Hold managers of ‘One Dollar Campaign’ project accountable

Editor,Please allow me to comment on the story, “Stalled ‘One Dollar Campaign’ irks Members of Parliament” (The New Times, November 29).I think there should be an independent body that monitors all who receive public money on regular, if not daily, basis. The temptation is that when the big boss of any organisation sees a loophole, they will collude with their finance officers to line their pockets. I believe that stronger supervision can bring about accountability. Otherwise, humans are naturally prone to be attracted by money. There are very few Mother Therezas on Earth.Mark Remera, Kigali************** In my view, the damage from this fiasco of the inability of those in charge of this project [One Dollar Campaign] to complete it as advertised and in time goes far beyond the money involved. The worst damage is the eroded enthusiasm of Diaspora Rwandans to want to contribute to future national solidarity campaigns.One also wonders what good this project will be if, by the time it is completed – if it ever is – the Genocide orphan students for whom it was intended to shelter will by then have long completed their studies and, hopefully, already have started their own families?Yes, some other use for it can no doubt be found. But it won’t be the one for which so many Rwandans and friends of Rwanda contributed so enthusiastically.Rwanda has systems in place that can satisfactorily monitor and ensure those with fiduciary responsibilities for public monies are held to adequate account, and that those monies are not embezzled or otherwise disappear in the hands of fraudsters.I believe the problem here is about bad planning, deleterious negotiations with project contractors and sub-par project execution (i.e. it is a case of mismanagement, not fraud).To Mark Remera, of course whether it is because of fraud or poor management, the end result is that goals and targets are not reached or are only partially realised. As a last point, and at the risk of getting under the skin of many of her ardent devotees, despite her carefully cultivated reputation for selfless giving, Mother Thereza was not the paragon of benevolence her carefully cultivated reputation for selfless giving implies.That PR-fuelled status is beginning to crumble, as researchers put her actions and life under less fawning scrutiny, and a less saintly, flawed person that is not so different from the rest of us rises from under the hype.As a final piece of advice to our officials: It is always important to remember that when you have to explain why things haven’t worked out as planned, nobody really listens to your reasons, no matter how valid. The only thing they take in is that you are giving them your excuses for having failed.Mwene Kalinda, Kigali

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Hold managers of ‘One Dollar Campaign’ project accountable