By Emmanuel Mungwarakarama
Rwanda Television (TVR) is undergoing a number of transformations, including its recently becoming a round-the-clock station. The new TVR Managing Director, Ms Kije Mugisha, granted an exclusive interview to The Sunday Times’ BERNA NAMATA. Below are excerpts.
ST: Would you please briefly give our readers your background?KM: Before I came to Rwanda Television I worked as a media consultant in Rwanda for various organizations. I have been working in the fields of Radio and sales marketing for almost 10 years. My TV and Radio career started when I first joined college in 1993.
ST: Within a short time you have been in office TVR is already operating 24 hours, and that’s a great improvement. Any reaction from the viewers so far?KM: The reactions have been positive. So that’s an encouraging starting point for us. There is a lot to be done, and I think as media colleagues we will work more together and try to make all our agencies and companies better and more productive. So we have a good start. It’s a challenge, but it’s a very good opportunity. The 24-hour programming is a starting point; there is going to be a few things that will be added to diversify the programmes within the 24-hour clock, and that will come one at a time.
ST: What other innovations do you intend to bring to TVR? Apparently, the word on the street is that TVR is not as relaxed in its editorial line as Radio Rwanda: Do you intend to change the editorial line?KM: Well, I have just to say that the innovation that will come to TVR will certainly be an interesting standard as much as we can do with what we have. So that means with our News and local programmes you will be able to view more dynamic issues being discussed, going in-depth with some of the issues that surround the development of Rwanda here at TVR. This will also go in line with some of the new faces that you see here in Rwanda who do not necessarily speak Kinyarwanda but may have a Rwandan heritage. I think we can just see that automatically, with some of the new things we just see just in Kigali and even outside Kigali. So innovation will come in those two areas. I think sooner rather than later, with interns from Rwanda National University, Butare who are going to start next month, we have some people who will be coming to the Top Ten Rwanda Programme who are specialized in specific media areas – TV, Video production marketing, and public relations. I think we should think outside the box and not talk about censorship or anything in particular that may be perceived as not being relaxed or not being forthcoming because with TV, particularly public TV, there are always objectives and we are determined to make sure we meet the objectives as Television Rwanda and ORINFOR.
ST: Talking of the programmes, Rwanda has three official languages. Is there a balance in the broadcast line? KM: Well, we know there are three major languages that are spoken in the country. For sure our programmes will have to cater to all those people; I can say that is part of the mission in vision. That everybody in Rwanda -- whether Kinyarwanda, English or French speaking -- in one way or another will be satisfied.
ST: What has been your experience since you began your term of office as the director of Rwanda Television?KM: It’s been challenging. The people are co-operative, there is co-operation, and the people are forthcoming. My challenge, however, is to use what I have and teach others. I have vast experience: I have worked with several media organizations around the world. I think what we need are people who are specialized. We need to be patient with each other; people should not be intimidated because I have an American accent.
ST: What challenges have you faced so far?KM: There is a lot of talent and creativity in Rwanda. We have what it takes; what we have to do is to utilize it. We have to work harder. DStv is our competitor. They change their face every six months; we could do that. We have to be more innovative and work harder.
ST: What will be your main focus?KM: My main focus is excellence in content and image perfection. This will need everybody to take their work more seriously than ever. It’s a revolution, an introduction of a complete new way, and everybody has to be prepared.
ST: What message do you have for the public?KM: People should be ready to embrace the new Rwanda Television progress. Rwanda Television is a station for them. My mission is to make sure there is excellence. We have to impact the community. As a media house we have a serious role and we have to take our role seriously. We have to take the goals of excellence and image perfection. It will take time, but we have all it takes. Viewers should be encouraged.
BREAKER:“It will take time, but we have all it takes”
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Musician promotes Rwandan culture in a foreign land
By Linda Mbabazi
PEOPLE: After achieving her dream and dancing on top of her world, the renowned Rwandan female musician who resides in Belgium, Cecile Kayirebwa, is said to be spending sleepless nights thinking about how she can transform the Rwandan traditional music
and put it on top of the world. Without hesitating, Rwandans at least believe that Kayirebwa is among the few female musicians who give value to their culture especially when in a foreign land and have even tried to force the nations to love and respect the foreign culture (Rwandan culture), thus winning pride to Rwandans abroad. TNT reporter Linda Mbabazi grabbed a chance with the busy-soft spoken Kayirebwa and captured the autobiography of the celebrity, one hour to her flight back to Belgium which was thought to be important to both her fans and TNT readers. Below is part of the interview. TNT: Can you please introduce yourself to our readers and your fans? My name is Cecile Kayirebwa. I am a daughter to Mrs. Rwabagabo Genevieve and late Rwabagabo Venustus. I was born on 29 September 1946, in Kigali town, Nyarugenge to be precise and I am the second born in the family of twelve children.I started school in 1952 at Rugunga primary school and later joined Notre dame de Citeaux in 1960. I passed with high scores in my senior six final examinations and I was admitted at the School of Social Services in Musha Muruganzu, current Nyanza district. There, I acquired my first diploma in Social Services in 1966 and started working with the Ministry of Civil Services.
TNT: How did you get into the music career?Kayirebwa: My love for music started at age of 5, because my father used to sing and was a choirmaster at Saint Michael Catholic Church. He would bring the choir at home for practices, especially on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday afternoons. None of my siblings inherited dad’s talent, but I did because I was really in love with the music. Though I seemed to be so young by then, I used to keep around every time they came for rehearsals and I would try to imitate them. At the age of 6, I joined Sunday school choir. Sometimes I would be shy because people would stare at me when singing or dancing saying that I had a sweet voice, despite of my age. I remember people would bring me money at the podium and tell my parents how impressed they were with my talent. Many people appreciated the special gift in me and encouraged my parents to help me develop it. During his free time, dad would sit with me at home and teach me some new tones. The desire for music kept growing. I never wasted any single chance; I would spend most of my time singing, trying to improve on my voice. At school, I was chosen to be the leader of our school choir and I would help to compose songs for the choir. The older I grew, the more I got into music. In 1966, I composed two songs, Julianna Muvandimwe wange uragiye?…. (Julian my relative are you leaving? ) and another one was called Rubwiruko, (dedicated to the youth), the two songs became the country’s best hits in 1966. In 1970, the Ministry in charge of Social Affairs hired me for four months to present a programme on social related issues and to advise the masses on the importance of listening to radio. TNT: Your songs were instrumental during the struggle, where were you then?Kayirebwa: I was in Belgium by that time. We fled the country in 1973 when the Hutus were harassing us (Tutsis) calling us Inyenzi (Cockroaches). The first massacre started in 1959 and from then, Tutsis started seeking refugee from different countries of the world, and the unlucky ones who remained in the country were tortured and killed. Though I managed to flee the country, I was traumatized by the horrific acts done in the country, so when I heard of the Rwanda Patriotic Force (RPF), I decided to compose songs of hope and encouraging the strugglers that we were behind them though not at the war front. TNT: After the struggle, Rwandans expected you to return; what stopped you?Kayirebwa: With no doubt, I 100 percent know that (repeating it over and over, as though to make it clear to the reporter). Of course after the struggle we were all expected to return, but I am not the only one who stayed behind. There are many Rwandans all over the world who have not yet returned because of different reasons. My family and I are still behind, not because we don’t want to comeback, but because we have a lot of responsibilities in Belgium. Our families (my children have families there and other relatives) emerged and we don’t wish to separate. Certainly, there is a big community of Rwandans leaving in Belgium and we have kept our culture more than even some who are here in the country. In Belgium, at least each family has tried to teach their children Kinyarwanda as a language, songs and the traditional dance. And I believe this is enough to keep and give value to our culture.TNT: What do you do apart from singing?Kayirebwa: Well, I have a project back in Belgium and I teach especially Rwandans the traditional dance (Amaraba), though even some other people (non Rwandans ) got interested and joined. I am also planning to extend the project here, I want to promote our culture and to support female artistes who are still lagging behind. TNT: Are you married?Kayirebwa: Of course married, with children! (She laughs....wondering why I didn’t know). I got married to Karengera Innocent in 1970, unfortunately he passed away and left me with four children, two girls and two boys. I have four grandchildren.TNT: Do you have any of your children singing or dancing?Kayirebwa: No, certainly none of them adopted my talent, but one girl was in a dancing troupe, but when she got married, she quit. One of my sons is an engineer of sound mix and of recent he was hired in Malawi. TNT: How do you spend your free time? Kayirebwa: In my free time, I go shopping, visit friends, and attend wedding ceremonies, tidy up my house. And I also utilize my free time to teach children Kinyarwanda as our language tell them stories and teach them how to dance. I really love it when children come to my house to teach them, this shows me that even though we are in a foreign country, we still value our culture. What is the time? Oh my God I’m late; I am sorry I have to rush for my flight it was nice talking to you, with a peck on my cheek she runs out of the house.
PEOPLE: After achieving her dream and dancing on top of her world, the renowned Rwandan female musician who resides in Belgium, Cecile Kayirebwa, is said to be spending sleepless nights thinking about how she can transform the Rwandan traditional music
and put it on top of the world. Without hesitating, Rwandans at least believe that Kayirebwa is among the few female musicians who give value to their culture especially when in a foreign land and have even tried to force the nations to love and respect the foreign culture (Rwandan culture), thus winning pride to Rwandans abroad. TNT reporter Linda Mbabazi grabbed a chance with the busy-soft spoken Kayirebwa and captured the autobiography of the celebrity, one hour to her flight back to Belgium which was thought to be important to both her fans and TNT readers. Below is part of the interview. TNT: Can you please introduce yourself to our readers and your fans? My name is Cecile Kayirebwa. I am a daughter to Mrs. Rwabagabo Genevieve and late Rwabagabo Venustus. I was born on 29 September 1946, in Kigali town, Nyarugenge to be precise and I am the second born in the family of twelve children.I started school in 1952 at Rugunga primary school and later joined Notre dame de Citeaux in 1960. I passed with high scores in my senior six final examinations and I was admitted at the School of Social Services in Musha Muruganzu, current Nyanza district. There, I acquired my first diploma in Social Services in 1966 and started working with the Ministry of Civil Services.
