Barbara AKALIZA

Ms Barbara is the Chief Geo-Hazard Officer at the Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB), where she leads national efforts in geohazard risk assessment, early warning systems, and disaster resilience. Her office coordinates the monitoring and mitigation of geological hazards such as landslides, earthquakes, and volcanic activity, contributing to climate adaptation and sustainable land use.

Barbara previously held leadership roles including Executive Manager for ABridge in Benin and Togo, Business Development Consultant for Right Seat in Rwanda and Board Member for Ngororero Mining Company. Her earlier technical experience includes working for NRD Rwanda and BRGM in France.

Barbara holds a Master’s degree in Geology and Environmental Engineering from Université Paris Sud XI and a Bachelor’s degree in Geology from Université Blaise Pascal. She is fluent in Kinyarwanda, French, and English.

Innocent SAFARI

Innocent SAFARI was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB) in November 2017.  Prior to his appointment, he was the National Coordinator of Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NCIP) in the Office of the President.  He has held various senior positions some of which include the following:

He served as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade, Industry & East African Community Affairs from October 2016 to February 2017.  He also was the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of East African Community (MINEAC) from 2013 to October 2016.

Innocent SAFARI holds a Master’s degree in International Taxation from Sydney University in Australia (2005-2006); and an LLB from the National University of Rwanda (1995-1999). He is fluent in English, French, Kinyarwanda, and Swahili.

Patrick NTALINDWA

Patrick is the Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB) since his appointment by the Cabinet on January 30, 2023.

Prior to his appointment, Patrick was working for a World Bank Funded Project under LODA- Single Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) known as Rwanda Urban Development Project (RUDP) as a Project Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist from November 2019 up to January 2023.

Before joining the World Bank Project, he worked for Rwanda’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) as the National Development Planner and Research Analyst from January 2013 to November 2019.

With the current role as Advisor to the CEO-RMB, Patrick’s responsibilities include but are not limited to: stakeholder engagement and profiling by conducting comprehensive profiling of mining companies to better understand their operational structures, production capacities, and specific business needs; serving as the primary point of contact for mining operators, undertaking high-level consultations to identify operational challenges and provide tailored solutions; coordinating the internal technical team and the CEO’s Office to ensure complex issues are addressed with accurate, data-driven expertise; coordination of licensing application assessment by managing the end-to-end review process for mining applications, ensuring all submissions met regulatory standards and technical requirements before license issuance; conducting on-site inspections to verify that mining operations comply with safety, environmental, and operational regulations; enforcement of industry compliance by monitoring mining activities and providing detailed assessment reports; Acting as a bridge between the CEO and key internal and external stakeholders, including government entities, international partners, and private sector investors; analyzing trends, risks, and opportunities in the mining, petroleum and gas sectors to inform the CEO's executive decisions; and leading the preparation of high-quality policy briefs, memos, presentations, and technical reports for the CEO’s office.

Patrick is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP)^® holding a Level-7 Certificate of Economic Analysis for Public Policy from King’s College London, a Diploma of Leadership and Management Styles from Alison Irish Institute, a Master of Business Administration in Project Management from the University of Kigali, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the National University of Rwanda. He is fluent in English, French and Kinyarwanda.

Dan MUTABAZI

MUTABAZI Dan is the SPIU Coordinator at RMB since 14th August 2020

Donat NSENGUMUREMYI

Mr. Donat NSENGUMUREMYI currently serves as the Division Manager of the Mining Extraction and Inspection Division at Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB) since August 14, 2020. Prior to his current role, he served as the Director of the Mineral Extraction and Processing Unit at RMB for 3 years, and as the Director of the Mining and Petroleum Unit at the former Ministry of Natural Resources for 2 years. Donat has also worked as a part-time lecturer at the University of Rwanda, College of Sciences and Technology, School of Mining and Geology since 2016. He is a Mining Expert with a Master's degree in Applied Geology and an MBA in Project Management.

Jean Claude NGARUYE

Jean Claude Ngaruye was appointed as the Mining Exploration Division Manager at Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board since 14^th August 2020.

Previously, he served as the Mining Senior Engineer (2017-2020) for the same Institution and Part-time Lecturer at the School of Mining and Geology, College of Science and Technology, University of Rwanda (since 2015).

Jean Claude started his early carrier in 1992 as the Chief Geologist, Head of the Eastern Mining Group – COPIMAR project focusing on Technical Assistance to Artisanal and Small scale mining (ASM), then as the Senior Geologist for respectively OGMR (2005-2010); Rwanda Natural Resources Authority (2010-2012); Energy Water and Sanitation Authority (2012-2015) and the Ministry of Natural Resources (2015-2017).

He holds a BSc. Hons. in Geology from the University Mohammed V (Rabat – Kingdom of Morocco) since 1991 and an MSc (dissertation) in Economic Geology from the University of the Free State (Bloemfontein-Republic of South Africa) since 2012 with a Research project on tin, tungsten, and columbite-tantalite associated to late felsic magmatic melts in the East of the Republic of Rwanda.