News

ONATRACOM to be dissolved into RITCO Ltd

Defunct Rwanda national transport company Onatracom is set to be dissolved into a new and independent transport operation company -Rwanda Interlink Transport Corporation Ltd (RITCO), according to the ministry of infrastructure

Dr. Alexis Nzahabwanimana, the state minister for infrastructure, made the revelation while presenting a report on the state of transport to the Rwandan parliament, this January 28, 2016.

“We believe that the Onatracom has come of age and has been in gross losses. By changing its status to a private company we expect an improved efficiency and solution to its troubles in the past” Dr. Nzahabwanimana said.

The new developments indicate that government will have 53percent of the shares in Ritco while private public transporter cooperatives-Rwanda Federation of Transport Company (RFTC) will have the remaining shares.

To boost the new company operations, Rwf11billion has been set aside as initial capital from shareholders, and at least 163 new state of the art buses will be purchased in the process according to the agreement between stakeholders.

Last year, the Rwanda government had announced plans to place loss-making public transporter under private managers and terms of reference for the international tender to hire the company to manage the failing public transporter were underway.

Onatracom, Rwanda’s state-owned public transport company is to be placed under the care of private managers in the last attempt to rescue it from stubborn losses averaging Rwf35 million monthly.

Troubled history

Created in 1970s as state-owned public transport enterprise, Onatracom was given a social mission to operate in rural routes and other routes which the private operators cannot operate because they are not profitable.

The company is also used to transport people during celebrations of national days such as Independence Day and Liberation Day. It was also tasked to provide other services such as production of car number plates, vehicle technical inspection, repair and servicing of government vehicles and management of taxi parks across the country.

Onatracom was entitled to budgetary support from the government and this would supplement the revenues from the transport services and other services for the company to continue operating as a monopoly in transport services and other services.

However, most of these services have been stripped off of Onatracom and it is only left with transport services. Production of car number plates has been shifted to the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA), vehicle technical inspection has been moved to the Rwanda National Police (RNP), repair and servicing of government vehicles is now open for competition by the owners of private garages, and management of taxi parks has been decentralised to local administration such as districts.

Since 2008, the government has also cut the budget support to the company. As a result, Onatracom started experiencing cash flow problems in 2009.

By the time the government intervened in mid-2011, the company had accumulated over Rwf2 billion in arrears to staff, suppliers, and the revenue collector.

The weakening of Onatracom, however, can be attributed to reluctance of the government to reform it and lack of strong management.

In 2007-2008, government gave Onatracom new buses to help improve its cash flow. However, the government failed to follow up and change the law if it wanted to see Onatracom operating profitably. The new buses were also poorly managed and after two years, few were still operating. The management also failed to deal with competition from the private sector.

China Road Company given ultimatum to restore Lake Kivu

Nyamasheke district officials have asked China Road Company & Bridge Corporation to remove all the debris which was dumped in Lake Kivu as soon as possible, otherwise measures will be taken against the Chinese company owners.

The company allegedly dropped big stones at the Kariba site along the lake shores while doing its construction works. The stones are believed to be a potential danger to boats, water sources and a danger to human life and water organisms.

A study conducted by Francis Kayumba, an official of the ministry of natural resources last August 2015, showed that several activities along the Lake Kivu shores including stone quarrying activities had impacted on the water bodies in the areas and action needed to be taken.

Nyamaseke Mayor, Aimée Fabien Kamali says that the notification has been given to the Chinese company and they have to remove the stones and reclaim the land that was damaged along the shores during the quarrying activities.

“We have hope that they will positively respond to the demand of the district, so that the lake lifespan is maintained and the damage is minimized. If they don’t, then we shall take necessary measures” Kamali said.

Climate Change Summit Set for Kigali

Rwanda is set to host the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) regional workshop on Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) to climate change.

The meeting to run from August 18-19 in Kigali is co-organized by UNFCCC Secretariat and Rwanda’s Ministry of Natural Resources.

The workshop is expected to draw over 70 climate change experts from across Africa, representatives of international organizations and the private sector..