TNT: How did you get into the music career?Kayirebwa: My love for music started at age of 5, because my father used to sing and was a choirmaster at Saint Michael Catholic Church. He would bring the choir at home for practices, especially on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday afternoons. None of my siblings inherited dad’s talent, but I did because I was really in love with the music. Though I seemed to be so young by then, I used to keep around every time they came for rehearsals and I would try to imitate them. At the age of 6, I joined Sunday school choir. Sometimes I would be shy because people would stare at me when singing or dancing saying that I had a sweet voice, despite of my age. I remember people would bring me money at the podium and tell my parents how impressed they were with my talent. Many people appreciated the special gift in me and encouraged my parents to help me develop it. During his free time, dad would sit with me at home and teach me some new tones. The desire for music kept growing. I never wasted any single chance; I would spend most of my time singing, trying to improve on my voice. At school, I was chosen to be the leader of our school choir and I would help to compose songs for the choir. The older I grew, the more I got into music. In 1966, I composed two songs, Julianna Muvandimwe wange uragiye?…. (Julian my relative are you leaving? ) and another one was called Rubwiruko, (dedicated to the youth), the two songs became the country’s best hits in 1966. In 1970, the Ministry in charge of Social Affairs hired me for four months to present a programme on social related issues and to advise the masses on the importance of listening to radio. TNT: Your songs were instrumental during the struggle, where were you then?Kayirebwa: I was in Belgium by that time. We fled the country in 1973 when the Hutus were harassing us (Tutsis) calling us Inyenzi (Cockroaches). The first massacre started in 1959 and from then, Tutsis started seeking refugee from different countries of the world, and the unlucky ones who remained in the country were tortured and killed. Though I managed to flee the country, I was traumatized by the horrific acts done in the country, so when I heard of the Rwanda Patriotic Force (RPF), I decided to compose songs of hope and encouraging the strugglers that we were behind them though not at the war front. TNT: After the struggle, Rwandans expected you to return; what stopped you?Kayirebwa: With no doubt, I 100 percent know that (repeating it over and over, as though to make it clear to the reporter). Of course after the struggle we were all expected to return, but I am not the only one who stayed behind. There are many Rwandans all over the world who have not yet returned because of different reasons. My family and I are still behind, not because we don’t want to comeback, but because we have a lot of responsibilities in Belgium. Our families (my children have families there and other relatives) emerged and we don’t wish to separate. Certainly, there is a big community of Rwandans leaving in Belgium and we have kept our culture more than even some who are here in the country. In Belgium, at least each family has tried to teach their children Kinyarwanda as a language, songs and the traditional dance. And I believe this is enough to keep and give value to our culture.TNT: What do you do apart from singing?Kayirebwa: Well, I have a project back in Belgium and I teach especially Rwandans the traditional dance (Amaraba), though even some other people (non Rwandans ) got interested and joined. I am also planning to extend the project here, I want to promote our culture and to support female artistes who are still lagging behind. TNT: Are you married?Kayirebwa: Of course married, with children! (She laughs....wondering why I didn’t know). I got married to Karengera Innocent in 1970, unfortunately he passed away and left me with four children, two girls and two boys. I have four grandchildren.TNT: Do you have any of your children singing or dancing?Kayirebwa: No, certainly none of them adopted my talent, but one girl was in a dancing troupe, but when she got married, she quit. One of my sons is an engineer of sound mix and of recent he was hired in Malawi. TNT: How do you spend your free time? Kayirebwa: In my free time, I go shopping, visit friends, and attend wedding ceremonies, tidy up my house. And I also utilize my free time to teach children Kinyarwanda as our language tell them stories and teach them how to dance. I really love it when children come to my house to teach them, this shows me that even though we are in a foreign country, we still value our culture. What is the time? Oh my God I’m late; I am sorry I have to rush for my flight it was nice talking to you, with a peck on my cheek she runs out of the house.
The Rwandan media has potential to grow into a regional leader
The Rwandan media has potential to grow into a regional leader
By IGNATIUS KABAGAMBE & GASHEGU MURAMILA.
Sunday, 22 October 2006
DAVID APPLEFIELD is the UK-based Financial Times newspaper Project Director for Africa region. He brought his rich expertise to Kigali last week on the invitation of the American Embassy in Rwanda, which also sponsored a five day (October 16 – 20, 2006) training workshop he conducted for private mediapractitioners in the country on how to manage media outlets as profitable businesses. On Thursday October 19, The New Times Managing Editor IGNATIUS KABAGAMBE sounded him out on how he found the media industry here and where he thinks it is headed. Below is the full interview as transcribed by GASHEGU MURAMILA.IK: Today is the fourth and second last day of the workshop: What has your experience with participants so far been like?DAVID: I’m very impressed with the fact that there are some sophisticated, energetic, ambitious and creative players on the private media scene here. I am more impressed by the few that are going forward than those that have not acquired or may never acquire the level of professionalism to become real journalism leaders.IK: During the workshop I noted your strong inclination toward marketing. How effective can that approach be in a situation like here where editorial content is far from being dynamic?DAVID: You have to build a house by erecting all the four walls and the roof at the same time. You have the basis of interesting content but you don’t yet have a media that has proven itself to be sufficiently powerful or has enough impact on society for the commercial world and the political one to take more attention. So I believe that it has to happen at the same time. On the fifth day we are going to be talking about what I call Rwanda’s content. There is a lot of interesting content that exists in the world, in the region and in the country, that isn’t yet being reported on by your newspapers and radio stations. There are a lot of local stories that haven’t been investigated on yet. This could be local stories, human interest stories, and business stories. I agree with you that the content has to become stronger. But strong content without an editorial and marketing strategy won’t help the survival of the newspapers. I believe that the economic health of private media is the key to building a more powerful and impactful independent press.IK: “Something is wrong in a society where every working person cannot have economic access to a daily paper,” is an observation you made in your article published in The New Times last Friday issue. What exactly do you see as wrong?DAVID: A daily newspaper should be on the diet of any responsible citizen. A citizen has to participate in the activities of the society and the economy. So its wrong when the average working man or woman doesn’t have the ability or economic buying power to purchase a newspaper. So I think the cover price of newspapers in Rwanda should come down as more revenues are acquired through advertising, sponsorship of events, etc. That is what I meant by what is wrong. It would be like saying there is something wrong with somebody who can’t afford a loaf of bread every evening or aspirin tablets when you have headache.IK: The daily newspaper in this country is only one and it is just over eight months old. Can our readers benefit from you as a vastly experienced person regarding the media scene on the African continent, to know where Rwanda lies in comparison with other countries?DAVID: Well the good news is that in terms of the production quality, the papers I have seen here are ahead of those in other countries of the same size, especially in West Africa. I think there is not as much suspicion and politicization of content as there is elsewhere. So I think that is positive. Having said that, I think this country could probably use more than one daily and currently your paper is the only English daily. I think that is because of difficulty in production resources. Your paper also doesn’t have the ability to produce enough copies to satisfy its demand. That is good news and bad news. The bad news is that you don’t have enough copies and the good news is that there is more demand and I haven’t seen this in many other countries. The radio scene in Mali is very vibrant and very free. Senegal has a lot of newspapers but there is a lot of political irresponsibility. I think in general what is positive here is that your government seems to be positive and supportive and doesn’t to a great extent meddle into your affairs. I think the climate for the independent free media here is very positive.IK: In the same Friday article I referred to above, you also mentioned the intention by print media practitioners to ask government to exempt from the newsprint and ink the high taxes levied. Which other areas do you suggest the state comes in to enhance the growth of media industry here?DAVID: It’s not the responsibility of the state to be the financial supporter of the private media. However, I think there is the question of legislation. Rwanda still has the Seditious and Libel Act. Only seventeen countries in the world still have this law and I think it has to be reviewed in the press law. There is need for collaboration with some government ministries like health and education in relation with the content you are trying to communicate. I think that people should not look at an independent media that criticizes whatever that is wrong as a media that is anti government or pro-government. These situations are prevalent in African countries like Togo, Niger, Mauritania, and Sierra Leone and highly doubt if Rwanda is happy in this company. Situations of this kind are slowly improving though.TNT: What about other development partners like the US Embassy that sponsored this workshop; Are there other avenues through which they can channel effort and resources to aid media development here?DAVID: What is really fascinating is that many organizations around the world now appreciate the role the media plays in development of their countries. Access to information is much more omnipresent especially with the internet. There are organizations like Intranews in Washington that organizes media training in 47 countries in the world. There is the Night Reader Foundation in the US which sponsors media practitioners around the world. I’m currently with journalists for a human rights organization in Atlanta which sends Canadian young journalists around the world to work with the independent media. The US Embassy believes strongly in helping to train media practitioners. You should feel comfortable by approaching the embassy and any other organization for resources that you need. This doesn’t necessarily mean cash. It could be access to people, other publication, etc.TNT: What was your impression on media freedom in Rwanda before you came and what have you found it to be like now that you have been on the ground?DAVID: Nobody in the few days I have been here has come up to me and said: ‘I can’t get my articles being published or am going to be thrown into jail’. I have seen articles that are pretty balanced and relatively responsible. I haven’t seen any very deep digging investigative journalism, though your colleague at Focus seems to care a lot about writing investigative pieces. I’m more optimistic that the media here is heading for a vibrant developmentTNT: One of the reasons which are constantly advanced as to why the print media industry in Rwanda is terribly under developed is a poor reading culture among the local population. What have you noticed during your short time here that can qualify this assertion?DAVID: Every body says that the people of Rwanda don’t read so much. But I think there is still a lot to be improved. I understand that there is a big library that is being worked on. I hope this will greatly make a step towards this goal. The private press should also launch things like book clubs, excerpts of novels once a week in your daily and short interesting stories for young people. There is need to partner with large publishers in South Africa or North America that could distribute thousands of unsold books that are some times thrown away. Remember that the more educated the public is the more exposed it becomes to issues of development. And the press has an instrumental role to play here.TNT: Would I be wrong if I said you must be eager to say something special about Rwanda’s only daily? If so, what are the areas you think The New Times management should focus on in order to boost the paper’s appeal and credibility?DAVID: An able management should be able to keep in-house talent and develop it. People who are working well should be motivated. My advice is that you identify talent and invest in them because as the paper grows, if such hard working talents aren’t appreciated, when they get a better opportunity they will be tempted to leave. I just had a tour of your offices and I thought you need a lot of re-organization of the jobs and hierarchy of who does what and where they should be seated. There is also the grand corporate feeling one gets seeing your paper on the street, which is not perfectly reflected inside your premises. Otherwise you have the potential to become one of the leading papers in the region.TNT: Lastly David, what has your experience been like; what are the impressions about the Rwandan people and their government? What economic development tip can you give us?DAVID: It’s really an exciting time to be here. There is a lot of potential here and the private sector is growing. There are some special sympathies that the world has for this country that is just walking down the road after the 1994 Genocide. It’s great seeing that the people are working hard together with the government to foster development. Rwanda should convert all the chances it has into tangible development.TNT: Thank you David for your time.DAVID: You are most welcome.LOOK OUT IN OUR WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 25 ISSUE FOR MORE OF DAVID APPLEFIELD VIEWS ON MEDIA AND OTHER ISSUES, EXCLUSIVE TO THE NEW TIMES.
