus contributing
to economic prosperity
and sustainable
development.
H
aving reliable and sufficient
electricity plays a critical role
in a country’s socio- economic
growth. Access to electricity,
which is one of the 10 benchmarks used in the
World Bank’s annual Doing Business report,
has been given a top priority in the country
by reducing procedures and costs of getting
electricity by 50%, thanks to many strategies
put in place by the government through the
then Energy Wand Sanitary Authority which
was recently split into two companies.
Through its Electricity Access Scale-up RollOut Program (EARP), the government is on
the right track with regards to increasing
electricity supply and connections across
the country due to the fact that this is one
of the means through which the government
will be able to achieve its ambitious goal of
30
enabling the country to become more
socially and economically vibrant hence
helping the country to turn into a middleincome nation by 2020 as it is envisaged
in the Economic Development and Poverty
Reduction Strategy (EDPRS) II, a five-year
economic plan of the government. Elie
Makeba Nzeyimana, a Monitoring and
Evaluation Specialist with EARP, noted
that by September of last year, there
were 384,676 households connected to
electricity countrywide. He said that this
year’ strategic plan was to at least connect
180,000 households.
“Electricity supply and connection is very
important in the country’s development
because it comes with multiple business
opportunities for the general population
and as EARP, we are determined to continue
extending electricity to more households
every year” Nzeyimana said. He said that
using electricity at home is cheaper than
paraffin and other sources of energy.
Currently, an individual pays only Frw
56,000 to get connected to electricity
which can be paid in installments in a
period of one year. Nzeyimana said that
the former Energy Water and Sanitation
Authority (EWSA), an institution which was
responsible for the coordination of activities
related to promoting and exploiting the
energy (as well as water) resources, set
up a One-Stop Center whose staff goes to
the field countrywide while training the
population on how they can get connected
to the national grid.
Apart from having the center, Nzeyimana
said that his organization has set up an
SPECIAL FEATURE
reducing the time it takes for an individual to
get electricity.The monetary cost of getting
electricity, according the DB report, puts
Rwanda’s rate at $3,948.1 compared to the
region’s average of $4,736.9. This shows
Rwanda’s reforms on getting electricity
have produced above average results
compared to other countries in the SubSaharan Africa.
W i t h t h e s e ve n - ye a r e le c t r i f i c a t i o n
plan (2011-2017), the government has
undertaken different projects to achieve
this objective. These projects include
expansion of the transmission systems with
The Word Bank’s 2013 Doing Business report
indicated that Rwanda’s economy is the 49th
easiest place in the world when it comes to
ease of getting electricity, one place better
than its 50th position in 2012.In the 2013
rankings, Rwanda scored
7 6 . 7 % a g a i nst 7 3 . 8 %
in 2012. The World Bank
s u r v e y lo o k s a t h o w
easy or difficult it is for
an investor in Rwanda to
get electricity to their
premises.
They also look at how long
it takes, how much it costs
and how many processes
a re i nvo lve d . Fo r a
prospective investor, what
matters when it comes to
electricity is first that he
can get connected fast,
and second that there is
a reliable energy supply
during production and
an additional 2,100 km, generating power
from methane gas amounting to 300 MW
as well as estimated 310 MW geothermal
energy for which exploratory drilling is
currently underway for detailed studies,
and the development of new hydro power
plants that will be capable to produce 232
MW of electricity by 2017. The target is
to produce 563 MW of electricity by 2017
from the current 110.8 MW.
with the current effective and efficient
electricity supply and connection, investors
in the country will undoubtedly achieve their
prime goal of making more profits in their
respective business transactions.
EWSA and RDB partnership
T he m a i n o b j e c t i ve of h av i n g a o ne stop center for the registration of new
businesses which was set up by RDB, is to
bring together all relevant entities under
one roof to reduce the number of offices a
new investor had to visit, including to get
connected to electricity.
Robert Nyamvumba, who was Deputy
Director General for energy at EWSA and
is now the Managing Director of Energy
Development Company Ltd said: “We have
two officers posted at RDB and these guide
investors seeking to obtain electricity
through the process.” He noted that once an
investor meets all registration requirements
with RDB, they are put in touch with the
ESWSA desk at RDB to help them with water
and electricity connection.
w w w. h o p e - m a g . c o m
industrial park in every district responsible
for helping the citizens to easily have access
to electricity. The government through
the former EWSA set a target of having at
least 70% of the households in the country
connected to electricity by 2017, and this
will be achieved through working on several
projects which are aimed at increasing the
electricity capacity on the national grid.
