W eeKly B ulletin - IN TURKEY-

ISSUE 88 DATE: 1-5 JUNE 2020 ENGLISH

President Kagame, Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente (left) and Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Vincent Biruta (right) during Tuesday?s, June 2nd , cabinet meeting at . The meeting lifted restrictions on taxi-moto operations and travel across the country, except for Rusizi and Rubavu districts. Govt ok ays inter-provincial travel, tax i-moto operations

An extraordinary cabinet meeting chaired by President Paul in or out of Rusizi and Rubavu districts.? Kagame on Tuesday, June 2, approved the resumption of inter-provincial travel and passenger taxi-moto services According to the statement, public transport within the two except in Rusizi and Rubavu districts. districts is also restricted and only cargo transporting vehicles either transiting or destined for the two districts would be The resolutions that take immediate effect, follow a recent allowed to continue operating. assessment of the Covid-19 prevalence in the country, which revealed that Rusizi ? which borders DR Congo- had All latest measures will be reviewed after 15 days upon a community Covid-19 cases. health assessment, according to the statement from the Office In the past two days, May 31st and June 1st, the district of the Prime Minister. recorded at least 12 cases that, according to the Ministry of Among other Covid-19 directives that remained in place Health, involved cross-border traders, truck-drivers and a include the curfew that starts from 9pm through 5am. motorcyclist who transported goods. Rubavu also borders DR Congo. Employers were also asked to maintain the strategies in place to ensure social distancing in places of work, by maintaining As a result, the confirmed community cases had triggered the essential staff in the workplaces while others can continue postponement of the earlier anticipated resumption of upcountry travel and use of the taxi-moto services, which had working from home. earlier been slated to resume on June 1. Other measures announced by the Prime Minister include These services have been on suspension since March 21. continued mass testing and urging all traders to accept digital payments as an alternative form of payment. ?Public and private transport between provinces shall resume except movement to and from Rusizi and Rubavu district,? Citizens are also advised to continue the discipline of regularly reads parts of the statement published by the Prime Minister?s washing hands, practicing self-distancing, wearing face masks Office on Wednesday, June 3. while in public and embracing cashless payments among It adds that ?Motos are permitted to carry passengers except others.

1 ISSUE 88 DATE: 1-5 JUNE 2020 ENGLISH

The first Extraordinary Intersessional Summit of the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS) on 3 June 2020 . K agame - Lift sanctions against Sudan, Zimbabw e President Paul Kagame has called for the review and Among notable aspects of existing cooperation include consideration of sanctions against two African countries, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Sudan and , to support their ability to respond whose input has been visible in improving testing to the Covid-19 pandemic. capacities as well as the African Union which is Kagame was speaking at the first Extraordinary coordinating advocacy efforts as countries seek fiscal Intercessional Summit of Organisation of African, space to respond effectively. Caribbean and Pacific States. In this context, Kagame called for lifting of sanctions The meeting was chaired by Kenyan President Uhuru against Sudan and Zimbabwe in order to support their Kenyatta and held through video conference. ability to respond to the health crisis. Kagame said that while effects of Covid-19 could persist President Kagame said that the ongoing negotiations to for long even after the virus has been defeated, define the next phase of the relationship between the increased cooperation and mutual interdependence will guarantee the effectiveness of international response. OACP States and the European Union should not be derailed by the pandemic. ?Effects of Covid-19 will persist long after the virus is defeated and the road to recovery will be long. The talks which will result to the Post-Cotonou Increased cooperation and mutual interdependence will agreement, he said out to reflect the new realities of the be the hallmark of effective international response,? he changes in OACP?s social and economic development. said, ?At the same time, we should seize this opportunity to With uncertainty of how long the pandemic and its ensure that the prevention and recovery measures consequent disruptions will last, the response capacity of many African, Caribbean and Pacific States requires under discussion here are fully integrated into the final reinforcement. agreement. Europe will remain an important partner to our regions just as we are important partners for ?In this context, it is important for African, Caribbean and Europe,? he said. Pacific States to cooperate closely on measures to end the pandemic and enhance economic resilience. In Kagame also reiterated his support to the World Health particular, coordination will be needed to ensure Organization and Its leadership under the leadership of equitable access to treatment, vaccines and medical Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus who was also present at the supplies,? he said. meeting.