By IGNATIUS KABAGAMBE & GASHEGU MURAMILA.
Sunday, 22 October 2006
DAVID APPLEFIELD is the UK-based Financial Times newspaper Project Director for Africa region. He brought his rich expertise to Kigali last week on the invitation of the American Embassy in Rwanda, which also sponsored a five day (October 16 – 20, 2006) training workshop he conducted for private mediapractitioners in the country on how to manage media outlets as profitable businesses. On Thursday October 19, The New Times Managing Editor IGNATIUS KABAGAMBE sounded him out on how he found the media industry here and where he thinks it is headed. Below is the full interview as transcribed by GASHEGU MURAMILA.IK: Today is the fourth and second last day of the workshop: What has your experience with participants so far been like?DAVID: I’m very impressed with the fact that there are some sophisticated, energetic, ambitious and creative players on the private media scene here. I am more impressed by the few that are going forward than those that have not acquired or may never acquire the level of professionalism to become real journalism leaders.IK: During the workshop I noted your strong inclination toward marketing. How effective can that approach be in a situation like here where editorial content is far from being dynamic?DAVID: You have to build a house by erecting all the four walls and the roof at the same time. You have the basis of interesting content but you don’t yet have a media that has proven itself to be sufficiently powerful or has enough impact on society for the commercial world and the political one to take more attention. So I believe that it has to happen at the same time. On the fifth day we are going to be talking about what I call Rwanda’s content. There is a lot of interesting content that exists in the world, in the region and in the country, that isn’t yet being reported on by your newspapers and radio stations. There are a lot of local stories that haven’t been investigated on yet. This could be local stories, human interest stories, and business stories. I agree with you that the content has to become stronger. But strong content without an editorial and marketing strategy won’t help the survival of the newspapers. I believe that the economic health of private media is the key to building a more powerful and impactful independent press.IK: “Something is wrong in a society where every working person cannot have economic access to a daily paper,” is an observation you made in your article published in The New Times last Friday issue. What exactly do you see as wrong?DAVID: A daily newspaper should be on the diet of any responsible citizen. A citizen has to participate in the activities of the society and the economy. So its wrong when the average working man or woman doesn’t have the ability or economic buying power to purchase a newspaper. So I think the cover price of newspapers in Rwanda should come down as more revenues are acquired through advertising, sponsorship of events, etc. That is what I meant by what is wrong. It would be like saying there is something wrong with somebody who can’t afford a loaf of bread every evening or aspirin tablets when you have headache.IK: The daily newspaper in this country is only one and it is just over eight months old. Can our readers benefit from you as a vastly experienced person regarding the media scene on the African continent, to know where Rwanda lies in comparison with other countries?DAVID: Well the good news is that in terms of the production quality, the papers I have seen here are ahead of those in other countries of the same size, especially in West Africa. I think there is not as much suspicion and politicization of content as there is elsewhere. So I think that is positive. Having said that, I think this country could probably use more than one daily and currently your paper is the only English daily. I think that is because of difficulty in production resources. Your paper also doesn’t have the ability to produce enough copies to satisfy its demand. That is good news and bad news. The bad news is that you don’t have enough copies and the good news is that there is more demand and I haven’t seen this in many other countries. The radio scene in Mali is very vibrant and very free. Senegal has a lot of newspapers but there is a lot of political irresponsibility. I think in general what is positive here is that your government seems to be positive and supportive and doesn’t to a great extent meddle into your affairs. I think the climate for the independent free media here is very positive.IK: In the same Friday article I referred to above, you also mentioned the intention by print media practitioners to ask government to exempt from the newsprint and ink the high taxes levied. Which other areas do you suggest the state comes in to enhance the growth of media industry here?DAVID: It’s not the responsibility of the state to be the financial supporter of the private media. However, I think there is the question of legislation. Rwanda still has the Seditious and Libel Act. Only seventeen countries in the world still have this law and I think it has to be reviewed in the press law. There is need for collaboration with some government ministries like health and education in relation with the content you are trying to communicate. I think that people should not look at an independent media that criticizes whatever that is wrong as a media that is anti government or pro-government. These situations are prevalent in African countries like Togo, Niger, Mauritania, and Sierra Leone and highly doubt if Rwanda is happy in this company. Situations of this kind are slowly improving though.TNT: What about other development partners like the US Embassy that sponsored this workshop; Are there other avenues through which they can channel effort and resources to aid media development here?DAVID: What is really fascinating is that many organizations around the world now appreciate the role the media plays in development of their countries. Access to information is much more omnipresent especially with the internet. There are organizations like Intranews in Washington that organizes media training in 47 countries in the world. There is the Night Reader Foundation in the US which sponsors media practitioners around the world. I’m currently with journalists for a human rights organization in Atlanta which sends Canadian young journalists around the world to work with the independent media. The US Embassy believes strongly in helping to train media practitioners. You should feel comfortable by approaching the embassy and any other organization for resources that you need. This doesn’t necessarily mean cash. It could be access to people, other publication, etc.TNT: What was your impression on media freedom in Rwanda before you came and what have you found it to be like now that you have been on the ground?DAVID: Nobody in the few days I have been here has come up to me and said: ‘I can’t get my articles being published or am going to be thrown into jail’. I have seen articles that are pretty balanced and relatively responsible. I haven’t seen any very deep digging investigative journalism, though your colleague at Focus seems to care a lot about writing investigative pieces. I’m more optimistic that the media here is heading for a vibrant developmentTNT: One of the reasons which are constantly advanced as to why the print media industry in Rwanda is terribly under developed is a poor reading culture among the local population. What have you noticed during your short time here that can qualify this assertion?DAVID: Every body says that the people of Rwanda don’t read so much. But I think there is still a lot to be improved. I understand that there is a big library that is being worked on. I hope this will greatly make a step towards this goal. The private press should also launch things like book clubs, excerpts of novels once a week in your daily and short interesting stories for young people. There is need to partner with large publishers in South Africa or North America that could distribute thousands of unsold books that are some times thrown away. Remember that the more educated the public is the more exposed it becomes to issues of development. And the press has an instrumental role to play here.TNT: Would I be wrong if I said you must be eager to say something special about Rwanda’s only daily? If so, what are the areas you think The New Times management should focus on in order to boost the paper’s appeal and credibility?DAVID: An able management should be able to keep in-house talent and develop it. People who are working well should be motivated. My advice is that you identify talent and invest in them because as the paper grows, if such hard working talents aren’t appreciated, when they get a better opportunity they will be tempted to leave. I just had a tour of your offices and I thought you need a lot of re-organization of the jobs and hierarchy of who does what and where they should be seated. There is also the grand corporate feeling one gets seeing your paper on the street, which is not perfectly reflected inside your premises. Otherwise you have the potential to become one of the leading papers in the region.TNT: Lastly David, what has your experience been like; what are the impressions about the Rwandan people and their government? What economic development tip can you give us?DAVID: It’s really an exciting time to be here. There is a lot of potential here and the private sector is growing. There are some special sympathies that the world has for this country that is just walking down the road after the 1994 Genocide. It’s great seeing that the people are working hard together with the government to foster development. Rwanda should convert all the chances it has into tangible development.TNT: Thank you David for your time.DAVID: You are most welcome.LOOK OUT IN OUR WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 25 ISSUE FOR MORE OF DAVID APPLEFIELD VIEWS ON MEDIA AND OTHER ISSUES, EXCLUSIVE TO THE NEW TIMES.
