The Public Service Commission (PSC) has announced that it will soon launch an inquiry into possible corruption in the recruitment of civil servants. The investigation, the commission says, will be conducted in the current financial year, July 2014-June, 2015. This was announced by PSC chairperson, François Habiyakare, while presenting to Parliament the commission’s activities for the last fiscal year and action plan for the new financial year. Habiyakare told MPs that the investigations would also look into the allegations of sex-for-jobs. Several Members of Parliament welcomed the development. “How can someone with a background in literature pass an exam in IT, yet they did not undertake training in that field? We still have such cases,” MP Theodomir Niyonsenga said, making a case for the investigation. According to the Auditor General’s 2011/12 report, many of the errors committed in the public service were largely down to incompetence. Habiyakare said investigating circumstances under which incompetent civil servants found their way into public service was key to addressing challenges associated with the sector. eugene.kwibuka@newtimes.co.rw