2 ISSUE 88 DATE: 1-5 JUNE 2020 ENGLISH New platform to help boost e-learning

Pupils during class at Groupe Scolaire Camp in January 2020. A new technology platform ?Homeskul? was developed to respond to the learning needs of students and teachers who have been left with nowhere to go. The new Coronavirus global pandemic has led to countrywide ?We contact their referees to make sure that the kind of shutdown of schools, leaving many teachers especially those education they will provide will truly benefit the students,? he in private schools to stay home without work. notes. Even with the adoption of online learning and teaching, a few ?In case we have teachers who are not providing what students teachers have been able to sustain their jobs, and it?s not are expecting, we give notice to them to improve and failure to clear with the world will recede the pandemic despite do so leads to being removed,? he adds. optimism from some governments. Currently, most of the platforms on the market have limited A new technology platform, Homeskul, could provide relief to features that do not support interactive learning and teaching. struggling teachers. Few have chat systems that allow students to chat directly with Teachers who are qualified and are on board on the new teachers, while many others don't have automated online quiz. platform are able to earn from their knowledge and teach at their convenience. An example of such a platform is Moddle, which many schools around the country are currently using. Moddle is essentially an A team of Rwandan developers backed by investors from the online learning platform that only enables students to access UK and US have developed an electronic learning platform learning materials. that seeks to connect teachers and students. Teachers sign income share agreements, allowing them to get Homeskul is an e-learning portal that connects experienced 60 per cent commission on the fee paid by a student through teachers to parents who are busy to homeschool their the platform. children. Teachers on the platform teach everything from the national According to Olivier Nshizirungu, a lead developer, the education programme to Cambridge international programme, platform was developed to respond to the learning needs of and Centre National d'Enseignement à Distance (CNED). students and teachers who have been left with nowhere to go. Jabo Butera, a Rwandan living in the UK and one of the ?We came up with this idea because we saw the need from financial backers of the platform says investing in such students who wanted to learn from the best teachers but they platforms will enable Africans to access skills that were not couldn't bring them home because of Covid-19 pandemic,? he able to be accessed before. says. ?Education is important but accessing the right information is The platform provides the right learning environment for hard. I left for the UK in pursuit for a good education. students to improve their education. Everything is in one Technology is now allowing an opportunity for everyone to portal, students can interact with teachers through videos, access the same level of education,? he notes. access study materials, and chat directly with them. ?Investing in such a platform enables Rwandans and Africans, Hiring process in general, to access skills and knowledge at an affordable rate,? he adds. Nshizirungu who?s also the chief executive of Loxotech highlights that teachers who are registered on the platform They say they are in the process of rolling out the platform in have to go through the recruitment process through which countries like Conakry, Democratic Republic of Congo their applications and CVs are assessed. (DRC), and the UK where officials have already expressed interest. 3 ISSUE 88 DATE: 1-5 JUNE 2020 ENGLISH K agame - We cannot allow Covid-19 to do double damage

The Vaccine Alliance said Thursday it raised $8.8 billion, which will help the organisation to immunise 300 million more children.