Why foreign aid has failed to end poverty in Africa
By Emmanuel Mungwarakarama
Tuesday, 24 October 2006
What are the two tragedies of the world’s poor? One of them is, according to Jeffrey Sachs in his book The End of Poverty, 30,000 children die every day from the diseases and malnutrition that go along with extreme poverty. For example, there are nearly 2 million annual child deaths from diarrhea, which could be easily prevented with 10-cent doses of oral rehydration therapy. It is really a tragedy that people are so poor that they cannot afford 10-cent doses of oral rehydration therapy.But there is a second tragedy, which Jeff does not spend any time in his book talking about, and the second tragedy is that the West has already spent $2.3 trillion on foreign aid over five decades, and babies with diarrhea are still not getting the 10-cent doses of oral rehydration therapy. There are still 2 million deaths, and even in what the World Bank calls an aid success story like Ghana, 50 percent of babies with diarrhea never receive oral rehydration care.This is really the scandal of our generation, that all this money has been spent on foreign aid and yet, in any meaningful sense, this money never reached the desperate poor. What is the response to this failure? It is to ask for more aid money, which has been the same answer as in the previous five decades of foreign aid, which does nothing whatsoever to address the second tragedy: that money is spent and yet does not reach the poor.A Grandiose Global PlanSo, the U.N., the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund have come up with a big plan to solve all the problems of the poor by the year 2015. How exactly would this plan be implemented? Jeff says in his book that the U.N. Secretary General should personally run the plan. He would not have to do much: He would just have to coordinate the actions of thousands of officials in six U.N. agencies, the U.N. country teams, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, all consistent with the World Bank and IMF Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers.Just think about the incentives that are created by this grandiose global plan. You have all the aid donors and recipients collectively responsible. They all share responsibility for implementing all of these actions, for meeting 54 different goals, which also depend on lots of other things besides what the donors and recipient governments do. If anything goes wrong, you can blame the other aid donors, you can blame the other factors that affected whether the goals were achieved or not, or you could even just say, “The reason I didn’t achieve that goal was that I was working on this other goal.”That is what happens when you have multiple goals, collective responsibility, and goals depending on things besides what the aid agents themselves do. This is the worst possible incentive system of all time. When you really read the fine print of the very long documents that set out the goals, you reach this conclusion: In this great, grandiose campaign to end world poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals, nobody is individually responsible for any one result.Of course, you could set all this in reverse if you did have true accountability and incentives. Then aid agents would want to get customer feedback and try to figure out what works, and then you could get some specific good outcomes from some aid efforts.Just think about the U.N. Millennium Development Goals. How, possibly, could you get customer feedback on which of the 449 interventions are working? Where are the incentives for those implementing the 449 interventions? Who can be held accountable if some of the 449 interventions do not work? And why doesn’t somebody just get held accountable for getting 10-cent medicine to babies?The planners’ favorite answer is to double foreign aid. An interesting iron law of aid advocacy is that whenever anyone starts campaigning for more foreign aid, they always ask for an exact doubling of foreign aid. It is never an 83 percent increase or 117 percent; when in doubt, double foreign aid. Not long ago we had the G-8 summit, in July 2005, where they agreed to double aid to Africa. They have also agreed to double foreign aid as a whole by the year 2010, and the aid campaigners will then ask for doubling aid again after 2010.Unfortunately, the obsession with the amount spent substitutes for customer feedback, incentives, and accountability. It substitutes for focus on whether the money actually reaches the poor, so the second tragedy continues unabated. And it also creates the perverse incentives in aid agencies just to spend money, because if money is the indicator of success, then all the incentives are just to spend aid money and not to try to have the money get results.The World Bank and IMF have their own plans, which they call the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. This planning approach is really just a misguided way to approach the problems of world poverty.F. A. Hayek said that “the success of action in society depends on more particular facts than anyone can possibly know.” How can you possibly know enough to implement a big plan? Economics is all about teaching people how little we really know, how little economists really know, about what they imagine they can design. Karl Popper has this great quote, which is really applicable in a lot of circumstances, that any sort of comprehensive plan to remake society in a way that eliminates poverty is just completely unworkable because “it’s not reasonable to assume that a complete reconstruction of our social system would lead at once to a workable system.”Searchers vs. PlannersThe alternative to planners is “searchers.” There are private entrepreneurs who get customer feedback to meet essential needs. They have incentives to get them to you, so there were 9 million copies of the Harry Potter book distributed on the first day of its publication because everyone along the supply chain had the right incentive to get 9 million copies out there. The publisher is held accountable if you are dissatisfied. If you get your Harry Potter book and the words are upside down, you can take it back and get a new one; and if the firm does not give you a new one, then the firm is eventually going to go out of business for mistreating the customers.The other great feedback system that we are all familiar with is democracy. Politicians are subject to voter feedback, so they have the incentives to meet your needs for public services, and they are accountable if they do too lousy a job on delivering public services.Now, we know none of these solutions works perfectly all the time, and they are certainly not an overnight panacea because, as Karl Popper has told us, there is no way that you could transform a whole society overnight from what it is now to a free-market democracy. It is just not within the realm of economists to be able to engineer that. But we know from overwhelming empirical evidence that markets and democracy are the ultimate home-grown source of prosperity. This is how you eliminate world poverty: through markets and democracy. This is what works.I think markets and democracy can be a great model. Since they are such a successful system, they can be a great model to try to make aid more like a successful system, to try to inspire aid efforts to do less planning and more searching, to try to get aid agents thinking in market-like terms, thinking in democracy-like terms; getting customer feedback, having incentives for aid agents to deliver the medicines to the babies, and having accountability if they do not.So we have to ask the question: Why is it that planners are so popular? Why are these big plans more popular than searchers in the whole foreign aid business? There is a fairly clear political economy explanation that the planners offer appealing dreams of ending poverty, which is really good for sound bites and media frenzies, without anyone in the rich countries actually being held responsible for doing anything very costly. All that has to be done is to spend a little more aid money, and then everyone is satisfied, and then you promise grandiose things like the end of poverty for which you will never be held accountable. Politically, it is great to be able to promise big things for which you will never be held accountable.Searchers do not offer big promises like the end of poverty, which aid cannot possibly achieve. Nothing outsiders do can possibly achieve the end of poverty; again, that has to be done by relying on home-grown markets and democracy. So aid right away has a huge rhetorical disadvantage: It is not offering the big promise, and the searchers are insisting on politically risky accountability. Everybody likes accountability for other people, but nobody likes being held accountable themselves, and rich country politicians certainly do not want to be held accountable for taking responsibility for whether their aid dollars accomplish something in helping poor people.The dream of planners is that foreign aid could finance economic growth, and the only reason to think that that can not happen is that it has never happened and every effort to make aid achieve economic growth has failed. The data show that there is a correlation between aid and growth, but, unfortunately, it is negative. Sophisticated econometric analysis finds no evidence that aid raises growth. What does raise growth is markets, so the citizens of India and China, by shifting to more market-oriented economic systems and creating new opportunities for millions of local entrepreneurs to get rich by their own efforts, increased their own incomes by $715 billion last year.This is the true source of long-run development, not foreign aid. The good news about this is that, once you acknowledge that growth is mostly home-grown and comes from home-grown markets and democracy, you could free up aid so that it could maybe accomplish some useful things for poor people to give them new opportunities. You could free aid to do some more specialized tasks that are not so grandiose as ending poverty or achieving economic growth. You could hold aid agencies accountable for achieving specialized tasks.Let me just give you one example of the wrong approach of planners. There is a Canadian/World Bank project in Lesotho that tried to promote farming in a mountainous region of Lesotho, which did not work because, according to the project managers, the local people were defeatists and did not think of themselves as farmers. That was really silly of the local people—except for the fact that they were not farmers; they were migrant workers in South African mines. The only result of the project was that they built a new road on which South African lorries brought grain into the region, which drove the few existing farmers out of business. This is the kind of mess-up on the ground that happens when you try to plan from the top down.Unaccountable planners also keep repeating or even intensifying the same failed approaches. The aid business has been stuck for a long time on trying to work with local governments, which usually means they wind up chasing unachievable goals of transforming poor country governments, which outside aid cannot possibly do. So you have the unaccountable chasing the unchangeable.In the 1960s and ’70s, there was project aid, which assumed that governments had good institutions and policies. And, of course, the aid did not work then because the governments did not have good institutions and policies.In the 1980s, there was some dawning realization that part of the problem was bad economic policies, so then there was the invention of structural adjustment by the World Bank and IMF, which made aid conditional on the bad governments adopting good policies. The only problem with structural adjustment phase one was that it did not work. Aid was not a strong enough incentive to change policies, and the aid donors were not sufficiently selective; they kept giving money to bad governments even when they did not reform.
To be continued
Tuesday, 24 October 2006