It aims to strengthen the use NAMAs as a tool for re-2020 and post-2020 climate change action.

Experts and representatives of the private sector will make presentations on designing and implementing NAMAs

In a statement issued ahead of the meeting, the Minister of Natural Resources Dr Vincent Biruta said hosting the meeting in Rwanda offers an opportunity for the country to share with other countries the experience on the development and implementation of NAMAs.

“The meeting is an opportunity for Rwanda to build network with experienced international organizations, share our experience with other countries and learn from the best practices for further implementation of national mitigation actions for climate change,” Biruta said.

Discussions will focus on challenges, financial engineering and investment strategies for leveraging multi-source financing, measurement, reporting and verification (MRV).

“The meeting is also an opportunity to build capacity for the public and private entities and individuals on the various aspects and benefits of NAMAs,” Biruta noted.

NAMAs are voluntary climate change mitigation measures proposed and taken by developing country governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to boost sustainable development.

NAMAs can take the forms of regulations, standards, programs, policies or financial incentives.

The concept recognizes that different countries may take different actions in accordance with common but differentiated responsibilities.

It also emphasizes financial assistance from developed countries to developing countries.

Rwanda was chosen to host the meeting owing to its proactive approaches in its long term development strategies to fight against climate change.

Teachers Science Training in Rwanda by Dian Fossey Conservation Education

This summer, science teachers from seven different schools located around the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda participated in a training workshop on schoolyard ecology conducted by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund at its Karisoke Research Center. The training provided information about how to develop and nurture wildlife habitats on school grounds, and how schoolyard habitats can act as a powerful platform to teach students about endemic wildlife and conservation.

The training was a part of the Fossey Fund’s conservation education program “Citizen Science” initiatives, which aim to promote student-directed and interactive learning. The teachers who participated in the workshop are faculty leaders of nature clubs at their respective schools and have been participating in Citizen Science initiatives since 2011, when the program was made possible through with generous support of a grant from Nature’s Path. The focus of this year’s workshop, instruction on building schoolyard habitats, promotes students’ scientific inquiry by creating a space that allows them to become scientists in their own communities.

During the two-day training, the teachers learned how to create a suitable habitat for wildlife on school grounds, through teachings on the essential components of an ecosystem: food, water and cover. Additionally, the teachers were introduced to butterfly monitoring, catching and identification. In previous sessions, Citizen Science training provided training in common bird monitoring, as both birds and butterflies are among the key species that will be attracted to the schoolyard habitats.

Following the Citizen Science workshop, the Fossey Fund, in collaboration with the participating schools, organized a day to practice the concepts covered in the workshop in the field. For example, all seven of the teachers along with staff from the Fossey Fund convened at the St. Vincent de Muhoza School, where they constructed a brush shelter and a water-drinking hole to attract wildlife to the schoolyard. The participating teachers were provided with pieces of tarp and wood, to be used in building schoolyard habitats in their own schools.

Additionally, the techniques in butterfly catching and identification that were taught during the workshop were also put into practice. Each teacher was provided with a butterfly net and went to the school yards to try catching butterflies. Deogratias Tuyisingize, the Fossey Fund’s biodiversity monitoring and research program coordinator, aided the teachers in identifying and cataloging the butterflies they caught. Each teacher was also provided with a butterfly identification book, put together by Fossey staff, that has big pictures and names of all the butterflies found in Rwanda.

Joseph Karama, manager of the Fossey Fund’s conservation education program, is looking forward to returning to the schools in the next several months to see the growth of the schoolyard habitats. “Having a habitat for small wildlife in the schoolyard,” Karama says, “provides students and teachers with an outdoor laboratory where they can investigate and learn about ecosystems and the species living within that habitat, while nurturing their innate curiosity about nature.”

The Citizen Science program at the Fossey Fund has been sponsored by long-time supporter Nature’s Path and is one of several conservation education programs that would not be possible without specific financial support. The box for Nature’s Path Gorilla Munch cereal has long featured the Fossey Fund’s gorilla protection program as well as educational information about the endangered mountain gorillas, and their sponsorship has supported field programs as well.