Rwanda: Over 1.5 Million households connected to electricity in 7 years

During his presentation on Tuesday, January 23, Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente declared that Rwanda had made significant progress in developing its infrastructure, especially household access to electricity and water.

Delivered at the 19th National Dialogue Council Umushyikirano, the progress report showcased accomplishments under the seven-year National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) program.

On January 23, Umushyikirano got underway, emphasizing youth empowerment, unity, and national development. It runs through January 24.

Providing all Rwandan households with access to energy was one of the government’s goals under NST1.

Ngirente noted that the ongoing program, “Electricity Access for All,” has so far produced positive outcomes.

“Within this period of seven years, more than 1.5 million new households were connected to electricity. This brought the total number of households with access to electricity to 74 percent [in 2023] from 34.4 percent [in 2017].

These figures suggest that 26% of Rwandan households do not currently have access to electricity.

“This program continues because our target is to ensure that every household in our country gets access to electricity,” Ngirente said.

Regarding residents’ access to water, the premier announced that seven water treatment plants—Nzove, Kanzenze, Gihira, Kanyonyomba, Mwoya, Nkombo, and Nyankora—had been established.

“This contributed to almost a twofold increase in the quantity of water treated daily, such that we surpassed the target we had set. The target was to reach 303,000 cubic meters (m³), but we achieved 330,000 m³,” Ngirente said.

Once more, the premier stated that 1,800 km of water [pipe] networks had been built in urban areas and more than 2,000 km in rural areas. Still, 191 non-functioning water networks were rehabilitated in rural areas.

“The government will continue expanding these networks and carry on the clean water access program for residents, as we believe it is the source of hygiene and welfare,” Ngirente said.