Rwanda only has enough beds ready for about 200 deportees from the UK, a government official said on Friday.
The announcement that 200 beds are currently available comes after statements from UK ministers that plenty of beds would be available for the uncapped number of migrants.
A Rwanda government spokeswoman also said critics of the UK’s new policy are falsely painting Africa as a poverty-stricken “hellhole” without hope.
Yolande Makolo said the deal with the UK, with London providing £120 million in funding, is a way to give youngsters the chance to build a life and “make it” in the east African nation.
During a briefing on Friday she suggested some people think “the streets are paved with gold” in Europe, or in richer countries, claiming: “Part of the reason is this narrative that is cast by different media that Africa is basically a hellhole and that it is a terrible place to live, which isn't true.”
The country has the capacity to accommodate 200 migrants at present but stands ready to “scale up” the operation quickly to meet the numbers arriving, Ms Makolo said.
Hope Hostel in Kigali, which sleeps 100, is ready to house migrants, and officials are in negotiations with other hotels in and around the capital city. There are also plans for “infrastructure developments”, they said.
She also explained that some of the UK deportees might try again to reach Britain.
People have their own reasons and “dreams” about where they want to go, she said.
“I think this is partly affected or influenced by the kind of stories that cast Western countries as better than Africa, as Africa being a place that is poor and full of disease and no opportunities. And I think that is incorrect.
“There are some disadvantages, we have limited means, but we are working on it.”
“This partnership that we have with the UK is one way to increase the number of opportunities for young Africans and people from around the world to live here and then make it here.”
Doris Uwicyeza Picard, chief adviser to Rwanda's justice minister, said: “We are ready to accommodate as many [migrants] as the UK is willing to send.”
She stressed Rwanda is “not a prison state” and repeated assurances that authorities will not be able to stop migrants leaving the country if they wish — giving rise to questions over whether some may try to make their way back to the UK again.
The government will help people return to their country of origin, or another where they have a right to reside, if they choose, she said.
“We do not want to create statelessness or a revolving door of migrants.”
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
1st Test July 26-30 in Galle
2nd Test August 3-7 in Colombo
3rd Test August 12-16 in Pallekele
Fixtures
Friday Leganes v Alaves, 10.15pm; Valencia v Las Palmas, 12.15am
Saturday Celta Vigo v Real Sociedad, 8.15pm; Girona v Atletico Madrid, 10.15pm; Sevilla v Espanyol, 12.15am
Sunday Athletic Bilbao v Getafe, 8.15am; Barcelona v Real Betis, 10.15pm; Deportivo v Real Madrid, 12.15am
Monday Levante v Villarreal, 10.15pm; Malaga v Eibar, midnight
The five pillars of Islam
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ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
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More on animal trafficking
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
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Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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