Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Tuesday said the government was acting to address the challenges facing the country due to the recent hike in consumer prices.
Speaking to reporters in Kigali, Kagame said that the Government, through its Central bank, has been acting to address the challenges.
Latest official estimates show that Rwanda’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, increased by 20.7 percent year on year in January 2023 down from 21.6 percent in December 2022.
In January 2023, Food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 41 percent on an annual basis and increased by 2.7 percent on monthly basis. ‘Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels’ increased by 8.3 percent on an annual basis and increased by 0.1 percent on a monthly basis. Transport increased by 12.6 percent on an annual basis and increased by 0.5 percent on a monthly basis.
The data also show the “local products” increased by 21.4 percent on annual change and increased by 1.4 percent on monthly basis, while prices of the “imported products” increased by 18.5 percent on annual basis and increased by 0.8 percent on monthly basis.
The prices of the “fresh products” increased by 44.6 percent on annual change and increased by 3.6 percent on monthly basis.
Reacting to these trends, Kagame told reporters that Rwanda is currently implementing appropriate measures to mitigate the impact of rising costs.
CU/abj/APA