Rwanda is a landlocked republic in Equatorial Africa, situated on the eastern rim of the Albertine Rift, a western arm of the Great Rift Valley, on the watershed between Africa's two largest river systems: the Nile and the Congo. Much of the country's 26,338 km2 is impressively mountainous, the highest peak being Karisimbi (4,507m) in the volcanic Virunga chain protected by the Volcanoes National Park. The largest body of water is Lake Kivu, but there areother numerous lakes around the country, notably Burera, Ruhondo, Muhazi and Mugesera, some of which have erratic shapes following the contours of the steep mountains that enclose them.
The Coat of Arms consists of a green ring with a knot tied at the upper end of the ring. On the top is the inscription ‘Repubulika Y U Rwanda’ and below is the national motto ‘ubumwe, umurimo, gakunda igihugu’ or ‘unity, work, patriotism’. Other features of the Coat of Arms are the sun, sorghum and coffee, a basket, a cog wheel and two shields.
The green ring and knot symbolize industrial development through hard work. The shields symbolize patriotism, defense of national sovereignty and integrity and justice.
Getting there:
International flights arriving in Kigali are with KLM/Air France, Brussels Airlines, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Air Burundi and Rwandair Express.
All international flights arrive at Kigali International Airport, 10 Km from central Kigali.
There are 5 weekly flights from Amsterdam, 4 weekly flights from Brussels and 2 daily flights from Nairobi.
Kigali City and Provinces
Customs regulations:
Imports:
- Tobacco: 2 cartons
- Alcohol: 2 liters
Exports:
Prohibited:
- firearms and different kinds of weapons
- pharmaceuticals
- psycho tropic drugs
- equipment
- live animals
- radioactive substances
Government Upon assuming office, The Government of National Unity inherited a deeply scarred nation whose economy had ground to a complete halt, where social services were not functioning, and public confidence had been shattered. It was with these enormous challenges that the Government set about rebuilding the social, political and economic fabric of Rwanda.
The factors had the following effect:
- Improved National Security
- Good Governance, Unity and Reconciliation
- Gender Development where women are strongly represented at all decision- making levels
- A people-empowering decentralization process
- Promulgation of the Constitution representing the aspiration of every Rwandan
- In June 2002, Gacaca as a system of justice was launched. Gacaca courts combine participatory justice and reconciliation techniques exercised at the local level. This has the advantage of accelerating the delivery of justice and the process of reconciliation
The National Assembly has been empowered as never before to take up its role as a check against the abuse of power, corruption and mismanagement- Most sectors of the economy have surpassed pre-war productivity levels
- Rwanda has polished its cooperation and partnership with other countries
- Rwanda is participating in different development organizations such as Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA),New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) and many others.
- Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been among the priorities as a means to achieve most of its objectives.
The challenge ahead
is to diversify Rwanda's economic base, to fight poverty, to create a highly skilled and productive workforce that will drive Rwanda towards industrialization and development in the years to come. All these are included in the VISION 2020 as objectives it assigned itself.
The Political Parties
represented in the Government of National Unity of the Republic of Rwanda. These are the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF); Social Democratic Party (PSD), Liberal Party (PL), Centrist Democratic Party (PDC), Islamic Democratic Party (PDI), Rwandan Socialist Party (PSR) and Democratic Popular Union of Rwanda (UDPR). All regions, ethnic groups and religions are represented in the Government of National Unity.