The RDB-EWSA attachés then take the
investors to EWSA offices where they are
led into the investment chamber of EWSA,
a unit which was specifically established to
facilitate investors’ applications for either
water or electricity.
A customer at a former EWSA branch: Currently,
an individual pays only Frw 56,000 to get
connected to electricity which can be paid in
installments in a period of one year.
Doing Business progress
The WB Doing Business 2013 report
indicated that an investor in Rwanda is
subjected to only 4 procedures while
applying for electricity against a subSaharan Africa average of 5. When it comes
to days spent in processing the procedures,
Rwandan investors spend just 30 days
against a sub-Saharan average of 133,
which shows how far Rwanda has come in
31
DOING BUSINESS REFORMS
SPECIAL FEATURE
Only 48 hours to get
connected
While the WB’s 2013 report says it takes
30 days to get connected to electricity,
the latest information from the former
EWSA shows that in the meantime this
delay has been greatly shortened to just
48 hours or two days.
“It of course depends on the location of
the place and other site-related issues
but where all these are favorable,
our team can connect a client in 48
hours,” Nyamvumba explains. The
cost of connection, too, has gone down
significantly compared to the World
Bank’s figures. It is heavily subsidized
by t h e gove r n m e n t , a cco rd i n g t o
Nyamvumba, who explains that a normal
connection applicant is required to pay
for big industries that consume a lot of
electricity, it is often more convenient to
use the post-paid system, where at the
end of the months they are charged for
the quantity of electricity they have used.
New electricity targets
While presenting his budget pro- posals
for the 2014-15 fiscal year, Finance
Minister Claver Gatete announced that
80 MW will be added to the national grid
by the end of June 2015 saying that this is
aimed at boosting the country’s spinning
reserve from the current 4 MW.According
to EWSA, the 80 MW will come from
among others the following energy
projects that are nearing completion:
14 MW from Kivu Nyabarongo 1 project;
15 MW of peat energy; 8.5 MW of solar
energy; and other projects.
Table 4.1 The ease of getting electicity in Rwanda
HOPE OCT-NOV 2014 ISSUE 45
http://www.doingbusiness.org, Source:Doing Business database.
only $100 with the balance of $900 being
paid by the government. The aim of this
subsidy is to enable small businesses
(SMEs), whose proprietors are financially
weaker, to meet the cost. Technically,
eve n b i g i nve st o r s e n j oy t he s a me
arrangement unless they have further
onsite requirements that are charged
separately.
A new connection means EWSA procures
all necessary requirements, including a
prepaid meter where they now control
their electricity consumption. However,
32
If the targeted 80 MW can be obtained
by the end of June next year, Rwanda will
be able to contain the pressure from its
rapidly growing economy characterized
by new factories and other power
consuming ventures. While the addition
of the 80 MW would result into a total
of at least 190 MW by June next year,
this is still far from the 2017 target of
500 MW but attaining the target will
be a move in the right direction. The
Cabinet recently also approved the
split of the Energy, Water and Sanitation
Authority (EWSA) into two companies
Robert Nyamvumba, the
Managing Director for the
Energy Development Company
to manage energy and water resources
independent of each other, a move aimed
at removing inefficiencies, according to
Silas Lwakamba, who was Minister of
Infrastructure at the time the split was
announced late 2013. The first
body – the Energy Holding
Company – will manage energy
development and electricity
distribution, while the Water
and Sanitation Company will
manage water resources and
distribution both in the rural
and urban areas.
“It was clear that EWSA needed
reform. There was no proper
planning. Combining together
water and energy management
left EWSA without a clear
focus,” Lwakabamba said.“So
we thought that we needed
t o p l a n p ro p e r ly t h ro u g h
developing a low cost energy
development strategy of up to
20 years, looking at how many
resources we have and how
we can exploit them cheaply
but efficiently,” Lwakabamba
added.
