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Saturday, 31 December 2011

Fw: *DHR* Rwanda Now: Betting on economic growth

 
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/111218/rwanda-economy-growth 

One of Africa's most dynamic countries is also its most haunted. Rwanda is working to overcome the 1994 genocide. Its economy is fast-growing and it has very little corruption. But President Paul Kagame's government is persistently accused of repression. An on-the-ground look at the contrasting facets of this compelling country.

Rwanda gallery031 2011 12 05
Kigali is developing rapidly and entire regions are under construction. (Steve Terrill/GlobalPost)

Rwanda Now: Betting on economic growth

Rwanda tames corruption and uses radical business reforms to boost its economy.

Andrew MeldrumDecember 30, 2011 06:05
KIGALI, Rwanda — The two-year-old stock market in this small central African backwater is not exactly bustling with billion-dollar deals.
But stock brokers here have earnest ambitions to become a financial powerhouse, and not everyone thinks they're crazy; on the contrary, they're actually making real progress.
The country synonymous with genocide is aiming to become the economic powerhouse of East and Central Africa. 
For now, Rwanda's stock exchange resembles a middle-school classroom more than Wall Street. It consists of a white board where a young man occasionally writes up an offer with a black Sharpie. Above the whiteboard is a portrait of President Paul Kagame. Nearby is a wooden-handled bell, used to open and close trading.
David Mitali, 28, snaps open his cell phone and advises a broker about Bralirwa Brewery. An "operations manager" at the exchange, he knows Bralirwa well: it is one of only four listed stocks; the exchange also handles government bonds.
"The Rwanda Stock Exchange aims to become the financial center in east Africa," says Mitali, who has worked here since it opened. He enthusiastically lists reasons why Kigali may succeed.
"We're developing a good reputation for being user friendly," he says. "No tricky, tricky business here. No corruption. We are becoming a market where investors like to do business."
"The security of the country is good. Our economy is fast developing. Investors are coming here to invest in the wider region," he adds.
There is some truth to Mitali's assertions.
Seventeen years ago, the genocide here killed some 800,000 people, leaving most of the country's 11 million people deeply traumatized. But now, its determined  president, former army general Paul Kagame, is working hard to transform Rwanda into the most business friendly country in East Africa.
More from GlobalPost: Rwanda's unspoken history
Kagame is making real progress. GDP growth has averaged 8 percent since 2004. In 1995, 100 percent of the government budget came from foreign aid. In 2011, it has fallen to 40 percent. The government aims to get that to zero.
If there were a "most improved player" award for business cultures, Rwanda would be a contender.
Just three years ago, in the World Bank's list of best places to do business, Rwanda ranked a dismal 150th. This year, it has leaped to 58th. One innovation that has helped this: Rwanda changed its official language from French to English last year, to accommodate commerce from neighboring countries Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
More remarkably, Rwanda now ties the United States as the ninth-easiest country in which to start a business, according to the World Bank's 2011 Doing Business Survey. That's up from 71st in 2008.
That 'can-do' business climate is evident at the offices of the Rwanda Development Board. There, one recent morning, about 50 Rwandans sat in rows, each clutching papers to register new companies.
Large posters proclaim "1-Day Business Registration." From the sound of stamps thumping on papers and the flow of smiling people leaving the room, the office is keeping its promise.
"When we started in January 2009, eight different institutions were needed to approve investments. Now we have one," said Clare Akamanzi, chief operating office of the Rwanda Development Board. "Our main objective is to spur economic development through the private sector. Every year we look at what needs to be improved to get more economic development."
And they implement their ideas.
One example: Just across the hall from the business permit office, Rwandans can apply for business loans.
These days, construction permits require just one application, and approvals take less than 30 days.
That innovation is having a tangible impact on Kigali. Outside the stock market, the streets clang with the construction of shiny office towers that are fast becoming the city's defining feature. The stock exchange is in one of the new towers. Nearby skyscrapers house the Bank of Kigali, Ecobank, the Rwandan Central Bank and Ernst and Young.
The city's business men and women in suits and carrying briefcases are aiming to make Kigali the rival of Nairobi for East African business.
Rwanda still has a long way to go.
A majority of Rwandans still live on less than 50 cents per day, according to the CIA World Factbook, with 77 percent on less than $1.25 daily. With a population growth rate of 2.7 percent, Rwanda needs annual GDP growth of 8 percent to sustainably reduce poverty and increase revenues.
