Last week, the State Minister for Industry and Investment Promotion, Vincent Karega, announced that the fuel prices had been reduced by 4.761 percent effective Monday, October 6.

It is on these grounds, therefore, that The New Times set out to assess the reception of this news amongst the general public.

"I think this is good news for me because it shows that even the food prices which have been hiking day and night are going to reduce,” said Jean Paul Kalisa, a taxi tout at the Remera taxi park, Kigali.

A motorcyclist who makes his living transporting people, Janvier Habyarimana said that due to the reduction in the fuel prices, he had also reduced his fare by Frw50.

"Where I used to take a person at Frw 300, I now take them at Frw 250 which is a cut and our customers are happy,” he declared

Another motorcyclist who preferred anonymity, though welcoming the cut, had some reservations.

"The difference is just about Frw 40. Not really tangible,” he said in defence of not reducing his fares at all. He works in Giporoso.

Similarly, John Nkurunziza, a taxi driver, said that there is nothing to rejoice about as the reduction to him is still very little.   "They would have deducted at least Frw100. At the moment we cannot decrease anything on transport fares,” he argued.

However, some Rwandans like Gilbert Zamani, a resident of Kimironko received the news with optimism that things would get better with the fuel price cut.

"I think this is a good start even though the difference is very small; but we hope for the bigger things to come as it seems like it is going to be better,” he said.

Ends