Split of EWSA to help meet
energy targets
Speaking during a news conference
on 31 July which was held to explain
decisions which were made in a recent
cabinet meeting in late July this year, the
Minister of Infrastructure, James Musoni
noted that money needed to fund the
country’s energy and water projects will
be successfully mobilized and services
effectively provided following the transfer
of responsibilities and property of EWSA
SPECIAL FEATURE
that energy is produced, while routine
operations of maintenance and electricity
distribution and revenue collections
will be taken care by the Energy Utility
Co m p a ny Lt d . N ya mv u m b a s a i d t he
previously in EWSA he was in charge of the
responsibilities of the two new divisions.
“You couldn’t have been efficient when
managing all these tasks even if you were
a genius,” he said, describing the reforms
as motivational. “The new companies will
be more efficient.
new entities which, while still stateowned, will operate as if they are private
companies. The new development saw
EWSA being replaced by on the one
hand the Rwanda Energy Group, which
consists of the Energy Development
Company Ltd for energy production
and the Energy Utility Company Ltd for
distribution and maintenance, and on
the other hand the Water and Sanitation
Corporation Ltd.
“They will work in the spirit of the
private sector to improve services.
T he re fo r ms w i ll he lp u s a c h i eve
our targets,” Minister Musoni said.
I nfo r m a t i o n fro m t he M i n i st r y of
Infrastructure indicates that the country
needs investments worth about $3
billion to increase access to electricity
from 17% to 70% by 2018 and access to
water from the current 74% to 100%.
The money needed is about 20% of
Thanks to increased rural electrification,
it has become much easier for businesses
outside urban centers to access
the entire budget for the country’s
second Economic Development and
Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS2),
which the government is implementing
between 2013 and 2018 at the tune of
Frw 10 trillion.
Musoni said that the financial resources
which are needed to meet the set targets
will be raised from private investors
and the government. “These are profitmaking institutions; they have the
potential to be profitable and there is
no reason why they can’t be,” the minister
said.
More efficiency to be achieved
Given the fact the Rwanda Energy Group will
be managed in the spirit of the private sector
to improve services, its two divisions will
without doubt deliver on different energy
production projects that the government
hopes will boost targets to move Rwanda’s
current electricity grid capacity from 110MW
to 563MW by 2017. Robert Nyamvumba, the
Managing Director for Energy Development
Company Ltd said that his new job means he
will be more focused on energy production
working with private investors to ensure
w w w. h o p e - m a g . c o m
These are
profit-making
institutions; they
have the potential
to be profitable
and there is no
reason why they
can’t be
We will be closer to our clients and this
means we are going to be in a more better
and reliable position to connecting more
Rwandans to the national grid,” Nyamvumba
said.
Maurice Kwizera, the Country Manager of
WaterAid Rwanda, an international NGO
said that splitting the utilities will bring
more specialization and relief to areas that
have suffered long spells without water and
electricity. “The separation of water and
electricity management is a good idea and
it will lead to the much needed efficiency,”
Kwizera said.
33
PRIME INSURANCE
SPECIAL FEATURE
Rwanda’s COGEAR and
PRIME Life Assurance
acquired and rebranded
HOPE OCT-NOV 2014 ISSUE 45
Keep this sentence as : Now for every risk, there will
no longer be a fixed fee for a given insurance policy but
rather each individual (company) will pay based on a
thorough assessment of risk. .
T
his is just one of many other trendsetting developments
that former Compagnie Générale d’Assurance et de
Réassurance au Rwanda (COGEAR) and PRIME Life
assurance are set to bring into Rwanda’s insurance market.
On October 17th, the duo announced that United Kingdom based
venture umbrella, Greenoaks had acquired 85 pct stake in
each of them, a deal which saw the former rebrand to PRIME
Insurance ltd and PRIME Life Insurance ltd respectively. The
acquisition which is said to be part of efforts to take these
Rwandan companies to a new level so as to not only grow their
business in the country but also strengthen their business
acumen with the possibility of future regional expansion.
The pair’s combined experience in the Rwandan market
blended and reinforced with the many years of Greenoaks ’s
experience in the insurance business globally will position the
new PRIME brand to impact a positive change in the country’s
insurance sector. Reiterating the implication of the acquisition,
Romain Dequesne, the PRIME Insurance Board Chairman from
Greenoaks noted that with the new brand, Rwandans will now
enjoy world class insurance services that are personalized
and specific to each individual’s needs.
