This Friday November 11th 2011, Prime Minister Pierre Damien HABUMUREMYI visited a cassava factory in Rutabo Cell, Kinazi Sector, Ruhango District, Southern Province.

In this visit, Prime Minister was accompanied by different senior officials including the Minister of Commerce and Industry Francois KANIMBA, Permanent Secretary in Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources Ernest RUZINDAZA, Director of cabinet in Prime Minister’s office Eugene BALIKANA, the Governor of Southern Province Alphonse MUNYANTWALI, the Mayor of Ruhango District Francois MBABAZI among others.

Addressing to the press, the representative of Rwanda Development Bank (BRD) that financed the construction of this factory Mr. Emmanuel KARURANGA affirmed that the factory is at 90% of the construction, it is expected to be operational from March 2012 and will cost 5,000,000,000 RWf.

Mr. KARURANGA also declared that this factory will run 10 hours a day and will be producing at least 2 tones of cassava flour per hour. So, the daily production of the factory will be 20 tones of cassava flour and this quantity will come from 60 tones of fresh cassava.

Addressing to the media, the Coordinator of Districts Development Programs in the Southern Province Alfred BIKOMO said that this factory will need at least 400,000 tones of cassava per year while the annual production in the Southern Province is 1,0000,000 tones. “So, we have no problem in feeding this factory because as we are in a cassava region, the supplies will come from Ruhango, Nyanza, Kamonyi and Gisagara districts of the Southern Province and Bugesera of the Eastern Province. What we are going to do is to organize the collection of this production.”

Prime Minister appreciated this factory and urged the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, The Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources and the Southern Province to work hand in hand and insure that this factory is well managed.

Kinyarwanda version

Jean Paul BYIRINGIRO

Public Relations & Communication Office Southern Province