High-ranking officials, chief budget managers and staff members from 68 public institutions are expected to appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to respond to queries raised by the Auditor General’s report in the fiscal year ended June 30. PAC hearings commenced on Wednesday, September 6. Among those to appear also include heads of institutions, projects, districts, and ministries. ALSO READ: AG to present 2021/22 finance audit report in Parliament The exercise, according to a statement shared by Parliament, will take place from September 6 and last for 19 days. Sessions will be held in the PAC room at the Parliamentary precincts. On Wednesday, September 6, the Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA) will be the first public institution to appear before the PAC, to respond to the lawmakers on cases of mismanagement of public funds raised by the Auditor General’s report. Ordinarily, the hearings follow MPs visits to the projects and institutions mentioned in the report in order to determine if any changes had been made since the release of the report. ALSO READ: 10 key highlights from Auditor General’s report In the case of RHA, the Auditor General’s reported various operational problems, including construction works executed without regular supervision. “As highlighted in the previous report, the audit still noted that RHA management had signed five (5) contracts amounting to Rwf11.68 billion to implement different construction projects without hiring independent supervising firms. This contravenes section 34 of circular No 010/2012-117/RPPA of 10 April 2012 of RPPA, which requires hiring an independent supervising firm for all works that are above Rwf50million,” reads part of the Auditor General’s report. Other issues highlighted include the stalled renovation works of Huye Stadium, a contract that has since been extended four times to October 15, increasing the sum to Rwf17.99 billion.
