By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The plenary sitting of the Chamber of Deputies held virtually on Monday, July 26, adopted the relevance of the new draft law governing land and waterways transport in Rwanda.
The draft legislation which was tabled by Claver Gatete, the Minister of Infrastructure, seeks to address the legal gaps in the existing laws and regulating sub-sectors that were not catered for in the current law such as passenger and goods transport, railway as well as waterways transport.
For railway, Gatete said, currently there exists no law governing railway in Rwanda and yet, the development in railway sector put forth by the Government of Rwanda requires having regulatory and institutional framework in place.
This draft law addresses challenges related to institutional arrangement for railway development, operation and maintenance.
It also provides for training in railway and licensing as well as offences, faults, penalties and sanctions related to the operation of railways.
This, Gatete observed, will expedite railway development in Rwanda.
In addition, there is no law governing waterways transport in the country – otherwise known as maritime transport.
Among other provisions, the bill provides for the training to ensure safety of persons and cargo.
Regarding waterways transport, the bill proposes, among other things, that organs involved in operations of waterways ensure sufficient and efficient staff, to guarantee safety of persons and cargo.