38
“ Ta k i n g a n e xa m p le of mot o r
insurance, it is unfair to have a
fixed price for every driver as
some are good and are rarely
involved in accidents, while others
have high frequency accidents.”
Dequesne said. He added, “Based
on the personalized policing of
insurance products, we will set
prices relating to the details of how
Promises to
offer solution based insurance
policies
much risk is posed by an individual
or company and not generalized
t a r i ffs. ” B u t fro m t h e o n s e t ,
Dequesne said the new insurance
brand is going to focus on building
trust in the Rwandan market for
PRIME and insurance in general,
an achievement that will involve
sustained awareness creation and
education of the masses.
Romain Dequesne shakes hands with Rwanda’s Minister of Finance and Economic
Planning Amb. Claver Gatete while Grégoire Minani 1st on the left Jean Baptiste
Ntukamazina 2nd on the left and Monique Nsanzabaganwa Vice governor of the
National Bank of Rwanda look on.
SPECIAL FEATURE
1. Rebranding:
The first step towards building
trust in the market according
to Dequesne for PRIME was to
rebrand the two companies, in so
doing marking a new beginning
and hence sending a signal to
the market that on top of what
the two insurers had achieved in
the past, more new things will
be initiated in the market soon.
From two separate companies,
“Even if we brought new products
on the market but were unable
t o p ay c la i ms o n t i me w he n
customers need us insurers the
most, we would not have done
much to improve insurance in the
country yet this is our main goal.”
Hence, Dequesne noted that going
forward a customer’s claim will
be paid in the shortest possible.
“Some claims we have paid so
far have taken not longer than
30 minutes.”
When one customer has their
c la i m p a i d o n t i me, G ré go i re
Minani the CEO of PRIME Life
Insurance ltd commented,
they will share the news
w i t h i n t he i r c i rc le w h i c h
would result into augmenting
trust for insurers with the
Rwandan community.
PRIME Launch attracted various diginitaries among whom
included the Kigali City Mayor Fidèle Ndayisaba and
Amb. Joseph NSENGIMANA
Using technology to push insurance forward is not a new
phenomenon for PRIME but with the new perspective brought on
board by highly experienced and strategic partners as Greenoaks,
the extent of using platforms like mobile telephony in driving
insurance penetration in Rwanda will now be taken to a completely
new level. In the past, PRIME Life Assurance initiated the first
ever mobile based insurance policy in Rwanda in partnership
with a local telecommunication company.
w w w. h o p e - m a g . c o m
The road to building
trust in the market
The product dubbed life care involved an individual signing for
the policy, paying premiums, claiming and receiving payment
for his claims all through mobile money hence allowing for a
user-friendly insurance service that made it easy for anyone to
purchase a life insurance policy any time and place without going
through the trouble of visiting the insurer.
The mood at the
launch of PRIME
was Celebratory
Why COGEAR and PRIME Life were sold, What is the future?
Greenoaks after buying majority
s h a r e h o ld i n g i n CO G E A R a n d
PRIME Life Assurance decided to
rebrand the company under one
brand, PRIME. The rebranding was
preceded with shifting the two
entities to a new single location,
all which signifies a new beginning.
2. Improving services:
Having rebranded, PRIME says
it is now focused on giving its
customers a new experience in
insurance by ensuring prompt
payment of claims in the event
that they (customers) are hit by
the insured risk.
3. Using technology to make
insurance affordable and
accessible:
In another envisioned
development, Dequesne noted
that buying insurance policies in
Rwanda remains cumbersome
with people having to move long
distances in search of an insurer
in order to subscribe to one.
“This is another bottleneck we
at PRIME intend to make history
by bringing best practices from
other markets into Rwanda to
ensure that buying insurance
policies becomes seamless and
affordable.”
Melting widespread rumor that the acquired companies were
struggling financially hence the decision by their former Rwandan
owners to sell majority shareholding, Jean Baptiste Ntukamazina,
the CEO of PRIME Insurance Ltd former COGEAR, refuted the
claims saying that the companies had been in sound financial
condition. “Prior to the sale of the shares, COGEAR for instance
was making good progress. However the shareholders wanted
a strategic investor to bring new skills and augment the capital
such that we could leapfrog into a greater future.”