President Paul Kagame has said that the world cannot Kagame said since its creation 20 years ago, Gavi has accept the new coronavirus pandemic to cause double had a tremendous impact on global health, including in damage, calling on leaders from different sectors to support efforts aimed at developing needed vaccines. Rwanda. Government and business leaders met virtually to raise ?In partnership with Gavi, Rwanda has achieved 95 per funds aimed at accelerating the work of the Global cent coverage for the most common vaccine Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) to preventable diseases. As a result child mortality has support the development of vaccines for Covid-19 and continued to fall,? he noted. other diseases. Kagame told the leaders at the UK-hosted Global ?Today, Covid-19 put the entire world at risk. A safe and Vaccine Summit that it was critical that leaders do effective vaccine would end the pandemic,? Kagame everything possible to stop the pandemic from causing said. ?But achieving universal vaccine coverage will double damage to the people. require unprecedented innovation in both scientific and manufacturing capacity.? ?We cannot allow Covid-19 to do double damage by slowing our response to the preventable diseases that The Vaccine Alliance said Thursday, June 4, it raised cost countless lives each year,? he said in a video $8.8 billion, which will help the organisation to conference that convened 35 Heads of State and immunise 300 million more children and save 8 million Government. lives in countries where it works by 2025. The Vaccine Alliance, backed by the Bill & Melinda ?This is a win-win strategy for all stakeholders, which Gates Foundation kicked off its operations in 2000 to has already proven for new pneumococcal vaccines, improve access to new and underused vaccines for children living in the world?s poorest countries. saving hundreds of thousands of lives,? Kagame said.

4 ISSUE 88 DATE: 1-5 JUNE 2020 ENGLISH Covid-19: How new EA C electronic truck drivers track ing system w ill w ork

East African Community (EAC) partner states have adopted a Regional Electronic Cargo and Drivers Tracking System that will be hosted at the bloc?s headquarters in Arusha, . The system will share the truck driver?s information leveraging on that which is already managed and operated by Revenue Authorities in the region, and the existing health information systems in the six EAC countries. An official explained that the development of a regional Covid-19 surveillance system for trucks and their crew is another tool to help mitigate the disruption of domestic, regional and global supply chain systems serving the region. On Monday, June 1, Daniel Murenzi, the Principal Information Technology Officer at the EAC headquarters, took The New Times through ?the technical functionalities of the system? which allows users to share information across borders in a Health workers disinfect cargo trucks at the Rusumo border post recently. transparent manner. The electronic generated medical certificate that will be Murenzi said: ?The system will work in all EAC Partner States. validated for 14 days will be accessed electronically at the It will be interlinked to EAC Ministries of Health and accredited designated sites of screening, across the partner states where laboratories for the accurate information. the driver or crew will use during transit movement. ?The system will bring on board the truck owners or Each trucking company will have an account with all the companies so that information can be shared across. In case details of their fleet and authorized personnel uploaded into a truck driver is tested positive in another country the system the platform. will notify the Ministry of Health of the driver?s originating Each trucking company or owner will ensure that each driver country.? and crew in each vehicle have an activated App downloaded The EAC is collaborating with Trademark East Africa in the into the mobile phone (android-based). development, implementation and operation of the ?Before the beginning of a journey each trucking company or surveillance system. owner will create the journey itinerary of their driver and truck Explaining what they hope will be achieved, Patience Mutesi, that will be activated in the mobile app that the driver has,? TMEA country director, noted that lately, the new coronavirus Murenzi said. has been spreading between countries largely through land ?Once the journey begins the application will connect to the borders which economies rely on for key supplies, thereby Command Monitoring Centers and signal relaying will continue threatening trade. throughout the journey as is the current practice of tracking ?We have also seen stigmatization of drivers across the customs sealed cargo in transit.? region, and long queues of trucks at borders due to challenges Throughout the entire journey, any health and safety event in regulations that countries have imposed to control the conducted will be updated in the App by respective health spread of the virus,? she said. This development is a positive officials and ?this information made available to officials in the step towards a regional response to curb the spread of the neighboring countries of interest on real time.? Covid-19 pandemic, she noted. Designated stop locations will be geofenced in the App and ?The system will help automate linkages at key nodes thus Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System platform. reducing the need for screening at every border. Implementing the drivers? tracking system will make ports, borders and Any prolonged stop outside these locations will issue an alert critical supply chains safe for trade. or warning to the authorities and truck owners of the violation. This will also ensure timely access to critically required Through the Web App, each truck crew member will be issued medicines, medical and protective equipment and most a digital Covid-19 health certificate that is based on agreed importantly ensure food security during this crisis,? Mutesi standards and protocols by the health official of partner said.Truck drivers will need to upload the App on their phones. States. Abdul Ndarubogoye, Chairperson of Rwanda Transporters ?The certificate will be dynamic; avoiding the loopholes of Association (ATAR), they have no problem with the new manual and static certificates that may be forged or not system because it comes to help solve a real problem. He represent the actual state of the driver during and after said: ?It is only until we start using it and, maybe, experience transits,? Murenzi said. any challenges that we can talk about them and request for help.? He noted that if deemed necessary health, immigration, customs and security officials at designated areas such as According to Murenzi, prior to commencement of any trip, all border crossings, will be enabled to use mobile devices to truck drivers and crews will undertake mandatory Covid-19 verify the identity, status and conduct of the driver while in testing in the designated accredited clinic or laboratory of each transit to determine which standard operating procedures will EAC partner state. be applicable at the designated point. All authorized and accredited testing and screening facilities in Drivers or crews returning will also be tested, and the results each country will be uploaded into the platform and any testing shared electronically and accessed by authorized authorities or health and safety events they conduct relating to a driver or across the border. crew preparing for transit movement will be uploaded in real time on the App and accessed only by authorized authorities. In light of the new development, Murenzi said, Partner States need to, among other things, designate accredited facilities After testing the truck drivers or crews an electronic medical (clinic or laboratory or hospital) where truck drivers and crew attestation form or certificate will be generated with barcode will go for to Covid-19 screening. on for authentication and validation. This will be shared across in accordance with the trip or corridor the track drivers are Countries are also required to provide designated areas where using. truck drivers can spend the night and areas for refreshments. 5 ISSUE 88 DATE: 1-5 JUNE 2020 ENGLISH French court rules Félicien K abuga be tried in Tanzania