Despite Rwanda's fertile soils and abundant rainfall, food production often does not meet demand, requiring imports. Rwanda continues to receive substantial aid money and obtained IMF-World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative debt relief in 2005-06.
The country does not have oil or other significant resources or major industry. It's a mountainous territory about the size of Maryland, and has the highest population density in sub-Saharan Africa. This is particularly problematic because 86 percent of the population subsists on traditional agriculture, according to the United Nations. The scarcity of land means the country must rapidly develop its economy to give Rwandans an alternative to tilling the soil.
To transform Rwanda into a linchpin for regional trade, the country has opened 24-hour border operations, to promote the flow of cargo and people.
Rwanda joined the East African Community, whose other members are Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi. The government is aligning Rwanda's budget, trade, and immigration policies with its regional partners.
Although Rwanda is looking East, it is also reaching West. It is angling to become the trade conduit for eastern Congo's wealth of minerals and also to provide goods and services for that country.
"There is lots of trade between Congo and Rwanda, and it's growing," said Aloys Tegera, director of research for the Pole Institute of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Standing by the teeming border of between Gisenyi, in Rwanda, and Goma, eastern Congo, Tegera points to trucks lined up to transport minerals into Rwanda.
And nearby he shows pedestrians streaming from Rwanda into Congo, carrying fruits, vegetables and freshly butchered meat.
In dramatic contrast to the order and neatness on the Rwandan side of the border, eastern Congo is chaotic. It is easy to see why businessmen say that going from Rwanda to Congo is "like going from Switzerland to Somalia."
"Across the border we don't have a functioning state. Congo's banking system is not good, and many Congolese are setting up bank accounts here in Rwanda," said Tegera. "Many Congo teachers come over to teach in Rwanda, and many people prefer to use the Rwanda postal service."
Leveraging its position between East and Central Africa is an important strategy the Kagame government is using to boost Rwanda's economy, said Tegera.
"Rwanda's reputation for little corruption and good business services is making the country attractive," he said. "Many Congolese are coming to Rwanda to do business."
Andrew Meldrum reported this article under a "Gatekeeper Fellowship" from the International Reporting Project.
More from GlobalPost: Rwanda Now
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Activités récentes:
http://fr.groups.yahoo.com/group/Democracy_Human_Rights Maître Innocent  TWAGIRAMUNGU DHR FOUNDER&OWNER Tél.mobile: 0032- 495 48 29 21 UT UNUM SINT "L'extrémisme dans la défense de la liberté n'est pas un vice; La modération dans la poursuite de la justice n'est pas une vertu". "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." (USA,Republican Convention 1964,Barry Morris Goldwater (1909-1998)). "Le monde ne sera pas détruit par ceux qui font le mal mais par ceux qui regardent et refusent d'agir", Albert EINSTEIN. Les messages publiés sur DHR n'engagent que la responsabilité de leurs auteurs. CONSIDERATION, TOLERANCE, PATIENCE AND MUTUAL RESPECT towards the reinforcement of GOOD GOVERNANCE,DEMOCRACY and HUMAN RIGHTS in our states. Liability and Responsibility: You are legally responsible, and solely responsible, for any content that you post to DHR. You may only post materials that you have the right or permission to distribute electronically. The owner of DHR cannot and does not guarantee the accuracy of any statements made in or materials posted to the group by participants. " BE NICE TO PEOPLE ON YOUR WAY UP, BECAUSE YOU MIGHT MEET THEM ON YOUR WAY DOWN." Jimmy DURANTE. COMBATTONS la haine SANS complaisance, PARTOUT et avec Toute ENERGIE!!!!!! Let's  rather prefer Peace, Love , Hope and Life, and get together as one!!! Inno TWAGIRA
.

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Fw: *DHR* Exiled Green Party chief sure of Kagame’s departure


 
 
http://the-chronicles.net/index.php/politics/251-exiled-green-party-chief-sure-of-kagames-departure-.html

Exiled Green Party chief sure of Kagame's departure

Tuesday, 06 December 2011 09:10 Fred W. Mwasa
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Frank Habineza, Green Party President

'Kagame will not change constitution'
The leader of the embattled and unregistered Democratic Green Party of Rwanda (DGPR) says all indications
are that President Paul Kagame will not seek to amend the constitution to stay in power– a rare position and insight from an exiled opposition politician. Frank Habineza said the president understands the "big risk" of entrenching himself in power. "Kagame knows very well that it's such a big risk to change the constitution and take on the third term," said Habineza, who took a leading role in organising protests late October at the Commonwealth Summit in Australia against the presence of President Kagame.

