Kigali, 21 November 2017: The Hon. Minister of Infrastructure officiated the opening of the 14th African Forum for Utility Regulators (AFUR) Conference and Annual General Assembly hosted by Rwanda Utility Regulatory Authority under the theme Regulatory Actions for Accelerating Sustainable Utility Services in Africa.

Participants to the conference said utility regulators have a major role to play in the face of transformation of African economies into knowledge-driven economies, as well as adoption of new technologies.

In his opening remarks, the Hon. Minister of infrastructure expressed his gratitude to the organizers of the conference for having chosen Kigali to host this important meeting as an opportunity to share experiences, learn and exchange ideas on regulatory actions for accelerating sustainable utility services in Africa.

He reminded all participants that regulatory actions first and foremost should aim at ensuring that utility services are available, affordable, and sustainable, and abide by high quality of service standards.

Minister Musoni further challenged participants to create regulatory solutions to achieve the desired target. He said that regulators have a bigger role to play in shaping various sectors and ensuring that they are economically efficient and sustainable. “Looking at the ongoing reforms in the utility sector in Africa, particularly use of Public-Private Partnerships for infrastructure development, regulators have a crucial role to play in balancing the interest of the government, service providers and customers,” Honorable Musoni said.

Minister Musoni further hailed the deployment of ICTs to help improve other utility sectors such as public transport and energy. “This has been easier because all utilities are regulated by a single regulatory authority. We have benefited from looking across utilities rather than looking at each utility in isolation”, he added.

He urged African Utility bodies to benefit from a regional and continental perspective as regulators through effective monitoring and enforcement systems and regional coordination mechanisms, which play a big role in the success of regional initiatives.