What are the two tragedies of the world’s poor? One of them is, according to Jeffrey Sachs in his book The End of Poverty, 30,000 children die every day from the diseases and malnutrition that go along with extreme poverty. For example, there are nearly 2 million annual child deaths from diarrhea, which could be easily prevented with 10-cent doses of oral rehydration therapy. It is really a tragedy that people are so poor that they cannot afford 10-cent doses of oral rehydration therapy.But there is a second tragedy, which Jeff does not spend any time in his book talking about, and the second tragedy is that the West has already spent $2.3 trillion on foreign aid over five decades, and babies with diarrhea are still not getting the 10-cent doses of oral rehydration therapy. There are still 2 million deaths, and even in what the World Bank calls an aid success story like Ghana, 50 percent of babies with diarrhea never receive oral rehydration care.This is really the scandal of our generation, that all this money has been spent on foreign aid and yet, in any meaningful sense, this money never reached the desperate poor. What is the response to this failure? It is to ask for more aid money, which has been the same answer as in the previous five decades of foreign aid, which does nothing whatsoever to address the second tragedy: that money is spent and yet does not reach the poor.A Grandiose Global PlanSo, the U.N., the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund have come up with a big plan to solve all the problems of the poor by the year 2015. How exactly would this plan be implemented? Jeff says in his book that the U.N. Secretary General should personally run the plan. He would not have to do much: He would just have to coordinate the actions of thousands of officials in six U.N. agencies, the U.N. country teams, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, all consistent with the World Bank and IMF Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers.Just think about the incentives that are created by this grandiose global plan. You have all the aid donors and recipients collectively responsible. They all share responsibility for implementing all of these actions, for meeting 54 different goals, which also depend on lots of other things besides what the donors and recipient governments do. If anything goes wrong, you can blame the other aid donors, you can blame the other factors that affected whether the goals were achieved or not, or you could even just say, “The reason I didn’t achieve that goal was that I was working on this other goal.”That is what happens when you have multiple goals, collective responsibility, and goals depending on things besides what the aid agents themselves do. This is the worst possible incentive system of all time. When you really read the fine print of the very long documents that set out the goals, you reach this conclusion: In this great, grandiose campaign to end world poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals, nobody is individually responsible for any one result.Of course, you could set all this in reverse if you did have true accountability and incentives. Then aid agents would want to get customer feedback and try to figure out what works, and then you could get some specific good outcomes from some aid efforts.Just think about the U.N. Millennium Development Goals. How, possibly, could you get customer feedback on which of the 449 interventions are working? Where are the incentives for those implementing the 449 interventions? Who can be held accountable if some of the 449 interventions do not work? And why doesn’t somebody just get held accountable for getting 10-cent medicine to babies?The planners’ favorite answer is to double foreign aid. An interesting iron law of aid advocacy is that whenever anyone starts campaigning for more foreign aid, they always ask for an exact doubling of foreign aid. It is never an 83 percent increase or 117 percent; when in doubt, double foreign aid. Not long ago we had the G-8 summit, in July 2005, where they agreed to double aid to Africa. They have also agreed to double foreign aid as a whole by the year 2010, and the aid campaigners will then ask for doubling aid again after 2010.Unfortunately, the obsession with the amount spent substitutes for customer feedback, incentives, and accountability. It substitutes for focus on whether the money actually reaches the poor, so the second tragedy continues unabated. And it also creates the perverse incentives in aid agencies just to spend money, because if money is the indicator of success, then all the incentives are just to spend aid money and not to try to have the money get results.The World Bank and IMF have their own plans, which they call the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. This planning approach is really just a misguided way to approach the problems of world poverty.F. A. Hayek said that “the success of action in society depends on more particular facts than anyone can possibly know.” How can you possibly know enough to implement a big plan? Economics is all about teaching people how little we really know, how little economists really know, about what they imagine they can design. Karl Popper has this great quote, which is really applicable in a lot of circumstances, that any sort of comprehensive plan to remake society in a way that eliminates poverty is just completely unworkable because “it’s not reasonable to assume that a complete reconstruction of our social system would lead at once to a workable system.”Searchers vs. PlannersThe alternative to planners is “searchers.” There are private entrepreneurs who get customer feedback to meet essential needs. They have incentives to get them to you, so there were 9 million copies of the Harry Potter book distributed on the first day of its publication because everyone along the supply chain had the right incentive to get 9 million copies out there. The publisher is held accountable if you are dissatisfied. If you get your Harry Potter book and the words are upside down, you can take it back and get a new one; and if the firm does not give you a new one, then the firm is eventually going to go out of business for mistreating the customers.The other great feedback system that we are all familiar with is democracy. Politicians are subject to voter feedback, so they have the incentives to meet your needs for public services, and they are accountable if they do too lousy a job on delivering public services.Now, we know none of these solutions works perfectly all the time, and they are certainly not an overnight panacea because, as Karl Popper has told us, there is no way that you could transform a whole society overnight from what it is now to a free-market democracy. It is just not within the realm of economists to be able to engineer that. But we know from overwhelming empirical evidence that markets and democracy are the ultimate home-grown source of prosperity. This is how you eliminate world poverty: through markets and democracy. This is what works.I think markets and democracy can be a great model. Since they are such a successful system, they can be a great model to try to make aid more like a successful system, to try to inspire aid efforts to do less planning and more searching, to try to get aid agents thinking in market-like terms, thinking in democracy-like terms; getting customer feedback, having incentives for aid agents to deliver the medicines to the babies, and having accountability if they do not.So we have to ask the question: Why is it that planners are so popular? Why are these big plans more popular than searchers in the whole foreign aid business? There is a fairly clear political economy explanation that the planners offer appealing dreams of ending poverty, which is really good for sound bites and media frenzies, without anyone in the rich countries actually being held responsible for doing anything very costly. All that has to be done is to spend a little more aid money, and then everyone is satisfied, and then you promise grandiose things like the end of poverty for which you will never be held accountable. Politically, it is great to be able to promise big things for which you will never be held accountable.Searchers do not offer big promises like the end of poverty, which aid cannot possibly achieve. Nothing outsiders do can possibly achieve the end of poverty; again, that has to be done by relying on home-grown markets and democracy. So aid right away has a huge rhetorical disadvantage: It is not offering the big promise, and the searchers are insisting on politically risky accountability. Everybody likes accountability for other people, but nobody likes being held accountable themselves, and rich country politicians certainly do not want to be held accountable for taking responsibility for whether their aid dollars accomplish something in helping poor people.The dream of planners is that foreign aid could finance economic growth, and the only reason to think that that can not happen is that it has never happened and every effort to make aid achieve economic growth has failed. The data show that there is a correlation between aid and growth, but, unfortunately, it is negative. Sophisticated econometric analysis finds no evidence that aid raises growth. What does raise growth is markets, so the citizens of India and China, by shifting to more market-oriented economic systems and creating new opportunities for millions of local entrepreneurs to get rich by their own efforts, increased their own incomes by $715 billion last year.This is the true source of long-run development, not foreign aid. The good news about this is that, once you acknowledge that growth is mostly home-grown and comes from home-grown markets and democracy, you could free up aid so that it could maybe accomplish some useful things for poor people to give them new opportunities. You could free aid to do some more specialized tasks that are not so grandiose as ending poverty or achieving economic growth. You could hold aid agencies accountable for achieving specialized tasks.Let me just give you one example of the wrong approach of planners. There is a Canadian/World Bank project in Lesotho that tried to promote farming in a mountainous region of Lesotho, which did not work because, according to the project managers, the local people were defeatists and did not think of themselves as farmers. That was really silly of the local people—except for the fact that they were not farmers; they were migrant workers in South African mines. The only result of the project was that they built a new road on which South African lorries brought grain into the region, which drove the few existing farmers out of business. This is the kind of mess-up on the ground that happens when you try to plan from the top down.Unaccountable planners also keep repeating or even intensifying the same failed approaches. The aid business has been stuck for a long time on trying to work with local governments, which usually means they wind up chasing unachievable goals of transforming poor country governments, which outside aid cannot possibly do. So you have the unaccountable chasing the unchangeable.In the 1960s and ’70s, there was project aid, which assumed that governments had good institutions and policies. And, of course, the aid did not work then because the governments did not have good institutions and policies.In the 1980s, there was some dawning realization that part of the problem was bad economic policies, so then there was the invention of structural adjustment by the World Bank and IMF, which made aid conditional on the bad governments adopting good policies. The only problem with structural adjustment phase one was that it did not work. Aid was not a strong enough incentive to change policies, and the aid donors were not sufficiently selective; they kept giving money to bad governments even when they did not reform.
To be continued
Guidance and counselling vital in schools, colleges
By Emmanuel Mungwarakarama
Monday, 16 October 2006
One of the challenges schools and higher institutions of learning are struggling with is indiscipline. In most of these places, students do not give way to a teacher or a lecturer in corridors or pavements. They merely stand in their groups chatting and the teacher has to squeeze his way through.Teachers in many schools have complained about lack of classroom manners. For instance, students walk in and out of classrooms when a lesson is going on without excusing themselves, chew gum in class, murmur to each other, do not take notes and engage in other naughty behaviour. A teacher who took the trouble to find out why this was so was told blankly, by his students, that that is what they were used to. Other serious cases of indiscipline noted in schools include rudeness to teachers and subordinate staff, sneaking out of schools, absenteeism from classes without sound reason (infamously known as ‘dodging’), smoking and use of narcotic drugs, alcohol consumption and promiscuity among many others. Students have been seen in full school uniform frequenting restaurants around their schools where they drink alcohol without shame. The discipline office in most schools has been noted to be the busiest of all offices in schools. If it is not handling a case of misconduct, it is giving permission to students to go home, especially on Fridays, for various reasons, some of which might not even be genuine. Indiscipline is caused by many factors and it is not easy to deal with but yet students need to be shown the right ways of life so that they can grow up into responsible citizens who will be able to steer their countries forward. Besides this, the youth need to be moulded into a people who can go out into the world and fit in it as opposed to being misfits.Teachers and school authorities, beyond offering knowledge and skills, are doing their best, with the available resources, to check the rate of the unruliness in their respective institutions. For instance, most schools have rules and regulations for guiding students and helping authorities in the daily smooth running of school.Students and their guardians normally sign a copy of school rules on admission but it is uncertain whether they really pay any attention to them. In fact, a number of students take the rules for granted leading to pronounced forms of visible delinquency.But even then, imparting discipline in youths cannot be left to schools alone. Without doubt, parents, the government and the general society are all answerable to the youth since they represent a large section of the population. Why for instance should a responsible restaurant attendant serve alcohol to students, who are in full school uniform? One way of addressing indiscipline in schools is through guidance and counselling. These tenets are important at this stage in the students’ lives because it is here that their attitudes, characters and behaviour are formed. Counselling is beneficial since it aims at enabling a person achieve better personal adjustment, growth, and maturity. Psychologists attach emotional difficulties in youth to misbehaviour. Guidance and counselling will help boost the ability of youth to take rational control over their feelings, aid the youth to aim at fulfilling their potentials and achieve an assimilation of past conflicting parts of themselves. Feelings of inadequacies often lead to withdrawal, unhappiness, annoyance, anger, anxiety and hyper-activity in young people. Counselling helps students develop a positive attitude about themselves, enhance their abilities to recognise their areas of proficiency and enables them to make individual choices that become useful in future after their years of formal education. Rwanda, like other African countries, has experienced an infiltration of foreign cultures, political demands/expectations, wars, political instability, poverty and epidemics all of which have weakened the traditional societal structures and led to an increase in moral decay. Guidance and counselling can offer the best approach in amending the arising negative behaviour. Guidance and counselling are age-old practises in many societies. For this reason, they should be institutionalised not only in schools but also communities.