Habineza's comments add up to those of previous party leaders that have been serialised in The Chronicles in a special report on the period leading up to 2017. The peak of the debate was when the leader of the Ideal Democratic Party (PDI) – who doubles as Internal Security Minister, Sheikh Musa Fazil Harelimana, went on record calling for President Kagame to rule for as long as he wishes and for as long as Rwandans wanted him too. Harerimana then called for amending the constitution to provide for such a possibility.

Amending the constitution, Habineza said, "would be a good excuse to take back the country into abyss. I think [Kagame] will pick someone to succeed him."

"RPF OYEE, RPF OYEE..."
Up until he fled the country last year, Frank Habineza had failed to register the Green Party. In 2009, the police broke up two party meetings which the group claimed were meant to collect signatures for registration. In one particular incident on October 30, 2009, as several hundred party members sat in a conference room, two men started repeatedly chanting 'RPF OYEE' – in reference to the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front.

The moment would be followed up by chaos as conference delegates sought to throw the men out. Within minutes, police were at the scene and announced the conference was no more. In the months that followed, bitter public in-fighting erupted in the Green Party. The secretary general Charles Kabanda accused Habineza of undermining party structures. Habineza blamed the ruling party for the rifts.

In July last year, its vice president Andre Kagwa Rwisereka was gruesomely murdered in the Southern province near Butare town. Despite several arrests, police and prosecution dropped the case in September this year – citing lack of evidence. The case simply raises the temperatures that Habineza has called for a UN-led investigation.

The largely unknown Greens group planned to field a candidate in the August 2010 presidential polls, but backed out – again accusing the government of closing the political environment. Publicly, it is hard to find anybody in Rwanda identifying themselves as Green Party activists, save for Habineza, a media savvy figure who is quick to publish a press release at every incident.

Open political space, please
Frank Habineza tells The Chronicles that the next six years running to 2017 "will continue to be a big challenge to President Kagame, unless he accepts and lets opposition parties to get registered and take part in nation building". Failure to do so, he warns, will put the country's future at a big risk.

Ms. Victoire Ingabire"The Government cannot afford to continue excluding fellow Rwandans. The time for opening up of political space is now," added Habineza. In the months leading up to the presidential poll, Habineza went into an on-and-off cooperation with the unregistered United Democratic Forum Inkingi (FDU-Inkingi) of jailed Ingabire Victoire (pictured left) and registered PS Imberakuru –of imprisoned Bernard Ntaganda. Surprisingly, it was always Habineza going out and then returning to the coalition soon after.

At some point, an angry Victoire Ingabire described Habineza as politically immature. The Greens group is not thinking about 2017 yet, instead, Habineza says he is mobilising for the 2013 lower chamber parliamentary elections. "Our main objective is to become a real alternative to the ruling RPF, we cannot achieve that by operating from exile," said Habineza, who however did not divulge details about his return.
"It's been a tough journey for us, but we have not lost hope. I plan to return and spearhead that process."
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Activités récentes:
http://fr.groups.yahoo.com/group/Democracy_Human_Rights Maître Innocent  TWAGIRAMUNGU DHR FOUNDER&OWNER Tél.mobile: 0032- 495 48 29 21 UT UNUM SINT "L'extrémisme dans la défense de la liberté n'est pas un vice; La modération dans la poursuite de la justice n'est pas une vertu". "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." (USA,Republican Convention 1964,Barry Morris Goldwater (1909-1998)). "Le monde ne sera pas détruit par ceux qui font le mal mais par ceux qui regardent et refusent d'agir", Albert EINSTEIN. Les messages publiés sur DHR n'engagent que la responsabilité de leurs auteurs. CONSIDERATION, TOLERANCE, PATIENCE AND MUTUAL RESPECT towards the reinforcement of GOOD GOVERNANCE,DEMOCRACY and HUMAN RIGHTS in our states. Liability and Responsibility: You are legally responsible, and solely responsible, for any content that you post to DHR. You may only post materials that you have the right or permission to distribute electronically. The owner of DHR cannot and does not guarantee the accuracy of any statements made in or materials posted to the group by participants. " BE NICE TO PEOPLE ON YOUR WAY UP, BECAUSE YOU MIGHT MEET THEM ON YOUR WAY DOWN." Jimmy DURANTE. COMBATTONS la haine SANS complaisance, PARTOUT et avec Toute ENERGIE!!!!!! Let's  rather prefer Peace, Love , Hope and Life, and get together as one!!! Inno TWAGIRA
.

