Background

Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority(RURA) was initially created by the Law n° 39/2001 of 13 September 2001 with the mission to regulate certain public Utilities, namely: telecommunications network and/or Telecommunications services, electricity, water, removal of waste products from residential or business premises, extraction and distribution of gas and transport of goods and persons.

This Law was further reviewed and replaced by Law Nº 09/2013 of 01/03/2013 establishing Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) and determining its mission, powers, organisation and functioning. This Law gives to RURA the mandate to regulate:

  1. Telecommunications, information technology, broadcasting and converging electronic technologies including the internet and any other audiovisual information and communication technology;
  2. Postal services;
  3. Renewable and non-renewable energy, industrial gases, pipelines and storage facilities;
  4. Water;
  5. Sanitation;
  6. Transport of persons and goods;
  7. Radiation Protection; and
  8. Other public utilities, if deemed necessary.


The same Law gives to the Authority a legal personality, financial and administrative autonomy in the fulfilment of its mandate.

The Authority plays a pivotal role between the policy maker, licensed service providers and consumers. The Authority reports to the Office of the Prime Minister and it coordinates with line ministries responsible for each regulated sector in executing its functions.

In addition to the law creating RURA, there is a number of other legal and regulatory instruments which help RURA to discharge its responsibilities in each specific sector to be regulated. In the same vein, the Authority has the mission to ensure fair competition, promoting and protecting consumers’ interests and rights in regulated sectors.