On Saturday, August 14, the Rwanda Utilities and Regulatory Authority (RURA) stated that the price of petrol and diesel will remain unchanged for the next two months. After the government announced a move to subsidise fuel products such as petrol and diesel, the global increase in oil prices and the resulting surge in petroleum product prices will not affect Rwandans in August and September.

The Director-General of RURA, Ernest Nsabimana, noted that without the subsidy, diesel and petrol prices would have risen to around Rwf1,172 for petrol and Rwf1,122 for diesel, raising transportation expenses for both people and products and driving up the cost of living.

“This decision has been taken in order to avoid the effects on the economy which might be caused by the hiking in price of fuel products,” he said.

He stated that the government’s efforts to subsidise fuel products have cost around Rwf 15 billion so far and that this is to assist Rwandans because the economy has not yet recovered and that the price of fuel after September will be determined by global oil prices as well as economic improvement.

The government would also exempt the taxes normally levied on fuel products such as petrol and diesel, according to the release. In May 2021, the Rwandan government intervened to lower petrol costs.