A French court on Wednesday, June 3, ruled that However, Sekule ruled that there was no need for the suspected genocide mastermind Félicien Kabuga be Earlier, Gisagara noted that the judicial proceedings in transferred, from France to the custody of the Residual France could take a few months before a decision is Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (RMICT), for trial. made.temporary transfer even before the suspect exhausts the ongoing process on extradition in French The ruling came after the request for bail by the former businessman was turned down by a French court on courts. May 27. Kabuga has opposed his extradition and wants to be Kabuga last appeared in court on Wednesday, May 27, tried but in France. a week after his lawyers were granted more time to prepare their case. Earlier, Gisagara noted that the judicial proceedings in France could take a few months before a decision is On Wednesday, June 3rd, Richard Gisagara, a made. Rwandan lawyer based in France who is following up on the case, told The New Times that: "The court After his interrogation by prosecution last month, Kabuga rejected all of his (Kabuga's) pleas. The court (Paris also made his first court appearance in the Paris Court of Court of Appeal) then ruled that he be handed over to the Mechanism." Appeal, on May 20. "I think he is now going to appeal to another court, the He was indicted by the now-defunct United Nations Cour de Cassation." International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), in Just last week, William Sekule, the duty judge at the 1997. Arusha branch of the Mechanism ruled that Kabuga will He was indicted on seven counts of genocide, complicity be transferred to Arusha, Tanzania once conditions in genocide, direct and public incitement to commit allow. genocide, attempt to commit genocide, conspiracy to The Mechanism?s prosecutor had filed an urgent motion commit genocide, persecution and extermination, all in seeking the temporary transfer of Kabuga to The Hague relation to crimes committed during the 1994 Genocide citing the ongoing Covid-19 crisis which has temporarily halted air travel. against the Tutsi, in Rwanda.

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