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The Rwanda Extractive Industry Workers Union (REWU) commends employers for their understanding on the respect for workers' rights and for providing them with legal provisions without going to court.

The Secretary General of REWU, Mr. Mutsindashyaka Andre, says that some employers do not respect the rights of workers, but through regular campaigns, some of them understand why the rights of workers/Employees and the labor provisions should be respected as enshrined in Rwanda's Labor Law.

'Since we started campaigning and training workers and employers on the Labor regulations, many have become more aware of it so that even when a conflict arises between the employer and the employee, it is easier to solve that because they have knowledge on the Labor law,' he said.

On November 24, 2020, at the headquarters of REWU, a mutual agreement was signed by the employer with two employees who had been illegally suspended.

REWU says that once the matter is brought to the notice of the employer 'We showed him the mistakes he has made, the rules that have not been complied with and advises him to settle the matter amicably and give them the money agreed upon by the parties in order to avoid going to court which could have caused other losses especially to the side of employer.'

The party argues that reaching out to the courts is not a priority but that employees and employers should also promote dialogues and consensus in order to resolve the issues they face.

REWU urges employers and employees to be aware of the provisions of the Labor Law as it will reduce disputes and situations arising from non-compliance.

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Long before the Nov. 18-19 protests in Uganda that left more than 50 people dead, opposition politicians, and local activists had warned about the potential abuse and human rights implications of an invasive surveillance system bought by the government last year from China's telecoms giant Huawei.

The fear was, that in the hands of corrupt public officials or under a repressive regime the integrated system which uses facial recognition and other artificial intelligence systems but is also able to check vehicle license plates and monitor social media, would be used to suppress individual freedoms of anyone in opposition to the government.

The latest protests, which were triggered by the arrest of two presidential candidates hoping to put a halt to president Yoweri Museveni's 34-year rule, seem to have confirmed those fears.

Ugandan police officials have confirmed they are using the cameras supplied by Huawei which helped the force track down some of the more than 836 suspects they have arrested.

In the absence of any judicial oversight, there are also concerns of backdoor access to the system for illegal facial recognition surveillance on potential targets and stifling of anti-regime comments and any peaceful civil action. Local rights group, Unwanted Witness, has previously called for the observance of international human rights law in the implementation of the project to safeguard human rights, freedoms, and democracy in the country.

The national CCTV system installed by Huawei has 83 monitoring centers, 522 operators, and 50 commanders according to president Museveni who in a series of tweets has praised the effectiveness of the technology.  Authorities also plan to integrate the Huawei system with other Ugandan agencies including the tax body and the immigration department. In Jan. 2020, authorities started rolling out the second phase within 2,319 mapped countryside municipalities and major towns.

A Quartz Africa source with the knowledge of the police operations says Huawei staff and other 'experts' from China are still in the process of installing an 'integrated' system part of a classified contract between the authorities in Kampala and Huawei to supply and install surveillance equipment in cities and towns throughout Uganda.

In 2019, Ugandan police officials confirmed the government had paid at least $126 million as part of the deal which is more than the combined 2020 budgets ($108 million) of the ministries of ICT and Science & Technology ministries.

Local and international rights groups say footage from the Huawei surveillance cameras has been used since 2019 to monitor political rallies and other events of  president Museveni's opponents. The unregulated surveillance is characterized by pervasive location monitoring, facial recognition, biometric, and blanket data retention practices among others.

Unlike in the West where there are security concerns about a Chinese company dominating 5G technology, Huawei has been broadly welcomed by African governments. Here it has played a key role in helping to build the telecoms infrastructure needed for a 21st century economy in several countries. But more recently its roles have expanded to other projects such as security for governments who are so inclined.

Ahead of the 2016 polls, president Museveni's government procured the services of a UK-based firm, Gamma Group, which delivered a surveillance technology reportedly used to spy on Museveni's opponents in an operation dubbed 'Fungua Macho'.

A Wall Street Journal investigation last year suggested the government in Kampala used assistance from Huawei to hack into messages for the presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, better known as Bobi Wine, prompting his arrest and detention. Bobi Wine, a popular musician who was elected to parliament in 2017, is extremely popular with young Ugandans and has been a thorn in the side of the Museveni establishment.