Monday, 16 October 2006
One of the challenges schools and higher institutions of learning are struggling with is indiscipline. In most of these places, students do not give way to a teacher or a lecturer in corridors or pavements. They merely stand in their groups chatting and the teacher has to squeeze his way through.Teachers in many schools have complained about lack of classroom manners. For instance, students walk in and out of classrooms when a lesson is going on without excusing themselves, chew gum in class, murmur to each other, do not take notes and engage in other naughty behaviour. A teacher who took the trouble to find out why this was so was told blankly, by his students, that that is what they were used to. Other serious cases of indiscipline noted in schools include rudeness to teachers and subordinate staff, sneaking out of schools, absenteeism from classes without sound reason (infamously known as ‘dodging’), smoking and use of narcotic drugs, alcohol consumption and promiscuity among many others. Students have been seen in full school uniform frequenting restaurants around their schools where they drink alcohol without shame. The discipline office in most schools has been noted to be the busiest of all offices in schools. If it is not handling a case of misconduct, it is giving permission to students to go home, especially on Fridays, for various reasons, some of which might not even be genuine. Indiscipline is caused by many factors and it is not easy to deal with but yet students need to be shown the right ways of life so that they can grow up into responsible citizens who will be able to steer their countries forward. Besides this, the youth need to be moulded into a people who can go out into the world and fit in it as opposed to being misfits.Teachers and school authorities, beyond offering knowledge and skills, are doing their best, with the available resources, to check the rate of the unruliness in their respective institutions. For instance, most schools have rules and regulations for guiding students and helping authorities in the daily smooth running of school.Students and their guardians normally sign a copy of school rules on admission but it is uncertain whether they really pay any attention to them. In fact, a number of students take the rules for granted leading to pronounced forms of visible delinquency.But even then, imparting discipline in youths cannot be left to schools alone. Without doubt, parents, the government and the general society are all answerable to the youth since they represent a large section of the population. Why for instance should a responsible restaurant attendant serve alcohol to students, who are in full school uniform? One way of addressing indiscipline in schools is through guidance and counselling. These tenets are important at this stage in the students’ lives because it is here that their attitudes, characters and behaviour are formed. Counselling is beneficial since it aims at enabling a person achieve better personal adjustment, growth, and maturity. Psychologists attach emotional difficulties in youth to misbehaviour. Guidance and counselling will help boost the ability of youth to take rational control over their feelings, aid the youth to aim at fulfilling their potentials and achieve an assimilation of past conflicting parts of themselves. Feelings of inadequacies often lead to withdrawal, unhappiness, annoyance, anger, anxiety and hyper-activity in young people. Counselling helps students develop a positive attitude about themselves, enhance their abilities to recognise their areas of proficiency and enables them to make individual choices that become useful in future after their years of formal education. Rwanda, like other African countries, has experienced an infiltration of foreign cultures, political demands/expectations, wars, political instability, poverty and epidemics all of which have weakened the traditional societal structures and led to an increase in moral decay. Guidance and counselling can offer the best approach in amending the arising negative behaviour. Guidance and counselling are age-old practises in many societies. For this reason, they should be institutionalised not only in schools but also communities.
UNR student to head professional exchange studies
By Emmanuel Mungwarakarama IN SOUTHERN PROVINCE
Tuesday, 24 October 2006
JanvierYubahwe, 26, a medical student of the National University of Rwanda (NUR), has been nominated by the International Federation of Medical Students Association (IFMSA) to take charge of the medical students’ professional exchange programmes in the member countries.IFMSA, whose headquarters are based in Amsterdam, Holland, opreates in over 100 countries worldwide and conducts medical students’ professional exchange, involving exchange of students in search of new knowledge especially in human medicine.Yubahwe, who is also the president of medical students association of the National University of Rwanda (MEDSAR), will start work his international duty on January 1, 2007 for a one year tenure when the body elects another person.Medical students at the national university of Rwanda have previously benefited from the professional exchange programme in Germany and Denmark while ten more students are slated to go to Holland next month for a two-month medical teaching practice.The Rwanda medical students association is currently involved in rural and community development activities like teaching and sensitising people on family planning and reproductive health in partnership with the Danish youth Associations. MEDSAR also has working partnership on HIV/Aids prevention, counseling and testing with their Scottish counterparts. The Rwanda village concept project (RVCP) carries out health sensitisation programmes on HIV/Aids, Malaria and Tuberculosis every year under the partnership with the ministry of health and other IFMSA member countries. Sensitization on rabbit rearing and keeping is also another rural development activity being conducted.
Tuesday, 24 October 2006
JanvierYubahwe, 26, a medical student of the National University of Rwanda (NUR), has been nominated by the International Federation of Medical Students Association (IFMSA) to take charge of the medical students’ professional exchange programmes in the member countries.IFMSA, whose headquarters are based in Amsterdam, Holland, opreates in over 100 countries worldwide and conducts medical students’ professional exchange, involving exchange of students in search of new knowledge especially in human medicine.Yubahwe, who is also the president of medical students association of the National University of Rwanda (MEDSAR), will start work his international duty on January 1, 2007 for a one year tenure when the body elects another person.Medical students at the national university of Rwanda have previously benefited from the professional exchange programme in Germany and Denmark while ten more students are slated to go to Holland next month for a two-month medical teaching practice.The Rwanda medical students association is currently involved in rural and community development activities like teaching and sensitising people on family planning and reproductive health in partnership with the Danish youth Associations. MEDSAR also has working partnership on HIV/Aids prevention, counseling and testing with their Scottish counterparts. The Rwanda village concept project (RVCP) carries out health sensitisation programmes on HIV/Aids, Malaria and Tuberculosis every year under the partnership with the ministry of health and other IFMSA member countries. Sensitization on rabbit rearing and keeping is also another rural development activity being conducted.
UK to support Rwanda’s budget
By EUGENE MUTARA
Tuesday, 24 October 2006
The Permanent Secretary of the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), Sir Suma Chakrabarti has announced the UK’s commitment to support Rwanda by providing direct finance to the national budget.According to a press release from DFID, Sir Chakrabarti announced this on his arrival on Sunday for his four-day official visit to Rwanda.“This is the efficient form of development assistance,” the DFID boss is quoted in the release as saying.He said that UK will also continue to assist Rwanda in key areas like education, agriculture and land reform as well as strengthening public financial management.The support will also extend to the care and treatment of Genocide survivors suffering from HIV/Aids which Chakrabarti said was a key priority to his country.Chakrabarti is slated to meet president Kagame today and he is expected to meet other, high profile government officials to share experience and provide advice on strengthening policy processes and introducing performance budgeting among other objectives for his visit.“I am looking forward to deepening the partnership between our countries by sharing ideas and experience about planning and policy making,” the DFID boss added.He emphasized that getting the best development results requires having the right policies in place.“Policy preparation is a vital part of the development process,” Chakrabarti is quoted as saying.This made it Chakrabarti’s visit to Rwanda after having been here in February where he signed a ten-year partnership agreement between the United Kingdom and the Rwandan government.It is also Rwanda’s major bilateral development partner providing high predictable levels of resources in support of Rwanda’s poverty reduction strategy, according to the release.Through the UK bilateral programme Rwanda has benefited about 200 million pounds to Rwanda for the last 10 years and currently, they provide assistance totaling 46 million pounds of which 31 million pounds goes directly to the national budget.According to this release, the UK committed itself to provide 1.3 billion pounds for development assistance to Africa by 2007/8 to help the continent accomplish the Millennium Development Goals of reducing poverty by half by 2015.
Tuesday, 24 October 2006
The Permanent Secretary of the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), Sir Suma Chakrabarti has announced the UK’s commitment to support Rwanda by providing direct finance to the national budget.According to a press release from DFID, Sir Chakrabarti announced this on his arrival on Sunday for his four-day official visit to Rwanda.“This is the efficient form of development assistance,” the DFID boss is quoted in the release as saying.He said that UK will also continue to assist Rwanda in key areas like education, agriculture and land reform as well as strengthening public financial management.The support will also extend to the care and treatment of Genocide survivors suffering from HIV/Aids which Chakrabarti said was a key priority to his country.Chakrabarti is slated to meet president Kagame today and he is expected to meet other, high profile government officials to share experience and provide advice on strengthening policy processes and introducing performance budgeting among other objectives for his visit.“I am looking forward to deepening the partnership between our countries by sharing ideas and experience about planning and policy making,” the DFID boss added.He emphasized that getting the best development results requires having the right policies in place.“Policy preparation is a vital part of the development process,” Chakrabarti is quoted as saying.This made it Chakrabarti’s visit to Rwanda after having been here in February where he signed a ten-year partnership agreement between the United Kingdom and the Rwandan government.It is also Rwanda’s major bilateral development partner providing high predictable levels of resources in support of Rwanda’s poverty reduction strategy, according to the release.Through the UK bilateral programme Rwanda has benefited about 200 million pounds to Rwanda for the last 10 years and currently, they provide assistance totaling 46 million pounds of which 31 million pounds goes directly to the national budget.According to this release, the UK committed itself to provide 1.3 billion pounds for development assistance to Africa by 2007/8 to help the continent accomplish the Millennium Development Goals of reducing poverty by half by 2015.
Strive for righteousness - Sheikh Swaleh Habimana
By GASHEEGU MURAMILA
Tuesday, 24 October 2006
As the Muslims from different parts of Kigali yesterday converged at the Nyamirambo regional stadium, the Mufti, Sheikh Swaleh Habimana implored them not to go back to commit sins because the fasting period has ended. “Those who are going back to commit adultery, taking alcohol or drugs and any other unbecoming behaviour are sowing hunger and thirst,” the Mufti told hundreds of believers. He said that every God-fearing person is obliged to speak the truth in a bid of trying to foster unity and development in the country. “If you don’t speak the truth by yourself, you will have betrayed your religion and your country, and when you don’t speak the truth today, someone else will come and tell it which is quite dangerous,” he said. In a message to the congregation, the Imam of Kigali, Sheikh Seleman Byagusetsa also said that the period of Ramadhan was a special time meant to join hands with all the people of Rwanda and the Muslim community in particular in praying and thanking God for having enabled its successful end. “We believe that those thirty days have been fruitful and have brought us closer to God. We should repent and pray to the almighty to continue forgiving us for our wrong deeds,” he said. He added that in a situation where some one commits a crime against the other and repents, there is no need to commit it again because his repentance will have been welcomed. “Even God’s messenger (Nabbi Muhammad) clearly tells us that God welcomes one’s repentance for as long as he doesn’t commit the sin again. This is the reason we are gathered here today to praise and thank God for having protected us,” he said. In his closing remarks, Byagusetsa requested all the Muslims in the country to attend the holy prayers in their designated areas without any excuse. “I therefore humbly request all the people of Rwanda to fully celebrate this day as we also look at helping those in needy situations,” he appealed.Reading a speech on behalf of the Islamic association of Muslims in Rwanda, Alhaji Yussouf Gatikabisi underscored the need for greater unity and love amongst the people as a tool to stop unnecessary bloodshed in the world. “This association is however not happy with innocent lives that are always lost in the world as a result of people who pursue their individual interests in places like Iraq, Palestine and Darfur” he said. Gatikabisi expressed gratitude at the progress so far made by the Islamic association of Rwanda in terms of improving the lives of the people.
