KIGALI - The recently appointed Board of Directors at the Energy Water and Sanitation body (EWSA) is determined to roll out energy and clean water to rural Rwanda.

The new board chaired by Robert Bayigamba, assumed office yesterday.

 "We will concentrate on implementing the utility’s plan of extending power to rural areas and reaching 1,000 megawatts.

Clean water will also be accessible
to 100 percent of the population by 2020,” he said.

He called upon the private sector to cooperate with EWSA to achieve its goals, mainly through public-private partnerships.

"EWSA cannot achieve its objectives without the assistance of other sectors; for instance, some of our energy projects are expensive and they need strong
investors to get going,” Bayigamba, who also doubles as the Chairman of the Private Sector Federation, said.

In his speech, the Managing Director of EWSA, Yves Muyange, hailed the outgoing team for the vital role played in helping the utility achieve its goals despite challenges like adjusting to managerial reforms, since 2006.

The utility has gone through a number of changes that saw it transform from the old Electrogaz to Rwanda Electricity Corporation-Rwanda Water and Sanitation
Corporation and now EWSA.

The State Minister in charge of Water and Energy at the ministry of infrastructure, Eng Coletha Ruhamya, who attended the handover, thanked the company for
its tremendous improvement and notable contribution towards the society’s wellbeing.

Ruhamya also handed over paperwork from the Ministry of Infrastructure on the country’s power generating projects, which were placed under EWSA’s management.

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