A new national policy on waste management is under preparation and it will be in place before October, the State Minister for Energy, Water and Sanitation has said.

Germaine Kamayirese made the disclosure while appearing in Parliament to answer questions raised by Members of Parliament about the poor management of waste in the City of Kigali and other parts of the country.

Some of the issues surrounding waste management are the lack of the practice to separate different types of garbage before collecting it from people’s homes, lack of proper protection for people who collect garbage such as safety footwear, masks, and gloves, as well as the use of ordinary trucks in the collection of garbage instead of using specialised cars.

Apart from what MPs had described as vague regulations by the Rwanda Utilities and Regulatory Authority (RURA) and the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), they expressed worries that there is no policy in the country to regulate waste management, which has made it difficult for the private sector to invest in waste recycling.

During yesterday’s plenary session, the topic of waste management was being tabled for the second time since Minister Kamayirese had failed to give satisfactory explanations about the issue in March.

This time around, the minister explained that a new policy that is under preparation will provide answers to some of the key challenges in the sector.

Unlike the current regulations that were described as vague, Kamayirese said the policy under preparation will be specific.

It will give details on how to manage different sorts of waste, including the principle that there should be a centralised sewerage system, instructions on how to handle garbage such as its collection, transport, and recycling, as well as how to manage storm water and electronic solid waste.

"There are a lot of things that couldn’t be done because there is no special policy about sanitation. Once the policy is in place, it will help us to deal with many weaknesses found in the sector of collecting and managing waste,” Kamayirese said, adding that the proposed policy will separate water supply and sanitation.

Increased inspection

Meanwhile, the minister said the government and the City of Kigali will increase inspections to the garbage collection companies to ensure that they meet basic requirements for garbage collection.

Kamayirese said government and the City have given garbage collecting companies about three months to finalise upgrade of their trucks, provide their employees with safety gear, health insurance, as well as collect garbage from people’s homes on time.

"We will increase supervision and penalties to ensure that garbage collecting companies comply with the current basic regulations. Those that can’t comply with the regulations agreed on will be dismissed from service,” the minister said.

Most MPs welcomed the fact that a national policy on waste management will be adopted soon, many of them telling the minister that they were satisfied with her explanations on government’s plans to organise the waste management sector.

"I am glad the government admits that there is no policy on sanitation and it’s good that the same government is preparing the policy,” said MP Jean Marie Vianney Gatabazi.

While welcoming the plan to adopt a new policy on waste management, MP Edda Mukabagwiza said, "there is need to sensitise people early enough on how to separate different types of garbage.”

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