The CEO of Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC), Alfred Dusenge Byigero surprised female employees with gifts of flowers on International women’s day that was celebrated on Monday in Rwanda and worldwide in general.
“I went to the job early morning as usual. The first thing i received was a message from our CEO on email wishing us happy international women’s day. I really felt delighted. At around 10:00am, we also received gifts of flowers. Every woman got a flower as a gift from our CEO,” testifies one woman working at WASAC in Single Project Implementation Unit (SPIU).
Another female employee at Nyamirambo Branch expressed the joy saying, “Since the establishment of WASAC in 2015, it is the first time women receive such kind of gift. It is a small gesture but it means a great recognition for us.”
Alfred Dusenge Byigero has been in office as WASAC CEO for three month.
Apart from the efforts to increase water and sanitation infrastructure across the country, the official has to win the battle of raising commitment among the workers, change the image of WASAC to a better level than it looks today.
The CEO’s gift to female staff could increase the company’s productivity according to employees’ witnesses.
Richard Dan Iraguha, the Head of Communications at WASAC said the activity of gifts of flowers were highly appreciated by employee in general.
He added, “The activity on women’s day showed us that the CEO is aware of gaps that have to be filled in terms of increasing commitment among workers. Very few leaders can spend their own resources to do things like these that aimed to boost relationship among workers.”
Eng Alfred D. Byigero known for having experience in managing big institutions that provide services to the public.
He also served as Deputy Director General at Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) and headed Utilities Regulatory Authority in Mauritius Island.
WASAC has about 1,500 employees at headquarters, 20 branches and 25 water treatments plants across the country.
With workers’ commitment, all Rwandans could have access to clean water by 2024.
In 2024, a person should not make a distance of more than 200 meters in search of water in the city, while a person from rural areas should not move more than 500-metre-distance to fetch water.
The Fifth Integrated Household Living Survey (EICV5) - 2016/2017 indicates that 87.4 per cent of Rwandans have access to clean water, a significant increase from 26.3 per cent in 1994.
In 2019, the Ministry of Infrastructure announced an investment of $440 million over the next three years to set up water treatment plants and supply systems in urban and rural areas in line with achieving universal water access in Rwanda.