Supplementing Ntukamazina,
Dequesne said that before purchasing the companies, Greenoaks
carried out a due diligence which showed that the two were
among the leading and best performing insurers in Rwanda
which findings informed the acquisition. Now the future for the
brand according to the Chairman will involve building a leading
world class insurance company in Rwanda and later exporting its
services to the rest of the region. “As Greenoaks , we are willing
and ready to invest extensively in PRIME going forward with a
clear mission of providing world-class services to our Rwandan
customers and beyond.” “All I can say is watch this space for
there is a lot more to come,” Dequesne beamed.
39
39
BRALIRWA LIMITED
OVER
SPECIAL FEATURE
200,000 TREES PLANTED
QUALITY OF THOUSANDS OF
LIVES IMPROVED
Bralirwa Concludes Tree Planting Season 2013/14
HOPE OCT-NOV 2014 ISSUE 45
When BRALIRWA begun the campaign
to reforest what was once Rwanda’s
arid region, the Eastern Province
especially the former area of Mutara
spanning districts like Nyagatare,
Gatsibo, and Bugesera, the drive
was geared by the company’s value
of respect for the environment and
a strong belief in business practices
that are environmental friendly. But
the impacts that this activity which
has been ongoing since the year
2007 are enormous as thousands
of lives, thanks to the tree planting
initiative, are now lived in a better
and healthy way; feeling safer.
Freddy Nyangezi plants a tree helped
by one pupil of GS Ryabega
S
support in G.S Ryabega is noticed than during
exam time. Umutoni Janet is a senior three
student who has been at G.S Ryabega ever since
her primary school days. During exam time, she
says her best spot to do revision from is under
the small forest which is just a few meters away
from her classroom block.
Though the assembly time is an important
element of the school life, there is no better
time when the value of the small forests
which were planted with BRALIRWA’s
“Together with some colleagues, we normally
come here (referring to where the trees were
planted) to discus especially arts subjects like
history and commerce. It is hard to imagine how
people used to read their notes during such
stressing times without this shade and the
good aeration.” More still, the benefits of tree
planting at G.S Ryabega have not only touched
learners because of the shades provided but
also reached the residents of the area who
testify that ever since the campaigns to plant
uch is the case of the over 2000
learners in G.S Ryabega, a primary
and secondary school in Nyagatare
District. Learners and teachers
alike who occupy this public
school say that the quality of their lives
has significantly improved, courtesy of the
good breeze and the shades the school now
enjoys ever since the trees were planted
in 2008. From having to assemble under
the hot sun that characterized this part
of Rwanda a few years ago, the learners
now convene each day for the morning
assembly under the shades of the trees.
42
more trees, the formerly drought devastated
are now receives more rainfall. “In around 1999,
heavy winds occasionally flew our rooftops off,
and in some scenarios crumbled whole walls of
houses leaving their occupants stranded and
homeless. But with increased tree populations,
living now feels safer as such incidences have
reduced to nearly zero while at the same time
our formerly arid soils are no longer alien to
regular rain seasons.
The trees have really been instrumental in
improving our standards of living,” Gatare
Costante, the Headmaster of the G.S Ryabega
and a resident of the area shared. The head
teacher was speaking at the event organized
by BRALIRWA to officially close the tree
planting year 2013/14 while acknowledging the
achievements garnered and the positive impacts
• Passion for Quality • Enjoyment of Life • Respect for the People, Society and Environment in which we live
“We intend to groom a generation of people, in this region which had formerly been
deforested and was quickly becoming a semi arid area, who are environmentally
conscious and understand the role that trees and for that matter all other elements
of the ecosystem play in humanity’s sustainable wellbeing.”
Forests such as the one in the picture are now seen in Ryabega
thanks to the tree planting campaign and the mindset change
that has seen the community
intend to groom a generation of people, in this
region which had formerly been deforested
and was quickly becoming a semi arid area,
who are environmentally conscious and
understand the role that trees and for that
matter all other elements of the ecosystem
play in humanity’s sustainable wellbeing.” And
this far, the approach seems to be working.