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Fw: *DHR* SD has nothing to learn from Kagame’s Rwanda

 
http://www.times.co.sz/Letters-to-the-Editor/36107.html 


SD has nothing to learn from Kagame's Rwanda

By The Editor on December 30,2011


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SD has nothing to learn from Kagame's Rwanda

Right to Reply:
Sir,

Under the name of Alpheous M Nxumalo, the Times of Swaziland published on Thursday November 28, 2011 an article entitled 'SD can learn from Rwanda's Kagame'. President Paul Kagame is cited by the author as 'one of my favourite statesmen in the world'. Nxumalo may have been blinded by the hidden agenda of the regime in Kigali as it practices aggressive politics when it comes to media opinions.
Rwanda is a small country situated in Central Africa, with an area of about 26.338 km2 and a population of 11 million inhabitants (more than 400 people per km2). Swaziland is a small country in southern Africa, with an area of 17 000 km2, a population of around 1.2 million. There ends the comparison.
Rwanda is essentially an agricultural country, without important mineral resources. The average Rwandan lives on less than E15 a day (around US$2). The Rwandan capital of Kigali actually counts one million citizens (250 000 in 1994). The country has people from three ethnic groups: one per cent Twa (pygmies), 10 per cent Tutsi (Nilotics) and 89 per cent Hutu (Bantu).
Rwanda is known for the 'Genocide of 1994', in the course of which a population of around 600 000 people were massacred in a period of 100 days. On April 6, a plane transporting President Juvenal Habyarimana and his Burundian counterpart President Cyprien Ntaryamira, their staff and the three members of the French crew was shot out of the sky over Kigali and this set off the Genocide. Everybody agrees that the downing of this plane was a catastrophe for the people of Rwanda and the surrounding region. The RPF quickly declared the plane had been shot down by extremists from the rival FAR who did not want the Arusha Accords applied. The reality is that the plane was most likely shot down on the orders of some people. No enquiry was initiated by the Rwandan authorities after the Genocide into the 'accident' in which two presidents and their staffs perished in a civilian airplane. Last year, under pressure from the families of the French pilots, the French government conducted an inquiry which was supposed to have been published in March 2011. It was reported to have been completed in May 2011, and now we are in December and nothing has been made public, as they don't want to embarrass the French government with a publication that would, without doubt, threaten the relationship between them and Kagame and his clique.
Nine of Kagame's generals are the object of international investigations for war crimes or crimes against humanity. Kagame would also be investigated but he has immunity as Chief of State. Forty of Kagame's officers are being pursued by the Spanish justice system for the same crimes. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (TPIR) has functioned for 16 years without being able to prove who planned the Genocide.
Today, 40 per cent of the budget is consecrated to an army of more than 200 000 soldiers (the Swazi army counts about 5 000 soldiers and the Rwandan army before 1990 counted 8 000) although most of the budget is supported by foreign aid. Rwanda has not only profited from external finance but also from pillaging the natural resources of their giant neighbour, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In effect, under the pretext of pursuing the Interahamwe (the militias responsible for most of the killings in the genocide) into the Congo the army of Kagame has made many incursions into the Congo and profited from pillaging the natural resources of the Congo, above all gold and diamonds – to the point that Rwanda has become a premier producer of diamonds without mining a single carat. In the course of this enrichment, Kagame and his clique have created financial empires in both Rwanda and foreign countries. T The Rwandan government has even seen it fit to 'sell' the Genocide to foreigners who visit the Genocide Museum in Gisozi.
The political space in Rwanda is dominated by the RPF. Other parties exist in name only and are obliged to work within what is called the Forum of Parties. A party of opposition does not exist. The Rwandan Constitution gives the measure of Kagame because it says a candidate doesn't have to have finished secondary school – for the sole reason that Kagame allegedly finished only three years after primaryschool! It's not good to oppose Kagame because you'll allegedly end up in prison or disappear mysteriously. Journalists disappear or go into exile. It's a country where demonstrations are forbidden. In Swaziland, where the police also have a tendency to be rigorous, students and lawyers have been allowed to demonstrate lawfully. The elections in Rwanda are allegedly a farce; Kagame has regularly won (twice, for seven-year terms) with the Stalinesque score of 100 per cent. It is a country of apartheid, wherechildren of Tutsi who escaped the Genocide are entitled to study for free from primary school to universitywhile the children of the Hutu live in total poverty.