Quartz

 

Ramaphosa backs Huawei As Only Company That Can Bring 5G to SA

The post Uganda Is Using Huawei's Facial Recognition Tech To Crack Down On Dissent After Anti-government Protests appeared first on Taarifa Rwanda.

Source : https://taarifa.rw/uganda-is-using-huaweis-facial-recognition-tech-to-crack-down-on-dissent-after-anti-government-protests/

The United States will temporarily require visitors from Iran, Myanmar and a number of African nations to pay up to US$15,000 in visa bonds in a new hardline immigration measure enacted late in Donald Trump's presidency.

The rule takes effect December 24 for a duration of six months, although it remains to be seen if it will be maintained by President-elect Joe Biden, who takes office on January 20 and has promised to be more welcoming to the rest of the world.

The pilot program is designed to make up the costs to the US government of deporting foreigners who overstay their visas, according to a notice published Tuesday in the Federal Register by Carl Risch, the assistant secretary of state for consular affairs.

Visitors on 'B' visas, which are issued for short-term business and tourism, will be asked to pay up to US$15,000, which will be forfeited to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency if they do not prove that they have left on time.

The rule will apply to citizens of 23 countries that, according to the declaration, have overstay rates of more than 10 percent.

Most of the countries are in Africa, including Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Other nations on the list include Iran, Myanmar, Afghanistan and Bhutan. Trump has already sharply curtailed travel from Iran — part of his 'Muslim ban' promised during his 2016 campaign, which Biden plans to rescind.

The bonds will not affect students or travelers from fellow developed countries who are exempt from visas to enter the United States.

Contrary to the general practice for changes to immigration rules, the Trump administration launched the bonds abruptly without a period for public comment and review.

The State Department official defended the streamlined time-frame by saying that the issue was a matter of conducting foreign relations and hence not subject to the usual process.

'The Pilot Program is being studied as a potential diplomatic tool to encourage foreign governments to take all appropriate actions to ensure that their nationals timely depart the United States after making temporary visits,' Risch's filing said.

The justification is at odds with the summary in the same filing which said the program was meant to reduce the burden to the US government and 'does not aim to assess whether issuing visa bonds will be effective in reducing the number of aliens who overstay.'

Daily Monitor

The post US Visitors From Developing Nations To Pay Thousands In Visa Bonds appeared first on Taarifa Rwanda.

Source : https://taarifa.rw/us-visitors-from-developing-nations-to-pay-thousands-in-visa-bonds/

Umuhanzi nyarwanda Mugisha Benjamin uzwi mu muziki nka 'The Ben', yashize yerekana ku ncuro ye ya mbere y'uko ashobora kuba ari mu rukundo na Miss Pamella Uwicyeza, nyuma y'igihe kitari gito aba bombi bivugwa ko bari mu rukundo.

Amakuru y'urukundo rwa The Ben na Miss Pamella amaze igihe ahwihwiswa mu bitangazamakuru no ku mbuga nkoranyambaga bya hano mu Rwanda, gusa habuze n'umwe muri bo ubyemeza ku mugaragaro.

Miss Pamella Uwicyeza ni we wakunze guca amarenga y'uko yaba akundana n'umuhanzi The Ben yita musaza we, gusa kera kabaye uriya muhanzi na we yaciye amarenga y'uko inkuru y'urukundo rwe n'iriya nkumi yaba ari impamo.

Ku mugoroba w'uyu wa Gatandatu tariki 28 Ugushyingo 2020, The Ben yashyize amashusho y'isegonda rimwe ku rukuta rwe rwa Instagram, amugaragaza yiyegamije Miss Pamella mu gutuza asa n'ushaka kumusoma mu mutwe.

Ni amashusho yafatiwe muri Tanzania aho bariya bombi baherereye, gusa nta magambo ayaherekeje The Ben yigeze yandika, uretse gushyiraho akamenyetso y'ikinyugunyugu.

