The revised national budget, which was recently approved by parliament, has taken into consideration the issue of outstanding salaries owed to former employees of Energy, Water and Sanitation Authority (EWSA). In 2014, EWSA was split into two parastatals — Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC) and Rwanda Energy Group (REG). Under the revised budget, which will end on June 30, the government has earmarked Rwf1.1 billion to pay arrears of former employees of EWSA. “This was a major issue, but we appreciate that it is being solved gradually,” MP Omar Munyaneza said. The affected employees were laid off in July 2014.The employees included 900 from what is now REG who demand more than Rwf5.4 billion, and about 800 former employees of WASAC who are owed some Rwf6 billion. Though there had been a series of efforts to address the issue out of court, some of the affected took legal action against WASAC and REG as they felt they could not put up with the delays in payments, officials from both institutions told parliamentarians in June 2020.