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SD can learn from Rwanda's KAgame

By Alpheous Nxumalo on November 28,2011

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SD can learn from Rwanda's KAgame

Those tasked with the responsibility of resuscitating our economy should have enough courage in knowing that their task is a possibility. Other countries in the world saw and experienced worse economic conditions than we are currently seeing and experiencing in the kingdom of Swaziland.

I have in mind the case of the dramatic rebuilding of the Republic of Rwanda's economy after the 1994 genocide, in which an estimated one million people were killed.
General Paul Kagame, the President of Rwanda (whom I count as one of my favourite statesmen in the world), has proved beyond doubt that a state near total collapse can be salvaged by a credible, hardworking and tough political leadership.
President Kagame is leading Rwanda from the front. This leader is genuine, original and assertive. Kagame is not leading Rwanda as though he is acting in a movie. Politics is not a movie wherein people can assume different roles and characters. You can't act like them but you must be contextual, real and have a vision of what it should be away from what it is.
The total dysfunction of both the political processes and the states' institutions that were used as 'state machines' to perpetrate and commit acts of genocide were salvaged by President Kagame's administration and were placed at their rightful position where they are now serving national interest.
True to the saying; Kagame came, he saw and he conquered. The man is an embodiment of total intellectualism and of credible leadership.
Given an opportunity, Kagame is sweeping the streets of Kigali every weekend. He is the only street sweeping President that I know of in the world.

Transforming

While some of his critics don't like some of his methods, they however, don't deny his results in transforming both the economic and political landscape of Rwanda. Under his leadership, Rwanda has been cited in many international economic and development reports as 'one of Africa's biggest success stories'.
It has also been reported by United Nations Development Programme that unlike many other African states, Rwanda is due to achieve most of the millennium development goals (MDGs).
This is the legacy that President Kagame will leave behind when he retires from the Presidency of Rwanda—a legacy of a leader who does not postpone decisions when they are to be taken.
The francophone world was left stunned and dismayed when President Kagame took the decision to join the commonwealth—declaring that the 'values of the Commonwealth and of Rwanda are in unison. We take human rights, good governance and democracy seriously, not only because we know it is the right thing to do but because we know from our tragic past the consequences of ignoring them – something that will not be repeated'.

Unimaginable

The case of Rwanda and the immaculate leadership of President Kagame is proof and a living example that a failed or failing state can be re-created with great and unimaginable success.
It all lies in the hands of the political leadership and the entire population. Rwanda's dramatic escape from becoming a failed state sends this message to the whole world: 'It is possible!' President Kagame and the entire people of Rwanda deserve to be saluted for their achievements since 1994. The leader, from rebel to president, is one of the few in Africa who can declare that, 'you ask Rwandans themselves of the progress we have made since the end of the genocide in 1994. Ask them what they think'.
These are words of a confident leader, a leader who knows that he has fulfilled the mandate of the people.
There is man in President Paul Kagame that other men in leadership in Africa can follow as an example. Swaziland is nowhere being worse than other states that have travelled the road of economic decline and recovered. I personally have a lot of confidence that given the opportunity for our political leadership to learn and adapt quickly, the country will soon be up and working again.
Those who are busy preparing the 'night vigil' and 'obituaries' on their perceived burial of the state shall be disappointed. Those who thought that through our economic hardships they have multiplied their fortunes and found their 'Trojan Horse' to power and fame should think again.
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Activités récentes:
http://fr.groups.yahoo.com/group/Democracy_Human_Rights Maître Innocent  TWAGIRAMUNGU DHR FOUNDER&OWNER Tél.mobile: 0032- 495 48 29 21 UT UNUM SINT "L'extrémisme dans la défense de la liberté n'est pas un vice; La modération dans la poursuite de la justice n'est pas une vertu". "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." (USA,Republican Convention 1964,Barry Morris Goldwater (1909-1998)). "Le monde ne sera pas détruit par ceux qui font le mal mais par ceux qui regardent et refusent d'agir", Albert EINSTEIN. Les messages publiés sur DHR n'engagent que la responsabilité de leurs auteurs. CONSIDERATION, TOLERANCE, PATIENCE AND MUTUAL RESPECT towards the reinforcement of GOOD GOVERNANCE,DEMOCRACY and HUMAN RIGHTS in our states. Liability and Responsibility: You are legally responsible, and solely responsible, for any content that you post to DHR. You may only post materials that you have the right or permission to distribute electronically. The owner of DHR cannot and does not guarantee the accuracy of any statements made in or materials posted to the group by participants. " BE NICE TO PEOPLE ON YOUR WAY UP, BECAUSE YOU MIGHT MEET THEM ON YOUR WAY DOWN." Jimmy DURANTE. COMBATTONS la haine SANS complaisance, PARTOUT et avec Toute ENERGIE!!!!!! Let's  rather prefer Peace, Love , Hope and Life, and get together as one!!! Inno TWAGIRA
.