Si bwo bwa mbere The Ben agaragaye ari kumwe na Miss Pamella bivugwa ko bari mu rukundo rw'ibanga, gusa ni bwo bwa mbere uriya muririmbyi uri mu bayoboye umuziki nyarwanda aciye amarenga yo kuba akundana n'uriya mukobwa.

Amashusho n'amafoto ya bariya bombi bizihiwe yatangiye kujya ahagaragara mu mezi make ashize, ari na yo mpamvu yatumye rubanda bakeka ko bakundana.

Amakuru avuga ko The Ben yakunze bya nyabyo Miss Pamella ndetse n'incuti zabo za hafi zikaba zizi neza ko umubano wabo wagiye kure. Bivugwa kandi ko Miss Pamella na we yatwawe n'ibigwi uriya muririmbyi afite mu muziki Nyarwanda bikarangira urukundo rukuze gutyo.

The Ben yaciye amarenga yo kuba mu rukundo na Miss Pamella, mu gihe hatari hashize igihe kinini uriya mukobwa ashyize kuri Instagram ifoto ari kumwe na The Ben, akayiherekezanya amagambo agira ati 'Uwanjye'.

Ku wa 09 Mutarama 2020 The Ben yizihije isabukuru y'amavuko, Miss Pamella aba mu ba mbere bamugeneye ubutumwa bw'isabukuru nziza.

Mu butumwa Uwicyeza yageneye Mugisha yamwise 'umunyamutima mwiza, ugira urukundo n'umuntu wo kwizerwa', yungamo ko umutima we ari munini kumurusha.

Source : https://impanuro.rw/2020/11/29/the-ben-yashyize-yerekana-uwo-baba-bari-mu-rukundo/

The issue of deforestation in Rwanda is a major obstacle to the Green Rwanda National Plan.

BY: Justin Kayiranga

The main reason for this problem is mainly due to the fact that so far about 78% of the population uses firewood for cooking, accounting for 99% of the forest damage in Rwanda.

This was revealed on Friday, 27TH November 2020, during a consultation meeting on biomass use as cooking energy.

The meeting brought together different stakeholders from public institutions & the private sector including hotels, restaurants, schools and correctional services among others.

Kigali city is currently considered to be one of the leading consumers of forest products in Rwanda, with more than 380 hectares of wood burnt per week in order to get thousands of Charcoal sacks to supply in the city of Kigali, according to Jean Pierre Mugabo, the Director-General of Rwanda Forestry Authority.

'In Kigali alone, about 380 hectares are needed in one week. There is a need for Rwandans to change their mind and start using Cooking Gas instead of woods.'

To address the issue, the Minister of Environment of Rwanda, Dr. Mujawamariya Jeanne d'Arc says there is a study on how every Rwandan can get involved through various programs including making it easier for the public to get cooking gas.

In addition, various public, private and non-governmental organizations are now going to be given different areas to plant trees and take care of them as soon as they grow, they will present them to the government for further actions.

Minister Mujawamariya said, 'Rwandans will not continue to live on bare hills. That is why we have decided to approach public and private institutions and agree that we are going to give them land to plant forests and they were very for that. It is everyone's responsibility because if we have fresh air from the forest, it will not be breathed by public or private institutions only'

Various forestry agencies indicate that if no action is taken to reduce the use of firewood, Rwanda will have no forest left by 2030.

Rwanda's Ministry of Emergency says that in order to deal with this problem, now in all refugee camps in Rwanda they no longer use firewood for cooking as everywhere Cooking Gas has been deployed among the refugee community.

The Rwandan government also says that a study is underway on elimination of using firewood among schools that have students feeding programs. 

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Source : https://www.topafricanews.com/2020/11/29/380-hectares-of-forest-cover-cut-every-week-to-supply-charcoal-for-cooking-in-kigali-city-official/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=380-hectares-of-forest-cover-cut-every-week-to-supply-charcoal-for-cooking-in-kigali-city-official

By Kanamugire Emmanuel

Rwanda's Minister of Environment, Dr. Jeanne d'Arc Mujawamariya has said that long term planning in protecting the riverbanks across is needed to adapt to the impacts of climate change including floods that wash away the fertile land.

