Accountability : Paul NtambaraThere is a new momentum that is building at the Rwandan parliament. A lot of good work has been done by the legislative body yet much has gone unnoticed especially by those used to the high tempo, often dramatic debates characteristic of most East African parliaments and, by extension, in the House of Commons under which they are modeled.But one committee; the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has come to change the face of parliament. The ‘bare knuckle’ grilling style adopted by the committee members has left many bruised.How I wish the sessions could be televised. This ‘hairdryer’ treatmentis surely going to make heads of public institutions think twice before dipping their hands into public coffers.PAC, acting on the findings of the 2009-2010 Auditor General’s report that revealed Rwf9.7 million was unaccounted for. Much of this money was either spent without supporting documents or on awarding tenders in contravention of proper tendering procedures. The committee, in its recommendations, called for the prosecution of those found culpable of misusing, mismanaging or stealing public funds.The big question being asked by many is what happens after the presentation of the report? Is it going to be another case of a report gathering dust on the shelves? There is no doubt that the corruption fight in this country has taken root and is bearing fruit. One element remains to be refined is recovery of embezzled funds.The money that has been lost can help build a school, equip a health centre or fix a road.PAC, as an oversight organ, has pointed fingers to possible areas of wrongdoing. It is now time for the National Public ProsecutionAuthority to swing into action by carrying out thorough investigations to determine which cases that should go to court.The procedure should not stop at conviction alone but should include recovery of the embezzled funds. It is an injustice to the taxpayer for an official to embezzle millions of money, spend a short stint in jail (where they will be maintained by the taxpayer) only to return and enjoy their loot.As revealed, PAC did not examine all the nooks and crannies of accounting procedures of institutions under review because of limited time. Being the first report of its kind this can be tolerated but this should not be the case in the subsequent review.

The issue of management of public funds is a pressing one that should be treated with the utmost urgency that it deserves. The Auditor General’s report should conclude the auditing of all institutions so as to allow for a comprehensive review by other organs like PAC.