Rwandans living and working abroad are increasingly sending money back home with total remittances last year rising sharply by 23.2 percent despite the negative impact of the global recession.

Remittances have been increasing since 2005 from$42.85million to $139.89 million in 2008, accelerating further to reach $172.40 million last year, statistics from the Diaspora General Directorate under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicate.

AWARD winning American songstress and actress Lauryn Hill who has been in the country for the 7th Pan-African Dance and Music Festival (FESPAD) yesterday said that she has been greatly amazed by the country’s progress and the rich culture.

Speaking to the press shortly before departing, Ms Hill as she is commonly known, said that she would not hesitate coming back for a second time to enjoy the great hospitality the country has to offer and defined her visit as “a major comeback to Africa and Rwanda.”“I am just excited to be here. I found Rwanda a country rich with culture and beautiful people. I am very excited about the progress I am seeing, it very hopeful,”

A total of 235,237 Rwandans will exercise their right to vote despite not having national Identity Cards, the Executive Secretary of the National Electoral Commission (NEC), Charles Munyaneza,  said yesterday.

He told The New Times that special documents will be issued to eligible voters without IDs to enable them cast the vote. A total of 5.2 million Rwandans are expected to cast the ballot, representing a 1.3 million increase compared to 2003 presidential elections.