She made the remarks while in Nyagatare District on November 28, 2020, during the official launch of the new project entitled National Adaptation Planning Process (NAP) which aims at increasing the capacity of the government, private sector and communities to plan, fund, implement and monitor climate change adaptation across the country.

The Saturday launch consists of planting bamboo along the Umuvumba River as part of riverbank protection efforts.

The exercise is part of preventing local residents from conduct their farming activities beyond the river buffer zone.

'As you can see, people farm along the Umuvumba River banks. Through project launch today, planting bamboo aims to conserve and protect this river bank.' Minister Mujawamariya explains.

'Unless we take serious actions, in the future we will not be counting the surface area of Rwanda as 28,336 square kilometers as there is a piece of land that is being washed away by the river' She adds.

Mujawamariya noted that: 'We have small land; we have to maintain it. That is why we urge the people to be vigilant and take care of these planted bamboos so that they grow quickly and help to avoid floods again. The way this river looks shows it contains the soil and it shouldn't.'

This National project will increase access to up-to-date climate information, including climate projections and risk assessments.

It will integrate climate change adaptation into sectoral development planning and budgeting processes, mobilize funds for adaptation and undertake long-term research on adaptation interventions among others.

'Rwanda is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and we are already experiencing the devastating impacts of extreme weather events. This ambitious project will support a government-wide planning approach for adapting to climate change. It will ensure Rwanda is more resilient to floods, drought and other dangers by developing clear policies and strategies that protect people, property and our environment,' said Juliet Kabera, Director General, Rwanda Environment Management Authority.

The communities' expectations from the project interventions

The three main components of the project include technical and institutional capacity building for the National Adaptation Planning Process, advancing climate-resilient technologies and practices as well as monitoring, reviewing and knowledge sharing.

Under this project, a number of ecosystem-based adaptation interventions will also be carried out.

This includes agroforestry, intercropping and the stabilizing of plantation verges with vegetation at the Shagasha Tea Estate in Rusizi District.

The demarcation of a buffer zone on the banks of the Umuvumba River in Nyagatare District will be done through the restoration of riparian vegetation and the reforestation of upstream catchment areas along with silvo-pastoralism to strengthen livestock production and increase forest coverage.

'Each season the Umuvumba River carries a part of my land which is why it is gradually becoming smaller. This project is going to help us restore and preserve the riverbanks to solve existing problems', said Kassim Siborurema, a resident of Cyembogo Cell, Matimba Sector, Nyagatare District.

Agroforestry alongside Ibanda-Makera Natural Forest in Kirehe District will also be carried out using drought resistant tree species to reduce soil erosion.

Bibutsuhoze Vedaste, of Mpanga Sector, Kirehe District praises the project interventions saying that agroforest trees to be planted there are important for soil fertility, livestock grazing among others.

'National planning processes can deliver results on the ground, with strong leadership, country ownership, links with existing initiatives and new priorities, and alignment with the country's development objectives. As we plant seedlings today and continue to care for them and grow them, I hope this will inspire us to work together with community spirit, in using nature based solutions to adapt to climate change,' said Jessica Troni, Senior Programme Manager and Adaptation Portfolio Manager, United Nations Environment Programme.

The six-million-dollar National Adaptation Planning Process project is being implemented by the Rwanda Environment Management Authority and is funded by the Global Environment Facility.

In Nyagatare the activities will be carried out on an area of 300 hectares, according to Fabrice Mugabo, NAP project Sector Specialist.

The project's additional partners include the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Ministry of Environment, Rwanda Forestry Authority (RFA) and the districts of Kirehe, Nyagatare and Rusizi.

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The post Rwanda: Environment Minister warns the country's surface will not remain the same unless actions are taken to deal with riverbanks flooding appeared first on TOP AFRICA NEWS.

Source : https://www.topafricanews.com/2020/11/29/rwanda-environment-minister-warns-the-countrys-surface-will-not-remain-the-same-unless-actions-are-taken-to-deal-with-riverbanks-flooding/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rwanda-environment-minister-warns-the-countrys-surface-will-not-remain-the-same-unless-actions-are-taken-to-deal-with-riverbanks-flooding