He made the disclosure on Monday 1st August 2022 as he presented achievements in the education sector under the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) to both chambers of parliament.

Hiked water and electricity tariffs particularly for schools are among issues raised by residents during a recent visit by parliamentarians held between 12th to 30th March 2022 to all districts.

“The water and electricity tariffs in schools are higher compared to their means where catering for this cost becomes a huge blow,” said Parliamentarian Veneranda Uwamariya.

Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) last announced revised power tariffs in 2020. The prices increased depending on consumers.

At the time, RURA maintained lifeline tariffs for residential customers who consume below 15 kilowatts (kWh) per month at Rwf89 per kWh while those consuming between 15 and 50 kilowatts saw the price increasing by 15% from Rwf182 to Rwf212.

Residential customers who consume beyond 50 kilowatts per month are charged Rwf249 per KWh from the previous Rwf210.

For non-residential customers with monthly consumption of 100 kilowatts, the price increased to Rwf227 per kWh from Rwf204, while the tariff for customers consuming more than 100 kilowatts went up to Rwf255 per kWh from Rwf222.

The price for small, medium and large industries also increased from Rwf110 to Rwf134; Rwf87 to Rwf103 and Rwf80 to Rwf94 respectively.

Tariffs for water treatment plants and water pumping stations were also maintained at Rwf126 kWh.

Commenting on the issue, Premier Ngirente said that it will be solved soon.

“Only schools in the city can be affected by water tariffs because they use water from WASAC. However, we recommend the same low price charged to residents for schools in rural areas,” he said.

“We are aware of the issue of electricity where some health posts claim that the tariff is high. To this end, we are currently revising all electricity tariffs in Rwanda,” added Premier Ngirente.

He assured that new tariffs are set to be announced in the near future following citizens’ concerns on electricity.

“We will announce new prices not lather than two months. This does not only concern schools but also health facilities will be given special attention lest the budget allocated to feed children or buy pharmaceuticals is spent on electricity,” said Dr. Ngirente.

A power substation launched recently in Nyabihu District.