KARONGI – A survey to determine how households use ICT is being conducted by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (ISAR) and the Rwanda Utility Regulatory Agency (RURA) in 900 villages (Midugudu) countrywide.

The two-phase survey involves a team of experts in all the 30 districts in which a sample of 10 households in each selected village are interviewed basing on a standard questionnaire that was developed by the two institutions.

According to Jean Claude Mvuyikongo, the national coordinator of RURA, the exercise kicked off two weeks ago with a 5-day identification process to compile lists of all villages and families in the whole country.

"After the first phase of identifying all households in each village, a sample of families was taken and currently our teams are distributing questionnaires to help us obtain the required information,” Mvuyikongo told The New Times by telephone on Tuesday.

He added that the first completion of the survey would depend on the conditions which field officers meet in different parts of the country.

"If conditions in different parts of the country remain favourable for our upcountry teams, by the end of this week our field work should be complete. Analysis of the results and consultations with our partners should have the final report ready in about two months,” he said.

In Karongi district, a sample of 330 households in 33 villages indicates that over 50 percent of all residents own mobile phones and radios but the use of internet and television is still low.

Ends