Republic of

Minister in Charge of Cabinet Affairs P.O Box: 1334

Statement on Cabinet Decisions of 12/11/2014 ------

On Wednesday, 12 November 2014, a Cabinet Meeting chaired by His Excellency the President of the Republic, Paul KAGAME, convened in .

1. The Cabinet Meeting approved its earlier decisions of 15 October 2014, after minor adjustments. 2. The Cabinet Meeting was briefed on the progress of preparations for the 2014 National Dialogue Council and requested concerned institutions to do all the necessary to ensure this meeting is successful. 3. The Cabinet Meeting approved the partnership between Government of Rwanda and Shalimar Flowers Ltd to invest in Bella Flowers Ltd for production and export of cut flowers.

4. The Cabinet Meeting was briefed on the status of contributions to Agaciro Development Fund by end of October 2014. The Cabinet Meeting adopted strategies to increase contributions to the fund and urged all Rwandans in general to continue to voluntarily support it in order to build their county. Members of Cabinet took the lead to support Agaciro Development Fund by contributing twenty seven million Rwandan francs (27,000,000Rwf).

2 5. The Cabinet Meeting approved the establishment of e-passports (Electronic Passport).

6. The Cabinet Meeting approved the following Draft Laws:

- Draft Law modifying and complementing the Law n° 44 bis/2011 of 26/11/2011 governing the statute of Prosecutors and other staff of the National Public Prosecution Authority; - Draft Law authorizing ratification of the agreement on the establishment of the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF), signed in Malabo, Equatorial Republic on 26th June 2014; - Draft Law modifying the Law n° 10/2011 of 13/05/2011 determining the mission, organization and powers of the Rwanda Defense Forces; - Draft Law authorizing the ratification of the grant agreement signed in Kigali, Rwanda on 01/10/2014 between the Republic of Rwanda and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development Acting as an Implementing Agency of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), relating to the grant of USD 5,487,000 for the Landscape Approach to Forest Restoration and Conservation Project; - Draft Law authorizing the ratification of the grant agreement signed in Kigali, Rwanda on 01/10/2014 between the Republic of Rwanda and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development Acting as Administrator of the Least Developed Countries Fund, relating to the grant of USD 4,045,000 for the Landscape Approach to Forest Restoration and Conservation Project; - Draft Law authorizing ratification of financing agreement between the Republic of Rwanda and the International Development Association (IDA) relating to the support of the Public Sector Governance Program for Results- Special Drawing Rights 65,900,000;

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3 - Draft Law authorizing ratification of financing agreement between the Republic of Rwanda and the International Development Association (IDA) relating to the support of the transformation of Agriculture Sector Program for Results Phase 3- Special Drawing Rights 65,900,000. - Draft Law on Downsizing, discharge, demobilization or dismissal in Rwanda Defense Forces.

7. The Cabinet Meeting approved the following orders:

- Presidential Order determining the modalities for monitoring and conducting thorough investigation of acts hindering unity and reconciliation; - Presidential Order appointing members of the candidate selection Committee to the post of Commissioner of the National Commission for Human Rights; - Presidential Order issuing new Banknotes of two thousand Rwandan Francs (2000 RWF) and five thousand Rwandan Francs (5000 FWR) which are legal tender in Rwanda; - Prime Minister's Order determining subscription and advertising rates for the Official Gazette of the Republic of Rwanda; - Prime Minister's Order appointing the Members of Advisory Board of the Financial Investigation Unit. - Prime Minister’s Order authorizing the allocation to Bella Flowers Ltd (Gishali), for investment, a plot of land of 35 ha within the state private domain, located at Kavumu Cell, Gishali Sector, Rwamagana District.

8. The Cabinet Meeting appointed Mr HATEGEKIMANA Cyrille, Advisor to Minister of State in Charge of National Planning in MINECOFIN.

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4 9. In AoBs:

a) The Minister of Natural Resources informed the Cabinet Meeting that the official launch of Forestry Season will be held on 29th November 2014. The theme of this year is “Enhancing climate change resilience through agroforestry”.

b) The Minister of Youth and ICT (MYICT) informed the Cabinet meeting on the following items:

- Rwanda was re-elected as a member of the ITU Council for the period 2015 – 2018 during the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference that took place from 20th October to 7th November 2014 in Busan, South Korea.

- The launch of 4G LTE took place on Tuesday 11th November 2014. The network currently covers Kigali city, while the nationwide deployment will be completed by June 2017.