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Fw: *DHR* Rwanda journalists under threat

 
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/111216/rwanda-journalists-under-threat 

One of Africa's most dynamic countries is also its most haunted. Rwanda is working to overcome the 1994 genocide. Its economy is fast-growing and it has very little corruption. But President Paul Kagame's government is persistently accused of repression. An on-the-ground look at the contrasting facets of this compelling country.

Rwanda media repression 2 2011 12 19
Rwandan news hawkers sell paper in downton Kigali on December 18, 2011. (Steve Terrill/GlobalPost)

Rwanda journalists under threat

Despite repression and its troubling past, many in Rwanda's press look forward.

Andrew MeldrumDecember 30, 2011 06:05
KIGALI, Rwanda — Sporting a hat at a jaunty angle and a winning smile, Fred Mwasa is very much a journalist about town here.
Driving through Kigali, he rattles off commentary about the construction sprouting up across the capital city.
"That is our first shopping mall. And that is going to be a Marriott Hotel. … Americans bring democracy. Chinese bring things we need, like new roads," says Mwasa, pointing out a new divided thoroughfare, landscaped with grass, flowering shrubs and palm trees.
Mwasa shows a poor neighborhood that he says will be torn down as part of the government's ambitious urban development of Kigali.
"These old houses will be replaced by high-rise buildings. The families will be moved to the outskirts. Maybe they will be happy with their new homes, but maybe not," said Mwasa, 31. "We want to look into that."
Mwasa has a reporter's knack for seeing stories wherever he looks. That's good, because he's the managing editor of a new weekly newspaper, The Chronicles, a sharp-looking paper that brims with political stories, features and commentary.
"Rwandan readers are looking for good stories to read and we are providing that," said Mwasa, in his office, which features portraits of Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I'm optimistic about Rwanda," said Mwasa. "There is so much going on. So many new businesses. The time is right for a new paper."
Two months old, The Chronicles' circulation of 5,000 is quickly growing, and Mwasa expects advertisers will soon follow.
Mwasa's bubbling enthusiasm about the prospects of Rwanda's press, however, is not shared by many in the African media world. Rwanda is ranked as one of the world's most repressive countries for the press, according to recent surveys.
More from GlobalPost: 2 sides to Paul Kagame
Reporters Without Borders rates the Rwanda press climate as one of the 10 worst in the world, with a ranking of 168 out of 179 countries. Freedom House rates Rwanda's press as "not free" and places it at 178 out of 192 countries.
Several independent papers have closed down after being criticized by President Paul Kagame's government. Editors and reporters who have angered the government have fled Rwanda.
Sometimes even exile does not ensure safety. A Rwandan journalist was shot dead in Uganda on Dec. 1 in what many suspect was a hit job. Charles Ingabire, 32, was an outspoken critic of the Kagame government in the website, Inyenyeri. Police recovered five casings of a sub-machine gun in the bar where Ingabire was killed.
This was not the first time Ingabire was attacked. He was severely beaten in October by assailants who took his laptop and demanded that he shut down Inyenyeri. The website was hacked into and temporarily closed.
Ingabire is the second Rwandan journalist killed in less than two years. In June 2010, Jean-Léonard Rugambage, deputy editor of Umuvugizi a paper critical of the government, was shot as he drove home in Kigali.
"Critical journalists are not tolerated in Rwanda," states the Committee to Protect Journalists. Since April 2010, six journalists fearing intimidation and arrests have fled in exile, according to the CPJ. Two Rwandan journalists, Agnès Uwimana and Saidati Mukakibibi, currently face lengthy prison sentences for charges that include insulting President Paul Kagame.
