Clean up your house, PAC tells City officials

Members of the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have urged the City of Kigali to streamline accounting operations and contract management, to close the loopholes that could lead to corruption or misuse of public funds.The lawmakers cautioned both the City Council and the executive committee as they appeared before oversight committee to answer queries that were raised in the Auditor-General’s report for the fiscal year 2011/2012. Among the deals that for which red-flags were raised include one with the Chinese construction firm, New Century Company, with which the city made some kind of a swap arrangement, to have the multi-billion City Hall constructed.Under the arrangement, New Century, which acquired the tender to construct the City Hall at a cost of Rwf7 billion, was given prime land where Marriot Hotel is being built and which is supposed to be deducted from the bill.The land, which covers the former Jali Club, Rwanda Television and Nyarugenge District headquarters, was valued at Rwf1.6 billion.The City is to make the deductions on the two down payments in which it is supposed to pay for the construction works where, on the first payment, they deducted Rwf845 million and for the next installment expected next year, they will deduct the remaining sum.A similar deal to pay in installment was signed last year between the City and CHIC, another company that was given to former Eto Muhima premises opposite the National Institute of Statistics to develop a commercial complex. The land was valued at Rwf1.4 billion, which is to be paid by the developer in installments. ‘Room for corruption’According to the parliamentarians, whereas the deals could have been in the best of interest, the fact that they were not recorded anywhere, as stated by the Auditor-General, sets a bad precedent. Juvenal Nkusi, the PAC chairperson, told the City officials that such practice creates room for corruption.Meanwhile, the lawmakers put the City on the spot over poor management of contracts, where some service providers are hired and it is only to find them incapable after they have signed the contract.An example was cited of the Senior Engineers Company Ltd that was contracted to oversee the closure of Nyanza Dumping Site in Kicukiro District, only for the contractor to use substandard equipment.Alphonse Nzeyimana, the City of Kigali vice mayor for economic affairs, told PAC that the contractor was paid an advance of Rwf31 million, worth 20 per cent of the deal, but did not respect terms of contract, leading to the termination.In a separate interview, Bruno Rangira, the City spokesman, told this paper that the contractor, besides failing to do the work, did not pay the labourers and is currently being prosecuted over forgery issues. Nkusi advised the City to always make due diligence on entrepreneurs before awarding them tenders to ensure efficient delivery.Nzeyimana concurred, saying they are considering using highly qualified technicians who will be critically looking at the tenders before a contractor is chosen.The new stadium Expropriation in the City of Kigali also brought in many arguments. Theoneste Karenzi, the PAC vice president, said, “it is six months since residents in Gahanga sector, Kicukiro District where a stadium is to be constructed, and they are still waiting to be expropriated.”He said because of this, the residents cannot do anything on their land and are in suspence.Nzeyimana said the expropriation costs are supposed to be covered by the Ministry of Sports and Culture.“We would recommend that whenever there is such a big project that involves expropriation of many people, the budget be entrusted to us,” he said.The MPs, however, said both the City and the Sports ministry should both take the blame because it is the local officials, who are under the City of Kigali who have received complaints and not duly forwarded them to higher authorities for action.In a separate interview, the Minister for Sports and Culture, Protais Mitali, said the process was on course.“It is just two months since we wrapped up the valuation exercise, yet the maximum time to pay expropriation fee is three months,” Mitali said, adding that the valuation process was done twice because they identified some mistakes in the exercise, adding that this could be the reason people think it delayed. Over Rwf2 billion is the sum due to 380 people who have to pave away for the construction of the 40,000-seater stadium, which is expected to be operational by 2016.