- On November 22, 2014, a new initiative “Youth in Holidays” will be launched to provide an alternative to risky behavior that some young people may engage into due to redundancy. Activities will be based on the 5 pillars of Ubutore training: ibiganiro, imikoro ngiro n’imirimo y’amaboko, imikino ngororamubiri, imyiyereko, ibitaramo no guhiga.

c) The Minister of Education informed the Cabinet Meeting that Rwanda will host the “Innovation Africa 2014 Conference “from 18th to 20th November 2014. The summit will focus on educational development, investment, training, vocational development, curriculum pedagogy and ICTs for education.

d) The Minister in the Office of the President informed the Cabinet Meeting that:

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5 - Rwanda will celebrate the International Anti-corruption Day on 9th December 2014. In Rwanda, celebrations will be preceded by an Anti- corruption week which will be launched on 29th November 2014 in Bugesera District during the monthly community works, under the theme: “Kurwanya Ruswa, Inkingi yo Kwigira”.

- The 7th National Unity and Reconciliation week will take place from 11th to 16th November 2014. The major activities during this week include: Debate on achievements of “Ndi Umunyarwanda” Program at all levels, gathering information on landmark activities promoting unity and reconciliation, debates on unit and reconciliation in Districts and in public institutions. Recommendations from the national unit and reconciliation week will be documented and form a basis for discussions during the 12th National Dialogue Council meeting. e) The Minister of Trade and Industry informed the Cabinet meeting that the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations with the EU were finalized on 14th October 2014 in Brussels, Belgium. The objective of the EPA negotiations between EAC and EU is to boost the volume and value of trade between EAC country member States and EU as well as facilitating access to large, wealthy markets. f) The Minister of East African Community informed the Cabinet Meeting that the 16th Ordinary Summit of EAC Heads of State will be held on 30th November, 2014 in Nairobi, . The Summit of EAC Heads of State will be preceded by the 30th meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers from 20th to 27th November, 2014 and the 2nd EAC Heads of State Retreat on Infrastructure on 29th November 2014.

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6 g) The Minister of Gender and Family Promotion informed the cabinet Meeting that:

- The 10th National Children’s Summit will be held on 20th November 2014 at Parliament Building in Kigali. The theme for this year is: “20 Years and Beyond: Advancing Child Rights in Rwanda”. This summit will gather 500 children from all the Districts as well as 20 children invited from the East African Region. The specific objectives of this meeting include the following: to share best practices in the promotion and protection of child rights in Rwanda; to identify gaps in child rights interventions and come up with proposals about sector- specific interventions in future; to provide children a platform to celebrate the achievements and have an active role in finding solutions to challenges affecting them and to increase the public understanding and awareness on child rights and protection.

- A monthly long family campaign on issues affecting the family is being organized. The theme for this year is: “Positive Parenting: Key to GBV and Human Trafficking prevention” The launching at National level will take place on 15th November 2014 in Gatsibo District while closing ceremony will take place on 10th December 2014 in Ngororero District. This campaign will focus on 4 major aspects: Positive parenting, Prevention and combatting of GBV, Child abuse and human trafficking as well as awareness against the culture of excessive spending in weddings and other family functions. h) The Minister of Sports and Culture is informing the Cabinet meeting that:

- The 6th edition of Tour du Rwanda is scheduled to take place from 16th to 23rd November 2014. Rwanda will be represented by three teams namely: Team Rwanda Kalisimbi, Team Rwanda Akagera, and Team

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7 Rwanda Muhabura each composed of 6 cyclists. The Tour du Rwanda has attracted Teams from 12 countries including; Burundi, , Kenya, , , Algeria, Cameroun, Germany, Switzerland and France. The Stages for the Tour of Rwanda 2014 are as follows: Ngoma, Musanze, Muhanga, Rubavu, Nyanza and Nyamirambo.

- In collaboration with Ramsey films, a film entitled “Brewed in a Rwandan Pot” will be produced.

i) The Minister of State in Charge of mining informed the Cabinet Meeting that the International Mining Day will be celebrated on 4th December 2014. The theme of this year is “Professional Mining: the pillar for economic growth and sustainable development”. The celebration of the event will include the following activities: mobilization of the mining companies to use the modern mining technologies, presenting awards to the best performing mining cooperatives, public–private dialogue on mining business and exhibition of mining products.

This Statement was signed by

Stella Ford MUGABO

Minister in Charge of Cabinet Affairs

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