.

UK unfreezes aid to RwandaBritain will release half of the aid that it deferred to Rwanda following allegations that the country was supporting rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Andrew Mitchell, the UK’s outgoing international development minister, announced early this week that the decision was made after his government acknowledged that is “constructively” engaging in efforts to resolve the crisis that has displaced 220,000 people since April. Rwanda has supported the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) - led efforts to find a lasting solution to the violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in the wake of the conflict between government army and the newly formed M23 rebels. Former Burundian rebel leader launches new groupAn ex-leader of Burundi’s former rebel National Liberation Forces (FNL), Monday, claimed responsibility for a weekend attack near the capital and announced the creation of a new FNL faction.“We have decided to take up arms against the government under the new banner of FNL-Ubugabo burihabwa,” Aloys Nzabampema, the group’s “chief of staff”, said in a statement. His statement claimed responsibility for a Sunday evening attack on a military base on the outskirts of Bujumbura in which, he said, rockets were fired towards the airport. Burundi army spokesman Gaspard Baratuza acknowledged an attack “far from the airport” but said it was done by a “group of bandits” who were quickly repelled. A diplomatic source told AFP that the 300-500 fighters who have taken to the bush pose a threat to the country’s stability and that “they may not worry Bujumbura, but they have the power to destabilise.”Rwf4.5 bn boost for regional businessesTrade Mark East Africa (TMEA) Tuesday initiated a $7.5 million (over Rwf 4.5 billion) fund dubbed Trade Mark East Africa Challenge Fund-TRAC to finance innovative projects from the five East Africa partner states that focus on eliminating challenges that hamper regional trade. The fund, that will run for a period of three years, targets private sector and civil society organisations. TMEA is a multi-donor funded agency that provides support for increased regional trade and economic integration and accelerates the implementation of the East African Community (EAC) protocols towards regional integration. TRAC fund grant invests in innovative projects started by the private sector and civil society organisations that can boost regional trade within the East Africa community. The fund has already been introduced in Kenya and Tanzania and would soon be launched in Burundi and Uganda as well.Education sector to benefit from Rwf 9B UK fundingThe UK government is set to inject Rwf9 billion to fund various projects in the education sector in the country. This was announced on Tuesday by Mike Hammond, the Head of Department for International Development (DfID) in Rwanda, at the launch of the Innovation for Education programme at the Ministry of Education headquarters. The project will be implemented by Mott MacDonald Ltd as the fund manager, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. The Minister of education, Dr Vincent Biruta, who officially launched the programme, said the project will play a significant role in improving the quality of education in the country. According to Biruta, currently, 95 percent of Rwandans have access to primary education. Rwanda ranked as most competitive in E. AfricaThe World Economic Forum, in its global competitiveness index, says Rwanda is the most competitive country in East Africa, the third in Sub-Saharan Africa and has moved up seven places compared to last year’s rankings.The ranking is premised on the country’s Basic Requirements of its macroeconomic stability, health and educational outcomes, according to the report.The rankings are based on 12 pillars divided into three main sub-indexes to measure countries’ competitiveness. These are: Basic Requirements (comprising institutions; infrastructure; macroeconomic stability; health and primary education), Efficiency Enhancers (which includes higher education and training; goods market efficiency; financial market sophistication; technological readiness; market size) and Innovation & Sophistication Factors(consist of business sophistication; innovation). Rwf70bn in student loans yet to be recoveredThe Department of High Education Student loans in the Rwanda Education Board (REB), is struggling to recover student loans, particularly because employers of former beneficiaries are unwilling to implement pay back procedures. Fred Mugisha, the head of the department, says sensitization for people to pay back is still paramount as only “a handful of employers” commit to deducting the obligatory eight percent of former student loan beneficiaries’ salaries, to allow the Government Issue more grants to younger students.The loans have for years been granted to students to pursue higher education studies both in the country and abroad, and most were awarded through what used to be known as Student Financing Agency of Rwanda, which has since been absorbed into REB. As per the agreement between the benefitting students, they are supposed to repay the money in installments once they finish school.The total amount to be recovered is Rwf 70,772,000,000 according to Mugisha, and the recovery exercise targets beneficiaries from 1980, and the number of beneficiaries now stands at 64,058. According to Mugisha, the recovered amount by June 2011 was Rwf 3,516,176,734. The loan recovery programme was initiated in November 2007, while effort to sensitize people to pay back started in 2008.