PAC takes on housing authority over lack of regular supervision

Members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have expressed dissatisfaction with the persistent poor management of public funds by the Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA), particularly during major construction works that are executed without regular supervision. This was revealed on Wednesday, September 6, during the first public hearings held by PAC, when officials from the housing authority failed to respond to the queries exposed by the Auditor General’s report of the financial year ended on June 30. ALSO READ: Officials from 70 public entities summoned by PAC According to the report, RHA management signed five contracts amounting to Rwf11.68 billion to implement different construction projects, all of which were not supervised. This, PAC chairperson, Valens Muhakwa said is despite the fact that all public procuring entities are required to conduct feasibility studies and hire supervision companies for all individual projects whose value exceeds Rwf50 million. Contrary to the requirement, RHA awarded five tenders amounting to Rwf 11.6 billion without project supervision by a registered supervising firm or company. “How is it even possible for RHA to process payment for a major construction project without supervising it,” MP Muhakwa said, visibly looking unsatisfied. Muhakwa noted that the same challenge was highlighted in the previous audit reports, citing that in the absence of project supervision, the contractor’s performance against technical requirements and obligations may cast doubt. ALSO READ: 10 key highlights from Auditor General’s report “It is clear how this happens,” asserted MP Germaine Mukabalisa, adding that, “It is not clear how someone fails to supervise a billions-worth project and it becomes the Auditor General’s job. How does that happen? How do you pay billions without supervising these facilities? Even if it was your own house, how are you able not to follow up? We need to look at what should be done because this has become a big issue.” For MP Berline Uwineza, lack of regular supervision has led to losses of millions as well as snugs and defects in construction works. Uwineza singled out the defects exposed in the Huye stadium, Ntarama museum, and the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) new complex. “In some cases, some projects are even double paid, where the total budget cost is twice or thrice more than the initial cost of the project.” Reacting to the gaps, Alexis Kamuhire, the Auditor General, who was also present during the summoning, said that there is “a huge gap” of supervision within the RHA management. Yet, he pointed out, with supervision comes the management of ensuring the quantity that has been paid for, the quality of what is being constructed, and that the process is fast-truck to prevent post overrun. “There is a huge gap. We have such cases, we have talked about this over and over and the only response we get is ‘work in progress’,” Kamuhire said. Kamuhire shared similar sentiments with Fidel Abimana, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure, who requested the housing authority for a clear commitment on what should be done to shun away from similar problems going forward. “The management (RHA) should give us a clear commitment on how to go about this challenge because this is not the first time that we are talking about it,” he said. RHA speaks out Responding to the gaps exposed, Ag. Director General of RHA, Noel Nsanzineza told the lawmakers his institution had identified the gaps, as exposed in the Auditor General’s report, citing that efforts are being made to find a sustainable solution. “This is really a big gap on our side, it is a serious weakness that needs to be addressed. We are committed to reversing the tide,” he added. To address the poor monitoring of contract execution, Nsanzineza said that the RHA management has committed to hiring independent supervising firms, going forward. “On the concern of the construction snags exposed, we also plan to use our defect liability period of 12 months after handover to be able to repair all the gaps,” Nsanzineza said.

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PAC takes on housing authority over lack of regular supervision