During the tree planting session at the event
to conclude the year 2013/14, learners were
occasionally spotted clinging on to a tree
seedling claiming they were saving it to plant
back home. For Umutoni, the tree
planting activities in which she
took part in the last three years
at the school have enabled her
plant two trees of her own at
home, which she testifies have
made the place look better and
undoubtedly healthier.
“Even mum and dad are now
interested in planting trees
so much that they now often
brag about turning home into
a manmade forest,” she said
wearing a broad smile that surely
was a sign of her satisfaction
because she was the person
who instigated the tree planting
culture back home.
What next?
Besides the investment in the actual tree
planting activity, the other hard and perhaps
most crucial part is ensuring that the trees are
protected until they grow to offer their full
benefits to the communities around. According
to Nyangezi, this element of following up to
ensure maximum protection for the newly
planted trees in partnership with civil society
organizations and local authorities is one they
have engaged in, in the past and will continue
to do the same in the future.
Towards this end of ensuring maximum
protection, first at G.S and later to reach
the remaining 11 schools, BRALIRWA put up
a poster showcasing that the school has
contributed to the tree planting campaign.
“This is aimed at making those involved
proud and lure them into securing the
trees from any irresponsible actions from
the community.” But as has been the case,
more trees will continue to be planted in
years ahead. In Rwanda’s Eastern Province,
trees have significantly turned formerly dry
areas into agriculturally viable lands through
increasing rainfall, and in so doing, augmented
productivity consequently supplying people
with the necessities of life to make living
much better.
w w w. h o p e - m a g . c o m
the trees have had on the lives of beneficiaries.
According to BRALIRWA’s head of Corporate
Affairs Freddy Nyangezi, in partnership with
12 primary and secondary schools in the
Eastern Province, the concluded year saw over
70,000 trees planted in addition to 2,000
more planted at the closing ceremony. But the
tree population of the East Province has been
generously profited in the last eight years
during which BRALIRWA has been planting
more trees annually. Currently, Mr. Nyangezi
shared; over 200,000 trees have been planted
in the districts of Bugesera and Nyagatare.
Explaining the choice of region, he shared that
the focus of the program was to benefit those
areas most challenged by climate issues and
at the time, none but Bugesera and Nyagatare
were most at risk of semi-aridity thus the
decision to intervene in these specific areas.
The strategy is not just about
increasing tree populations,
but winning minds towards
environmental protection.
But in as much as BRALIRWA cherishes in
increased tree populations and planting more,
the target of the campaign according to Mr.
Nyangezi is to awaken communities in the
target areas towards their (trees) importance
such that the garnered achievements are
sustained. This explains why the leading
Brewer in Rwanda chose to partner with
schools in the execution of the campaign. “We
A pupil at GS Ryabega waters one of
the tree seedlings planted that day
43
ZEN ORIENTAL CUISINE
SPECIAL FEATURE
Zen now serving
Mixed Platter
All favorite sea foods offered in a single order
HOPE OCT-NOV 2014 ISSUE 45
How many may have faced the difficult
choice of what exactly to order while
on that wonderful sea foods night
or saw someone bite into a Tobiko
Sashimi while having the tasty Salmon
Sashimi but still felt like you would
like to eat the former too?
T
hat is as normal as humanity
itself which is why Zen Oriental
Cuisine introduced the already
popular mixed platter that allows
enthusiasts of sea foods to have it
all in one order. When one orders the mixed
platter, then the issues of feeling abnormal
about ordering sushi after another will be
no more, since all the various meals will be
served at once and placed before you, and
their fates left to be determined by how much
The new health dishes on offer at Zen
Melanie Cordero, Manager of the Kigali based Zen Oriental Cuisine
44
Prawns
SPECIAL FEATURE
Among others, the mixed platter is a mélange
of the Sashimi blends of Salmon, Squid, Tuna,
and Tobiko Sashimi; Sunrise Maki, Tempura roll,
California roll crab merged with Zen’s range of
sushi including Nigiri, Obi, Tamago, and Kani Sushi.
Though it is not his recommendation for those
beginning to accustom themselves with sea foods,
the mixed platter is Chef Tagala’s favorite and
his suggestion for lovers of the oriental sea food
dishes.