Yet, Mwasa and others say that the situation for the press is slowly improving. The Kagame government is taking steps to relax its grip on the state broadcasting and to reform laws regulating the press.
The improvements for the press were highlighted at the National Media Dialogue, a government-sponsored conference on the press on Nov. 15.
Dramatically contradicting the government's speeches was the arrest, the same day, of the managing director of The New Times, a pro-government newspaper that had run an expose of corruption.
Rwanda's press is relatively small and centered in Kigali. Rwanda's literacy rate is 70 percent. As more than 80 percent of the country's 11 million people live in the rural areas, radio is the most widely used way people get news.
As in everything in Rwanda, the press is affected by the 1994 genocide. Prominent Rwandan newspapers and radio stations aggressively incited the mass killings. That troubling history makes the government wary about allowing a completely unfettered press.
"This sector continues to be plagued by lack of professionalism," said Prime Minister Pierre Damien Habumurenyi, when opening the National Media Dialogue. "Some of our journalists use their independence and open media environment in ways that stand in contrast to the democratic ideas for which they claim to fight."
As Rwanda works to build a future beyond the genocide, a free press is necessary, according to Mwasa.
"We have a positive contribution to make," said Mwasa, who also teaches journalism in Kigali. "The press should point out things that people think is taboo — to encourage debate."
For instance, Mwasa's paper has featured articles on the issue of whether or not President Kagame should run for a third term. The paper quotes government supporters who say it would be a good thing for Kagame to extend his time in office. Others say it would be terrible.
"This is a healthy debate," said Mwasa. "We are helping to make a more open atmosphere in our society. That's good for all Rwandans."
More: Rwanda Now
Andrew Meldrum's trip to Rwanda was sponsored by the International Reporting Project.
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Activités récentes:
http://fr.groups.yahoo.com/group/Democracy_Human_Rights Maître Innocent  TWAGIRAMUNGU DHR FOUNDER&OWNER Tél.mobile: 0032- 495 48 29 21 UT UNUM SINT "L'extrémisme dans la défense de la liberté n'est pas un vice; La modération dans la poursuite de la justice n'est pas une vertu". "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." (USA,Republican Convention 1964,Barry Morris Goldwater (1909-1998)). "Le monde ne sera pas détruit par ceux qui font le mal mais par ceux qui regardent et refusent d'agir", Albert EINSTEIN. Les messages publiés sur DHR n'engagent que la responsabilité de leurs auteurs. CONSIDERATION, TOLERANCE, PATIENCE AND MUTUAL RESPECT towards the reinforcement of GOOD GOVERNANCE,DEMOCRACY and HUMAN RIGHTS in our states. Liability and Responsibility: You are legally responsible, and solely responsible, for any content that you post to DHR. You may only post materials that you have the right or permission to distribute electronically. The owner of DHR cannot and does not guarantee the accuracy of any statements made in or materials posted to the group by participants. " BE NICE TO PEOPLE ON YOUR WAY UP, BECAUSE YOU MIGHT MEET THEM ON YOUR WAY DOWN." Jimmy DURANTE. COMBATTONS la haine SANS complaisance, PARTOUT et avec Toute ENERGIE!!!!!! Let's  rather prefer Peace, Love , Hope and Life, and get together as one!!! Inno TWAGIRA
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-“The root cause of the Rwandan tragedy of 1994 is the long and past historical ethnic dominance of one minority ethnic group to the other majority ethnic group. Ignoring this reality is giving a black cheque for the Rwandan people’s future and deepening resentment, hostility and hatred between the two groups.”

-« Ce dont j’ai le plus peur, c’est des gens qui croient que, du jour au lendemain, on peut prendre une société, lui tordre le cou et en faire une autre ».

-“The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.”

-“I have loved justice and hated iniquity: therefore I die in exile.

-“The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”

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