There is a famous saying that “Government is the only known vessel that leaks from top to bottom”. This becomes a reality when control mechanisms are wanting and loopholes are easily exploited. One of the main areas that are prone to abuse is public procurement services. It is therefore not surprising that the services’ internal regulations undergo several amendments regularly to plug new challenges. Many blue collar graft cases are usually associated with public procurement, where officials connive with business entities and individuals to fleece the country. In the process, many public works become victims of shoddy implementation, if they are implemented at all. Rwanda prides itself as one of the few countries, on the continent and beyond, that puts a lot of emphasis in seeing that monies poured into development projects deliver their intended goals. The results are there for all to see. What remains, and is being addressed, is that those tasked with implementing public works do a good job, not just delivering beautiful “shells” that will crumble at the first sign of adverse weather challenges. Now that Internal Tender Committees have been granted more powers that include following up the implementation of public works they had approved, will open up more avenues of accountability. This is a positive move to streamline and avoid wasteful state spending as well as curtailing any weaknesses that unscrupulous operators might exploit.