“If you are a lover of oriental sea foods, then the
favorite order to make at Zen is the mixed platter
because in this single plate all your favorites will
be served while at the same time allowing you
the opportunity to taste some juicy additions you
may not have considered to be delicious before.”
Equally for starters of sea foods, though not Chef
Tagala’s recommendations in a conservative move
to not risk wasting a meal he would run miles to
taste, the mixed platter offers the opportunity for
them to pinpoint their preferred dish hence the better
way to get most sea food dishes in one serving.
The more interesting part, price.
For this dish which may quench the appetite of two
ordinary sea food enthusiasts, the cost is at only
FRW14,500 served by Kigali’s best in oriental cuisine at
Zen. Besides the mixed platter, Zen has in the last few
months has added a good number of salivating dishes
on the restaurant’s menu; meals that are bound to leave
you leaking your fingers, with your appetite still wanting
but your belly arguing against the spirit.
Among others, the executive chef of Zen Enrico Cordero
recently introduced Steamed whole tilapia, Steamed
Chicken, Steamed Egg Fried Rice with Prawns, Pan fried
spring rolls, Fish ball, Black pepper beef, Stir Fry Squid,
Cantonese fried rice, Sunrise roll, and Bansai Maki; all of
which share healthy nutrition as their common feature.
Also, Zen was the first restaurant in Rwanda to introduce
Dim Sum and Sushi among other classic Asian dishes, not
to mention the Japanese Teppanyaki which gives guests
the experience of having their meal prepared right from
their dinner table.
Located off the Nyarutarama, a few meters past MTN
Rwanda headquarters in Nyarutarama Kigali City, Zen
Oriental Cuisine specializes in Japanese, Chinese and Thai.
w w w. h o p e - m a g . c o m
you can belly at a go. And all that, as Chef Edwin
Tagala shared, is made ready in just a little while
and prepared with the intoxicatingly subtle scent
of sea foods which will leave anyone curious as
to what is and is not included in the mixture, a
curiosity big enough to engulf you until the plate
is as clean as it was, before being interrupted by
the chef to serve the dish.
Steamed Tilapia available in just 15 minutes on order
45
SADOLIN CLASSIC
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION & USE
• Sadolin Classic is a water repellent and weather resistant decorative
wood protection product, based on alkyd resin and organic solvents.
It helps to enhance the natural beauty of the wood, while providing
good protection against sunlight, rain, blue stain and mould growth.
FIELD OF APPLICATION
• Can be used on all interior and exterior wood surfaces
such as garden furniture, fences and doors.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
• Surface should be clean and dry
• Loose powder should be removed
• Moisture content of the wood should
not exceed 20%
• If surface has been previously painted, remove
all paint and treat as new wood.
Surface
Preparation
Finish
matt finish
Colour
Clear and 25 standard card shades
Drying Time
Tourch dry after 8 hours, hard dry after 24 hours
Coverage
• Wood protection
• Excellent water resistance
• Water repellent
• Suitable for external use
10-12m2 /Litre depending on the type of wood
Thinning
White spirit or Turpentine
Application
Brush / Roller / Spray
Packaging
4 Litres
Storage
Store in a cool dry place
Health & Safety
Consult our material safety data sheet
Precautions
Keep the container closed after use. Do
not intermix with other products.
SADOLIN PAINTS (RWANDA) LTD
Avenue de Nyabugogo, Muhima
Colour Your World
B.P. 3414 Kigali - Rwanda, Tel: +252 504446
Email: [email protected]
KILIMANJARO CEMENT
SPECIAL FEATURE
Kilimanjaro
Steadily
cement becoming the
builder’s choice in Rwanda
A
HOPE OCT-NOV 2014 ISSUE 45
t hardly four months in the
Rwandan market, Kilimanjaro
cement is already becoming
a household brand for many
a builder and developer which
provokes the question of why these veterans
i n t he co nst r u c t i o n i nd u st r y t h i n k t he
cement is better. Speaking to some of the
customers who have turned their preference
to Kilimanjaro cement, Hope Magazine
gathered that its liking is mainly a token of
appreciation to its high quality and of the
good customer support facilities offered
by the local representative of the brand,
Silverbacks Investments Ltd.
