EWSA to help install biodigesters

The Coordinator of the National Domestic Biogas Programme, Timothy Kayumba, has said the number of people using biodigesters countrywide is still very low, compared to the population, and revealed plans to install biogas plants in at least 1,200 homes this year are underway. He made the disclosure during the launch of the Domestic Biogas Month in Mushikiri Sector, Kirehe District, Eastern Province. “Generally, the whole population is willing to have biogas plants in their homes, but the only challenge we are still facing is that their installation is quite costly, but EWSA is determined to assist them,” Kayumba emphasised, urging the population to rally behind the government’s initiative to boost the use of biogas.He disclosed that since the launch of the programme in 2008, over 2,000 households had installed biogas plants. 56 boarding schools also had benefited from the plants, and that another 15 schools would follow.Biogas plants have also been constructed in various prisons, while another one is under construction at Nyakiriba prison in Rubavu District, Western Province.According to Kayumba, it costs approximately Rwf 650,000 to put up the smallest biogas measuring four cubic metres while a six cubic metre plant costs Rwf 800,000. He observed that the government, through EWSA, spends Rwf 300,000 as a subsidy to anyone willing to install a biogas plant in their homes while the beneficiary contributes a similar amount.Kayumba told The New Times that EWSA also facilitates anyone wishing to construct a biogas plant to easily access a loan from Bank Populaire that is repaid within a period of three years at low interest rate of 13 percent.According to the official, it takes a month to construct a biogas plant and if well constructed, it has a minimum lifespan of around 30 years.He said that currently, the government has an annual budget of Rwf 450 million to subsidise citizens wishing to put up the biodigesters.“I encourage all Rwandans to support this biogas programme because it’s a very cost-effective initiative, which will enable them reduce the amount of money spent in buying firewood and other means of cooking,” Kayumba noted.He noted that 160 citizens in Kirehe District had expressed interest in installing biogas plants at their homes before the end of this year.One of them, Richard Kariwabo, a resident of Mushikiri Sector noted: “I thank EWSA and the government in general, for launching the domestic biogas programme because it will help us understand the importance of using biogas, and I believe it will enable us to save money”.