The CEO of Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC), Alfred Dusenge Byigero surprised all female employees with bouquets of flowers on International Women’s Day that was celebrated on Monday, March 8. Rwanda joined the world in celebrating the day which at the national level was marked under the theme; “Women, be at the forefront in the Covid-19 World.” “I went to work early morning as usual. The first thing I received was a message from our CEO on email wishing me a happy International Women’s Day. I really felt delighted. At around 10:00am, we all received a bouquet of flowers; it was a good gesture from our boss,” said a lady working in WASAC’s Single Project Implementation Unit (SPIU). Another female employee at the utility body’s Nyamirambo branch expressed joy saying; “since the establishment of WASAC in 2015, it is the first time women receive such treat. It is a small gesture but it means a lot for us.” WASAC CEO Byigero has been in office for three months. According to officials at WASAC, the gesture is part of the effort by the utility body’s leadership to motivate employees towards achieving the institution’s goals of ensuring that every Rwandan gets clean water in their proximity. Richard Dan Iraguha, the Head of Communications at WASAC said the activity of gifts of flowers were highly appreciated by employees in general. “The gesture 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 money for something like this. This boosts relationships among workers.” Byigero has served as Deputy Director General at Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) and also previously headed the Utilities Regulatory Authority in Mauritius. WASAC has about 1,500 employees at headquarters, 20 branches and 25 water treatment plants across the country and has a mandate to ensure every Rwandans has access to clean water by 2024. This means that by 2024, a person should not make a distance of more than 200 metres in search of water in the city, while a person from rural areas should not move beyond 500 metres 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 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.