WHAT KILIMANJARO CEMENT
CUSTOMERS THINK
Mwiza Mutagoma, MD Rhino Concrete Ltd
There are about three reasons why we
have switched our cement preference
to Kilimanjaro. First and most important
of these is the high quality exhibited by
Kilimanjaro cement compared to any other
cement of presumably similar standard.
For instance, considering technicalities,
Kilimanjaro is 42.5N in terms of strength and
48
indeed there are other brands with
similar strength on the market. But
in construction we are as concerned
with external looks as with the
internal quality of our products, and
from experience, Kilimanjaro cement
produces brighter products (in terms
of color) compared to other cements
thus giving it an upper hand.
The other reason for our choice of
Kilimanjaro cement is their business
mindedness. For a not-so -big
company as ours, at times there are
cash flow challenges, which may at
times minimize our ability to procure
what we need when we need it. But
with Kilimanjaro cement, there is
flexibility such that at times when
we do not have cash at hand, we still
get the goods we need and pay later.
This is a good thing especially in this
line of business, something we have
not had in the past. Rhino concrete
Ltd fabricates cement products thus
Kilimanjaro (cement) is a primary
raw materials for the company’s
activities.
Habanabakize Evase, Finance
Manager Hygebat Construction
In reality, there are many other cement
brands on the market today with the same
quality as Kilimanjaro, so our choice to buy
it is not one based on superiority of quality
but rather on convenience, reliability, and
better business relations.
Compared to others, Kilimanjaro cement is
now readily available such that today when
we press an order either by a phone call or
even in writing, delivery is done as soon as
possible. We have been in business since 1995
and trying Kilimanjaro was just a business
decision to test what was on the market but
now, we are convinced with the services and
the product.
Kazawadi Papias Dedeki,
Managing Director Star
Constructions &Consultancy Ltd
For a company in the business of producing
concrete building materials, contracting to
construct big buildings among other
structures, cement is a vital ingredient
of Star Constructions’ activities.
SPECIAL FEATURE
Mohamed
Kamonja,
Marketing
Manager for
Kilimanjaro
Cement in Rwanda
When Kilimanjaro was introduced in
Rwanda about four months ago, we
begun using it and up till now, I do not
see any other better choice for us.
Perhaps to explain our preference of the
cement from a practical point of view;
the concrete products we make using
Kilimanjaro cement are stronger than
what we produce from other cements.
w w w. h o p e - m a g . c o m
I have made the test three times on the
final products and in all occasions, the
results were the same; products from
Kilimanjaro were stronger. Saying this is
out of my observation of course from
tests we regularly conduct to ensure
that the high quality of our products is
sustained. As a matter of fact, using
Kilimanjaro or any other brand has no
different but my interest is that which
what makes business sense and to date,
Kilimanjaro is giving us better results
at that.
GOING FORWARD
The other element that made us choose
Kilimanjaro was its pricing, which remains
at the lower end for a 42.5N quality
cement in Rwanda. For us as constant
consumers of cement, a reduction of
let us say FRW500 may sound small
for another consumer but is a large
margin in our case considering that the
factory alone normally consumes at
least 40 tons of cement in a month in
the production of concrete products.
With the good reception that Kilimanjaro
cement has had in the Rwandan market,
Mohamed Kamonja the Marketing Manager of
the company says that they are now working
on strategies to sustain high quality services.
Among others, Kilimanjaro Cement Rwanda
is in final stages of improving delivery of
customers’ orders to their premises.
Also, partners through which this cement
will be distributed to up country districts
of Rwanda are currently being sought after
such that by January 2015, there will at least
be one distributor in each district. To ensure
reliable supply of the cement, Mr. Kamonja
shared that Kilimanjaro Cement will soon
have a second warehouse which will see
the company raise its stock capacity to
4800tons from the current 1800 tons by
early January. “Towards the same goal of
ensuring reliable supply, our sister company
that deals with logistics will acquire another
300 long distance heavy transport trucks
to bring the fleet to 650 trucks.
This will ensure that we always have a
constant supply of Kilimanjaro cement in
Rwanda by streamlining its ready supply
from the plant in Tanzania,” Kamonja shared.
But as he shared, the basic target for the
cement supplier is to ensure reliability,
maintain quality commodities, and impact
the construction industry in Rwanda.
49