RUYIGI January 30th (ABP) – The Minister of Communication, Information Technologies and Media, Mrs. Léocadie Ndacayisaba and the Minister of Trade, Transport, Industry and Tourism, Mrs. Marie Chantal Nijimbere, made, in the afternoon of Wednesday, January 25, 2023, a joint trip to the province of Ruyigi. The two authorities were accompanied by all the directors general and other senior officials of their respective ministries.
During his welcome speech, the governor of Ruyigi province, Mrs. Emerencienne Tabu, said that the provincial population properly goes about development work in peace and tranquility. However, they sometimes complain about problems with means of transport in certain areas where public transport companies have not yet had an office, problems with access to electricity, a problem with mobile telephone companies whose affiliates fail to cover the networks, even in urban centers.
During the exchanges, traders and other economic operators raised the main concerns of the people, in particular access to BRARUDI drinks and BUCECO cement, the prices of which vary according to demand, the free access of the people to foreign markets and the lack of foreign currency.
The minister in charge of that sector called on the concerned to always aim for the best interests of the population and to highlight traders who can import goods that can be used by the majority of the population. She disillusioned all traders with meager financial means wanting to allow the free circulation of imported goods and told them that this sector knows several kinds of speculation if it is poorly controlled and regulated.
She therefore invited the entire population to join forces in cooperatives to strengthen their capital and be able to access large-scale import markets.
In the field of telecommunications, the problems raised are related to the lack of radio signal of the two RTNB channels in certain localities of the province, the companies ONATEL, ECONET and LUMITEL which no longer manage to cover the whole province, which undermines the development of the province.
For the problem of the RTNB, its director general made it known that the antenna of the Birime center is currently experiencing an electricity problem, following the solar electrical installations which were recently struck down and that the generator installed on site consumes 8 liters per hour, the RTNB does not have the capacity to feed it to be lit for 24 hours and throughout the year. The same problem occurs with other telecommunications companies working on site, in addition to problems related to their geolocation.
The two ministers encouraged people to always remain optimistic and reassured everyone that their grievances are noted and will be taken into consideration.