Nighttime entertainment spaces, including pubs, nightclubs, and restaurants, will effective Friday, December 15 through January 7, 2024, be allowed to operate for longer hours, The New Times has learnt.

The move, sources said, aims at facilitating the general public to enjoy the festive season.

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According to sources, entertainment venues will be allowed to operate until 2a.m from Mondays through Thursdays, and to open throughout the night on Fridays and Weekends as well as on public holidays.

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For three months now, all "non-essential" services, including bars, restaurants and nighclubs, were prohibited to operate beyond 1a.m from Mondays through Thursdays and 2a.m on weekends.

Speaking to The New Times, an owner of a local nightclub, confirmed the latest development, saying that this was the outcome of discussions that nightclub owners held with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB).

"That is what we agreed in a meeting we had with the RDB on Wednesday," the source, who is also a renowned local events promoter, said on condition of anonymity.

RDB was due to release a statement at the time of filing this story.