Tuesday, 24 October 2006
As the Muslims from different parts of Kigali yesterday converged at the Nyamirambo regional stadium, the Mufti, Sheikh Swaleh Habimana implored them not to go back to commit sins because the fasting period has ended. “Those who are going back to commit adultery, taking alcohol or drugs and any other unbecoming behaviour are sowing hunger and thirst,” the Mufti told hundreds of believers. He said that every God-fearing person is obliged to speak the truth in a bid of trying to foster unity and development in the country. “If you don’t speak the truth by yourself, you will have betrayed your religion and your country, and when you don’t speak the truth today, someone else will come and tell it which is quite dangerous,” he said. In a message to the congregation, the Imam of Kigali, Sheikh Seleman Byagusetsa also said that the period of Ramadhan was a special time meant to join hands with all the people of Rwanda and the Muslim community in particular in praying and thanking God for having enabled its successful end. “We believe that those thirty days have been fruitful and have brought us closer to God. We should repent and pray to the almighty to continue forgiving us for our wrong deeds,” he said. He added that in a situation where some one commits a crime against the other and repents, there is no need to commit it again because his repentance will have been welcomed. “Even God’s messenger (Nabbi Muhammad) clearly tells us that God welcomes one’s repentance for as long as he doesn’t commit the sin again. This is the reason we are gathered here today to praise and thank God for having protected us,” he said. In his closing remarks, Byagusetsa requested all the Muslims in the country to attend the holy prayers in their designated areas without any excuse. “I therefore humbly request all the people of Rwanda to fully celebrate this day as we also look at helping those in needy situations,” he appealed.Reading a speech on behalf of the Islamic association of Muslims in Rwanda, Alhaji Yussouf Gatikabisi underscored the need for greater unity and love amongst the people as a tool to stop unnecessary bloodshed in the world. “This association is however not happy with innocent lives that are always lost in the world as a result of people who pursue their individual interests in places like Iraq, Palestine and Darfur” he said. Gatikabisi expressed gratitude at the progress so far made by the Islamic association of Rwanda in terms of improving the lives of the people.
GP du Brésil: Alonso conserve sa couronne mondiale, Schumacher prend sa retraite
SAO PAULO (AFP) - L'Espagnol Fernando Alonso (Renault) a conservé sa couronne mondiale de Formule 1 dimanche au Brésil à l'issue du dernier Grand Prix de la saison, en venant à bout de l'ogre de la F1 Michael Schumacher qui se retire sur un palmarès exceptionnel.
Ses premiers mots ont été adressés à son équipe, par radio à peine la ligne d'arrivée franchie derrière le vainqueur Felipe Massa.
"Merci, merci à tous", leur a-t-il dit en français, avant de poursuivre en anglais et en sanglotant dans son casque: "enfin... merci pour toutes ces années, avec ce succès, je vous souhaite mes meilleurs voeux pour l'avenir".
Car malgré ces victoires qui lui ont permis de devenir le plus jeune champion du monde en 2005 et le plus jeune double champion du monde en 2006, Alonso quitte Renault pour McLaren-Mercedes la saison prochaine.
Il prendra le baquet de Kimi Räikkönen qui, lui, hérite de celui de Michael Schumacher chez Ferrari.
"Je savais que 2006 serait une bonne saison pour Renault, qu'il serait possible de gagner, mais je pense que dans les deux-trois années qui viennent, McLaren aura une très bonne voiture. Renault aussi, mais chez McLaren, ce sera un nouveau défi, avec de nouvelles personnes", a-t-il expliqué, assurant le plus fermement du monde qu'il ne regrettait pas de quitter le Losange.
"Je n'oublierai jamais mes années chez Renault", assure encore l'Espagnol qui a néanmoins décidé de ne pas assister à la fête organisée par son écurie à Sao Paulo dimanche soir.
"Je rentre directement à la maison", explique-t-il.
Un autre personnage va rentrer à la maison, mais cette fois pour ne plus revenir: Michael Schumacher.
L'Allemand, qui a couru dimanche son 249e et dernier GP, n'a pas réussi à récupérer "sa" couronne mondiale, ravie en 2005 par Alonso.
Mais contrairement à 2005 où il avait été complètement dépassé par la jeune vague Alonso-Räikkönen, en 2006, Schumacher aura lutté jusqu'au dernier souffle de sa Ferrari, pour n'abdiquer qu'au dernier GP.
Aussi, le championnat 2006 portera l'empreinte profonde du septuple champion du monde allemand.
D'abord parce qu'à 37 ans et avant de prendre sa retraite, il s'est battu comme un véritable lion. Lui-même a toujours refusé qu'on le compare à la jeune génération: "je ne me sens pas plus vieux qu'eux", a-t-il clamé en permanence.
"Michael a été un grand champion, il détient tous les records en F1. Avoir couru contre lui et avoir gagné me rend vraiment très fier: avoir remporté ces deux titres alors qu'il était encore en piste est bien plus gratifiant que de gagner parce qu'il a pris sa retraite", commente Alonso.
Néanmoins, l'Espagnol a eu des mots durs à l'égard du champion allemand durant la saison, en particulier après la manoeuvre de Schumacher en qualifications à Monaco, qu'il considère comme une tricherie. La Ferrari arrêtée en travers du virage de la Rascasse en toute fin de qualifications pour empêcher la Renault d'Alonso de lui ravir la pole position restera dans les mémoires. Comme la punition: déclassement en fond de grille.
Alonso n'oublie pas dans ses remerciements le manufacturier de pneus Michelin. Comme à Monaco où il a dédié sa victoire au PDG Edouard Michelin décédé accidentellement en mer deux jours plus tôt.
Dimanche à Sao Paulo, il s'est courbé devant le Bibendum sur le podium.
Des gestes d'autant plus appréciés dans l'entreprise française que Michelin également a participé à son dernier GP dimanche, ayant décidé de quitter la F1 à la fin de la saison.
Chez les constructeurs, la bataille aura fait rage jusqu'à la fin également, Renault s'imposant finalement devant Ferrari, malgré un certain nombre de décisions de la Fédération internationale de l'automobile (FIA) qui restent en travers de la gorge du Losange: interdiction soudaine des mass dampers avant le GP d'Allemagne, pénalités infligées à Alonso en Hongrie et à Monza.
"Je n'oublierai jamais ces décisions, mais quoi qu'ils aient fait notre temps est maintenant venu", a commenté Alonso après son triomphe.
En 2006, l'heure de gloire aura également sonné pour Jenson Button (Honda) et Felipe Massa (Ferrari), enfin vainqueurs en Grand Prix.
Pour d'autres, 2006 aura sonné le glas d'une carrière en F1: Juan Pablo Montoya a été remercié par McLaren-Mercedes après le GP des Etats-Unis en juillet, et Jacques Villeneuve a été débarqué par BMW Sauber pour être remplacé par le jeune polonais Robert Kubica à partir de la Hongrie.
Les classements:
Classement des pilotes:
1. Fernando Alonso (ESP)
134,0 pts
2. Michael Schumacher (GER)
121,0
3. Felipe Massa (BRA)
80,0
4. Giancarlo Fisichella (ITA)
72,0
5. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN)
65,0
6. Jenson Button (GBR)
56,0
7. Rubens Barrichello (BRA)
30,0
8. Juan Pablo Montoya (COL)
26,0
9. Nick Heidfeld (GER)
23,0
10. Ralf Schumacher (GER)
20,0
11. Pedro de la Rosa (ESP)
19,0
12. Jarno Trulli (ITA)
15,0
13. David Coulthard (GBR)
14,0
14. Mark Webber (AUS)
7,0
15. Jacques Villeneuve (CAN)
7,0
16. Robert Kubica (POL)
6,0
17. Nico Rosberg (GER)
4,0
18. Christian Klien (AUT)
2,0
19. Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA)
1,0
Classement des constructeurs:
1. Renault
206,0 pts
2. Ferrari
201,0
3. McLaren-Mercedes
110,0
4. Honda
86,0
5. BMW Sauber
36,0
6. Toyota
35,0
7. Red Bull-Ferrari
16,0
8. Williams-Cosworth
11,0
9. Toro Rosso
1,0
Ses premiers mots ont été adressés à son équipe, par radio à peine la ligne d'arrivée franchie derrière le vainqueur Felipe Massa.
"Merci, merci à tous", leur a-t-il dit en français, avant de poursuivre en anglais et en sanglotant dans son casque: "enfin... merci pour toutes ces années, avec ce succès, je vous souhaite mes meilleurs voeux pour l'avenir".
Car malgré ces victoires qui lui ont permis de devenir le plus jeune champion du monde en 2005 et le plus jeune double champion du monde en 2006, Alonso quitte Renault pour McLaren-Mercedes la saison prochaine.
Il prendra le baquet de Kimi Räikkönen qui, lui, hérite de celui de Michael Schumacher chez Ferrari.
"Je savais que 2006 serait une bonne saison pour Renault, qu'il serait possible de gagner, mais je pense que dans les deux-trois années qui viennent, McLaren aura une très bonne voiture. Renault aussi, mais chez McLaren, ce sera un nouveau défi, avec de nouvelles personnes", a-t-il expliqué, assurant le plus fermement du monde qu'il ne regrettait pas de quitter le Losange.
"Je n'oublierai jamais mes années chez Renault", assure encore l'Espagnol qui a néanmoins décidé de ne pas assister à la fête organisée par son écurie à Sao Paulo dimanche soir.
"Je rentre directement à la maison", explique-t-il.
Un autre personnage va rentrer à la maison, mais cette fois pour ne plus revenir: Michael Schumacher.
L'Allemand, qui a couru dimanche son 249e et dernier GP, n'a pas réussi à récupérer "sa" couronne mondiale, ravie en 2005 par Alonso.
Mais contrairement à 2005 où il avait été complètement dépassé par la jeune vague Alonso-Räikkönen, en 2006, Schumacher aura lutté jusqu'au dernier souffle de sa Ferrari, pour n'abdiquer qu'au dernier GP.
Aussi, le championnat 2006 portera l'empreinte profonde du septuple champion du monde allemand.
D'abord parce qu'à 37 ans et avant de prendre sa retraite, il s'est battu comme un véritable lion. Lui-même a toujours refusé qu'on le compare à la jeune génération: "je ne me sens pas plus vieux qu'eux", a-t-il clamé en permanence.
"Michael a été un grand champion, il détient tous les records en F1. Avoir couru contre lui et avoir gagné me rend vraiment très fier: avoir remporté ces deux titres alors qu'il était encore en piste est bien plus gratifiant que de gagner parce qu'il a pris sa retraite", commente Alonso.
