You see them every morning on the streets or atop trucks ferrying garbage. Others may even have just collected trash from your home. These are men and women, who, ensure that our homes, roads or neighbourhoods are clean and free from any unwanted materials.

These various groups form Rwanda’s cleaning services sector, which is relatively new.

As the industry continues to grow, the regulator, Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (Rura), has over time drafted regulations and guidelines to ensure the cleaning services sector provides better services and becomes professional.

It was with this in mind that Rura put in place regulations two years ago to guide the sector, especially to monitor quality of the service provided by operators, create order in the sector, among others, Engineer Alfred Byigero, the in-charge of energy, water and sanitation, says. Byigero says they have adopted a "one operator per sector” model, mainly in the collection and transportation of solid waste.

"The regulations have brought some order in the sector and provide room for improving service delivery. They have also helped us solve challenges, like discrimination among bidders, so that only qualified operators get jobs, which has created a conducive environment for competition,” he says.

"By complying with the regulations, operators are confident about their performance as far as service delivery is concerned, and clients get good service.”

He says the sector has been able to achieve a lot because they involve stakeholders in the drafting of industry regulations. This increases stakeholders ownership and hence improves compliance,” he adds.

With the issue of the safety of the cleaners, Byigero says one of the regulations is on the protection of workers. "It is one of the key items that are checked during regular audits and inspections, where penalties are meted out to those who do not comply.

"There is, however, a need to recognise that the cleaning services industry is still evolving from an informal sector to a formal and professional one,” Byigero adds.

He also notes that most of the companies are still owned by people who lack the requisite technical and managerial expertise.

"We have tried to counter this by conducting regular sensitisation and training programmes for sector players to ensure they offer services that meet standards and comply with regulatory provisions,” he adds.

He says since all stakeholders are involved in the drafting of laws and guidelines that govern the industry, cleaning companies appreciate them, and ensure follow the guidelines to improve and develop.

Godfrey Rutagengwa, the managing director of Eco General Services, a cleaning services firm, says the regulations have helped streamline the sector "that was previously not regulated”.

"Therefore, cleaning services sector can only do better as time goes by,” he adds.

"Though we had no major issues before Rura came in to provide the necessary leadership, their guidance is changing the industry for the better,” Rutagengwa points out.

He adds that for the safety of cleaners, they provide them with necessary equipment such as gloves, masks, gumboots and appropriate uniforms to protect themselves while on duty.

The president of KG Harvest Cleaning Company, Celestin Kabagema, says guidelines from Rura compelled cleaning companies to provide better services and improve customer service, especially honouring the terms and conditions of their contracts.

"The law has helped us delivery better services…Cleaning companies, especially those involved garbage collection, need to insure their workers and also provide them with protective gear,” he says.

"For us (KG) we mostly operate in hospitals, so it is a condition we have to meet to get a contract. Our employees must also be immunised against diseases like hepatitis and Tetanus.”

Kabagema, however, says Rura should involve them more in decision-making, especially on issues that affect their operations.

"We are the experts in the cleaning services industry; we know what is on the ground, so they need to consult us whenever they want to amend or change the legal framework or guidelines so that we give them ideas which can help us all.”

"Things concerning hygiene and sanitation change all the time, so as people who are on the ground we know the problems that we face,” Kabagema explains.