Referring to the Prime Minister’s Order N° 87/03 dated on 16/08/2014 determining modalities of transfer of responsibilities, and property of Energy, Water and Sanitation Authority (EWSA) hence making WASAC and REG two independent separate companies legally incorporated in Rwanda under Law N°07/2009 of 27/04/2009 relating to companies.
The Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC) is the entity setup to manage the water and sanitation services in Rwanda as a result of the Government of Rwanda (GoR) decision to unbundle the national utility former EWSA.
The reform is intended to deliver water and sanitation utility service that is sufficiently focused to deliver new infrastructure, efficient and effective service delivery. Build a strong people capability and meet key national milestones.
It is expected to reverse the status quo that includes:
WASAC is a company that distributes water in Rwanda. As a national utility, the company has been in existence since 1976, as ELECTROGAZ, ELECTROGAZ was founded in 1939 as “REGIDESO” by the colonial masters supplying water, electricity and gas to RWANDA-URUNDI with its headquarters in Bujumbura. The company was later divided into REGIDESO Rwanda and REGIDESO Burundi in 1963.
In 1976, REGIDESO Rwanda became ELECTROGAZ and was granted monopoly for the production and distribution of water and electricity in the country. After the 1994 genocide, there was an increase in urban settlements, thus increased demand for water and electricity. The installed capacity for water and electricity supply could not sustain the increased demand, which called for further investments.
In 1999, a law was passed removing the monopoly on electricity and water supply. This encouraged independent power producers to start their operations. In 2003, ELECTROGAZ was placed under a management contract with Lahmayer International to manage and restructure ELECTROGAZ in collaboration with Hamburg Water Works for 5 years. This lasted for only two years and in March 2006 the management contract was terminated and it reverted to the Government of Rwanda.
The Board of Directors of the company was asked to appoint new management and restructure the utility to meet the needs of the nation better. Under the new management, ELECTROGAZ grew, repositioned and become innovative to serve the customer. Under law N°43-44/2008 of 09/09/2008, ELECTROGAZ was spilt into RECO (Rwanda Electricity Corporation) and RWASCO (Rwanda Water and Sanitation Corporation).
Based on the law no 43/2000 of 7/Dec/2010, the national parastatals charged with water and electricity distribution RECO & RWASCO have been merged and given the name EWSA that was Energy, Water and Sanitation Authority.
