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The World Bank Board of Executive Directors today approved a total amount of US$115.6 million from the International Development Association (IDA), including US$29.5 million from the Crisis Response Window (CRW), to assist the Government of Rwanda with implementing key policy actions outlined in its Economic Development Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS). Given Rwanda�s status as a blend country, US $15.2 million of the CRW funds is a grant and US $14.3 million is a credit. These funds have been disbursed as part of a series of the World Bank�s Poverty Reduction Strategy operations for Rwanda launched in 2002.

�Strengthening economic governance and improving implementation capacity are essential for laying the foundations of a strong and sustainable economic growth,� said Kene Ezemenari World Bank Senior Economist. �The World Bank is proud of its partnership with the Government of Rwanda which is leading to tangible improvements in the lives of ordinary Rwandans.�

The Sixth Poverty Reduction Support Grant (PRSG VI) will continue to support priority areas identified in the previous PRSGs including agriculture, infrastructure and social sectors.

Within this context, the grant will support growth for export and jobs by enhancing the skills of the population through improved quality of service delivery in post-basic education, in energy, transport and water sectors.

Key focus of the sixth PRSGVI is to increase participation of the private sector in the development of the agricultural sector as well as enhancing Rural Road Access by Improving the Condition of the Classified District Road network, strengthening the framework for private sector participation in the energy and water sectors, and support reforms to raise agriculture productivity.

The grant will help the Government of Rwanda to improve its economic governance and Implementation Capacity by increasing access to finance for the private sector; improve the accounting and internal audit functions; and develop the institutional and legal framework to support capacity development and transparency in procurement.

Mr Sylvain Sibomana, Secretary General of FDU-Inkingi, has issued a press release on March 30 titled: Rwanda: Secret services in flagrante delicto fabricating criminal evidence against opposition leader, Mrs. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza. He writes:

The determination of the regime to derail the democratic process will know no limits as long as the main bilateral partners of Rwanda remain, once again, silent while the country is obviously sinking in a new political and military crisis. The escalating campaign of persecution and harassment of the opposition has reached a critical point. In a witch-hunting strategy to destroy or to put a stop to the opposition before they have a chance to put forward their ideas and make political gains, the secret services have resorted to fabricating criminal evidence by all means including the internet and electronic surveillance.

Leave alone the questionable use by the government of electronic wide-reaching surveillance tools, in a country like Rwanda, to spy on its citizens and residents (wiretapping; interception of phone calls, emails and internet), the shame is to use the technology to create baseless facts against people i.e. editing emails print-outs and computer hacking.

Since February 2010, only three weeks in her home country after 17 years in exile, the National Police mirroring threats from the President started the grilling of the FDU Inkingi Chair, Mrs Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza. The aim of those endless interrogations is obviously to deter her determination, to dig anything that would help the government reject the registration of the political party, to freeze her freedom and finally to throw her in jail. In this respect, she is placed under a permanent surveillance, her communications are monitored and many hacking attempts to our computers have been noticed, while intelligence �technicians� have been alternatively emailing threats, security advices and volunteering offers on behalf of so called rebel groups. In order to substantiate the accusations of collaboration with FDLR rebels, secret services are using rebel fugitives, recruits prepared by some RDF intelligence officers including Major John (.) engaged in cross border secret operations, and attacks to my private emails pretending to deliver security and terrain reports. One of the email address used by the attackers is for instance JACKSON Emmanuel migrating from different Internet Providers (IP) 80.255.61.162 or 80.255.61.162 or 196.44.240.62 or 196.44.240.61 and 196.44.240.62. Our computer trackers have noticed that those mails written in English, use Kigali MTN severs, AFRINIC internet service provider, Kinshasa Intelsat with links to GAUTENG-JOHANNESBURG (Reassignment to VODACOM CUSTOMER, SOUTH AFRICA). The timing of this serial mailing is related to police summons and the content is always referring to unknown rebel activities, plans and orders in the DRC, secret missions linked to strange code names such as CAMBA, etc, � Some of those emails have been posted via Rwandatel servers to our IP for example on March 24th and 29th 2010 while Mrs. Victoire Ingabire was being interrogated the whole day in the CID and troubling similarities with the main questions raised at the very time by investigators tend to confirm the existence of an active direct link between the strange secret agent and the investigating team. Other details related to weird email address, or an unknown Congo based rebel group �CDF�, or anonymous letters and other baseless accusations reveal that the secret services machinery behind this grilling has left no means behind. The details of this information are available to the media.

Whereas some members of the police and the army are manipulated for partisan goals we are aware of the growing frustrations of many officers on account of, among many other reasons, gloomy management and politicization of their institutions, unfair rules of promotions and deployments.

We condemn humiliation tactics used by the police as a way of breaking down the morale of our leader: arrest at the airport, search with sniffer dogs, lengthy interrogations, and long waiting hours in the CID corridors and handbag routine scrutiny by policemen. Officially her case is still pending police investigations but curiously an undercover prosecution officer is participating in the grilling sessions.

The Minister of Justice Tharcisse Karugarama in an interview with Radio Netherlands Worldwide last week stated that �the police hasn’t found hard facts”� �They have not found evidence to incriminate her. Once the investigation shows that she’s innocent, nobody will touch her. But everybody in Rwanda should be held accountable and play by the rules.” Nevertheless, Mrs Victoire�s party was denied many times to convene and register by the Minister of Local government on the pretext of the politically motivated endless police harassment.

The United Democratic Forces, FDU-INKINGI, are considering ways of lawsuits against this police endless wild-goose chase and the Minister of local government for harassment, abuse of powers, violations of the laws and the use of the institutions for political purposes and partisan�s interests.

Sylvain Sibomana
Secretary General
FDU INKINGI

Kigali – Members of the Senate have raised concerns over how government plans to archive Gacaca files indicating that the documents are fragile and need immediate care.

The concerns were raised on March 30 during a meeting with the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG), aimed at updating the legislators on the preparations for the 16th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Senator Joseph Karemera said plans to archive Gacaca documents came in late and that concerned authorities should take immediate action to ensure that the files are not damaged.

�Gacaca courts have now ended and we are currently facing problems of how we can preserve these documents,� Karemera said. �These are delicate files that are currently kept in a risky state; there are many people out here who would want to destroy them.�

The government chose CNLG to inherit the archives of the National Gacaca Courts Service (SNJG) after the closure of the semi-traditional courts.

CNLG is currently identifying the most effective way of archiving the documents.

Meanwhile, during the senatorial session, CNLG Commissioner, Francois Xavier Rusanganwa urged Senators to take a prime role in the upcoming commemoration of the Genocide.

�We request all of you to play a major role in the talk shows that have been organized as part of the commemoration week,� Rusanganwa said.

He also told Senators that the 16th Genocide commemoration will be centered on managing trauma cases.

According to CNLG commissioner, Jean Pierre Dusingizemungu, although several measures have been put in place, including training of local authorities to handle cases of the consequences of the Genocide, 16 years after the Genocide, trauma cases are still increasing.

The Executive Secretary of CNLG Jean de Dieu Mucyo told the senators that to date, handling of consequences of the 1994 Genocide is still one of the challenges the country is facing.

�We are preparing an International Symposium from April 4-6 in which local and international experts will come up with concrete plans of dealing with trauma cases related to the genocide.�

Several activities, including talk shows, town hall meetings and public addresses, will be held as part of the commemoration.

[TNT]