KIGALI - Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) has asked ZIGAMA CSS to explain the whereabouts of over Rwf 36,241,200 that was cited as missing in the 2008 Auditor General’s report.

The report shows that signatories at ZIGAMA CSS where the money is banked authorised the transfer of Rwf 20,241,150 to an account in the names of Augustin Yesarakiza who is not a former KIST student and therefore not eligible to benefit from the fund. 

"The disbursement of this amount was not known by the management of KIST and there was no project approved by KIST to support the loan disbursements to Augustin Yesarakiza,” the AG report reads in part.

The report shows that ZIGAMA CSS also made a payment of Frw16,000,050 in 2005 to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) but the details of the transaction were not availed during the audit and that there is no evidence to show that this payment was approved by KIST for eligible beneficiaries.

Emmanuel Gatabazi, KIST vice Rector in charge of Finance said yesterday when contacted that the institute had asked ZIGAMA CSS to give them a report on the whereabouts of the funds since KIST never authorized its disbursement.

"We are still waiting for a report from the bank so that we can establish how the funds were given out. If the bank finds out that it had erroneously issued the money transfer, then they will have to refund it,” Gatabazi said.

When contacted, the Defence spokesperson Jill Rutaremara refuted the claims and said that the money which CSS withdrew from the KIST account had been wrongly deposited there.

"The funds were not for KIST in the first place, it had been wrongly deposited there. So after they realized the error, they withdrew it back to the rightful owner which explains why KIST did not authorize the transfer,” said Rutaremara.

The funds in questions according to the report were meant for the KIST Enterprise Development Fund (KEDF), an initiative in the Department of Private Sector Development under the Centre of Innovations and Technology Transfer (CITT).

The project was established by KIST/CITT with the assistance from the President of Rwanda and United Nation Development Program (UNDP) to address financial needs of fresh graduate entrepreneurs who often have no access to financial institutions due to insufficient collateral.

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