Néanmoins, l'Espagnol a eu des mots durs à l'égard du champion allemand durant la saison, en particulier après la manoeuvre de Schumacher en qualifications à Monaco, qu'il considère comme une tricherie. La Ferrari arrêtée en travers du virage de la Rascasse en toute fin de qualifications pour empêcher la Renault d'Alonso de lui ravir la pole position restera dans les mémoires. Comme la punition: déclassement en fond de grille.
Alonso n'oublie pas dans ses remerciements le manufacturier de pneus Michelin. Comme à Monaco où il a dédié sa victoire au PDG Edouard Michelin décédé accidentellement en mer deux jours plus tôt.
Dimanche à Sao Paulo, il s'est courbé devant le Bibendum sur le podium.
Des gestes d'autant plus appréciés dans l'entreprise française que Michelin également a participé à son dernier GP dimanche, ayant décidé de quitter la F1 à la fin de la saison.
Chez les constructeurs, la bataille aura fait rage jusqu'à la fin également, Renault s'imposant finalement devant Ferrari, malgré un certain nombre de décisions de la Fédération internationale de l'automobile (FIA) qui restent en travers de la gorge du Losange: interdiction soudaine des mass dampers avant le GP d'Allemagne, pénalités infligées à Alonso en Hongrie et à Monza.
"Je n'oublierai jamais ces décisions, mais quoi qu'ils aient fait notre temps est maintenant venu", a commenté Alonso après son triomphe.
En 2006, l'heure de gloire aura également sonné pour Jenson Button (Honda) et Felipe Massa (Ferrari), enfin vainqueurs en Grand Prix.
Pour d'autres, 2006 aura sonné le glas d'une carrière en F1: Juan Pablo Montoya a été remercié par McLaren-Mercedes après le GP des Etats-Unis en juillet, et Jacques Villeneuve a été débarqué par BMW Sauber pour être remplacé par le jeune polonais Robert Kubica à partir de la Hongrie.
Les classements:
Classement des pilotes:
1. Fernando Alonso (ESP)
134,0 pts
2. Michael Schumacher (GER)
121,0
3. Felipe Massa (BRA)
80,0
4. Giancarlo Fisichella (ITA)
72,0
5. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN)
65,0
6. Jenson Button (GBR)
56,0
7. Rubens Barrichello (BRA)
30,0
8. Juan Pablo Montoya (COL)
26,0
9. Nick Heidfeld (GER)
23,0
10. Ralf Schumacher (GER)
20,0
11. Pedro de la Rosa (ESP)
19,0
12. Jarno Trulli (ITA)
15,0
13. David Coulthard (GBR)
14,0
14. Mark Webber (AUS)
7,0
15. Jacques Villeneuve (CAN)
7,0
16. Robert Kubica (POL)
6,0
17. Nico Rosberg (GER)
4,0
18. Christian Klien (AUT)
2,0
19. Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA)
1,0
Classement des constructeurs:
1. Renault
206,0 pts
2. Ferrari
201,0
3. McLaren-Mercedes
110,0
4. Honda
86,0
5. BMW Sauber
36,0
6. Toyota
35,0
7. Red Bull-Ferrari
16,0
8. Williams-Cosworth
11,0
9. Toro Rosso
1,0
Tennis à Madrid: Amélie Mauresmo "va mieux"
MADRID (AFP) - La numéro 1 mondiale Amélie Mauresmo, qui a dû renoncer au tournioi de tennis de Zurich (Suisse) en raison d'une blessure à une épaule, a déclaré mardi à Madrid se sentir "mieux", à deux semaines du Masters.
"Je vais mieux", a déclaré la joueuse française lors d'une table ronde avec la presse, organisée dans un grand hôtel madrilène pour la présentation du Masters (6-12 novembre), réunissant les huit meilleures joueuses actuelles.
"Je ne suis pas encore à 100%, a-t-elle ajouté. Je ne joue pas encore. J'espère reprendre d'ici la fin de la semaine et arriver à Madrid à 100%."
"J'ai repris l'entraînement physique mais pas encore la raquette, a-t-elle précisé à l'AFP. Je repars aujourd'hui même (mardi) et devrais revenir à Madrid le samedi" 4 novembre, deux jours avant le début du tournoi.
Amélie Mauresmo avait dû déclarer forfait jeudi à Zurich alors qu'elle s'apprêtait à disputer son quart de finale face à la Slovaque Daniela Hantuchova.
"C'est une inflammation à deux endroits d'une épaule, mais sans qu'elle soit suffisamment grave pour me rendre indisponible pour une longue période", avait-elle alors précisé.
"Je vais mieux", a déclaré la joueuse française lors d'une table ronde avec la presse, organisée dans un grand hôtel madrilène pour la présentation du Masters (6-12 novembre), réunissant les huit meilleures joueuses actuelles.
"Je ne suis pas encore à 100%, a-t-elle ajouté. Je ne joue pas encore. J'espère reprendre d'ici la fin de la semaine et arriver à Madrid à 100%."
"J'ai repris l'entraînement physique mais pas encore la raquette, a-t-elle précisé à l'AFP. Je repars aujourd'hui même (mardi) et devrais revenir à Madrid le samedi" 4 novembre, deux jours avant le début du tournoi.
Amélie Mauresmo avait dû déclarer forfait jeudi à Zurich alors qu'elle s'apprêtait à disputer son quart de finale face à la Slovaque Daniela Hantuchova.
"C'est une inflammation à deux endroits d'une épaule, mais sans qu'elle soit suffisamment grave pour me rendre indisponible pour une longue période", avait-elle alors précisé.
L'ayatollah Khamenei appelle les musulmans à se méfier des complots américains
TEHERAN (AP) - Le guide suprême de l'Iran, l'ayatollah Ali Khamenei a mis en garde mardi les musulmans contre les complots des Américains pour diviser le Moyen-Orient au profit d'Israël.
"Aujourd'hui au Moyen-Orient, les Etats-Unis n'ont pas de plus grande priorité que les intérêts du régime sioniste", a-t-il déclaré dans une mosquée de Téhéran devant plusieurs milliers de personnes à l'occasion du premier jour de l'Aïd al-Fitr.
"Ce qui est considéré comme un succès pour les Etats-Unis porte atteinte à tous les pays islamiques", a poursuivi l'ayatollah Khamenei. "Toutes les nations arabes de la région, l'Irak et d'autres pays musulmans, doivent être vigilantes".
Le guide suprême a également lancé un appel au calme en Irak, où chiites et sunnites s'affrontent. "Le peuple d'Irak devrait tout faire pour éviter un conflit sectaire", a-t-il plaidé.
Toujours sur le plan diplomatique, le roi de Jordanie Abdallah II a maintenu son soutien aux Palestiniens lors d'une visite du président Mahmoud Abbas. Il s'est engagé à poursuivre ses "efforts pour obtenir la levée des sanctions pour que les Palestiniens puissent surmonter la situation difficile qu'ils vivent actuellement", rapporte l'agence de presse jordanienne Petra. AP
"Aujourd'hui au Moyen-Orient, les Etats-Unis n'ont pas de plus grande priorité que les intérêts du régime sioniste", a-t-il déclaré dans une mosquée de Téhéran devant plusieurs milliers de personnes à l'occasion du premier jour de l'Aïd al-Fitr.
"Ce qui est considéré comme un succès pour les Etats-Unis porte atteinte à tous les pays islamiques", a poursuivi l'ayatollah Khamenei. "Toutes les nations arabes de la région, l'Irak et d'autres pays musulmans, doivent être vigilantes".
Le guide suprême a également lancé un appel au calme en Irak, où chiites et sunnites s'affrontent. "Le peuple d'Irak devrait tout faire pour éviter un conflit sectaire", a-t-il plaidé.
Toujours sur le plan diplomatique, le roi de Jordanie Abdallah II a maintenu son soutien aux Palestiniens lors d'une visite du président Mahmoud Abbas. Il s'est engagé à poursuivre ses "efforts pour obtenir la levée des sanctions pour que les Palestiniens puissent surmonter la situation difficile qu'ils vivent actuellement", rapporte l'agence de presse jordanienne Petra. AP
Le mari de Nicole Kidman en cure de désintoxication
Keith Urban a épousé l'actrice à Sydney le 28 juin et n'a apparemment pas réussi à tenir sa promesse de se tenir éloigné de ses démons.
Nicole Kidman rêvait d'un bébé très vite avec son compagnon et a même prévu de le suivre sur toute sa tournée dans un bus avec chambre nuptiale, mais le chanteur est obligé de faire une pause. Il a dû annuler quelques événements promotionnels pour son album à venir et un concert pourtant complet dans le Connecticut vendredi il y a dix jours.
Le chanteur de country a notoirement abusé des drogues par le passé. Il déclare dans un communiqué à propos de la pause qu'il s'accorde pour entrer en cure de désintoxication : "Je regrette profondément la peine que j'ai causé à Nicole et à ceux que j'aime et qui me soutiennent. Il ne faut jamais baisser la garde en période de guérison et je crains que ce ne soit ce que j'ai fait. Avec la force et le soutien inconditionnel de ma femme, de ma famille et de mes amis, je suis déterminé et résolu à m'en sortir."
Plus d'infos avec Actustar
Nicole Kidman rêvait d'un bébé très vite avec son compagnon et a même prévu de le suivre sur toute sa tournée dans un bus avec chambre nuptiale, mais le chanteur est obligé de faire une pause. Il a dû annuler quelques événements promotionnels pour son album à venir et un concert pourtant complet dans le Connecticut vendredi il y a dix jours.
Le chanteur de country a notoirement abusé des drogues par le passé. Il déclare dans un communiqué à propos de la pause qu'il s'accorde pour entrer en cure de désintoxication : "Je regrette profondément la peine que j'ai causé à Nicole et à ceux que j'aime et qui me soutiennent. Il ne faut jamais baisser la garde en période de guérison et je crains que ce ne soit ce que j'ai fait. Avec la force et le soutien inconditionnel de ma femme, de ma famille et de mes amis, je suis déterminé et résolu à m'en sortir."
Plus d'infos avec Actustar
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