Misuse of public funds: MPs ask Ombudsman to take 'tangible action'

More cases of gross mismanagement and loss of public funds were once again cited as the Office of Ombudsman tabled before Parliament its report for the 2014/15 financial year on Tuesday. The report cited continuous poor performance by projects that not only cost millions of taxpayers’ money but also impede the country’s development. The projects cited include the controversial Gishoma Peat Plant that was supposed to generate close to 15 megawatts and ‘Bye Bye Nyakatsi Diaspora’ project that had collected close to Rwf82 million from Diaspora community. Submitting the findings of the report, Aloysie Cyanzayire, the chief ombudsman, said despite major improvement in accountability, some cases keep on coming back and she urged government to strengthen the grip in fighting such mistakes. The ombudsman said government’s anticipated energy production from the Gishoma power plant is far from being realised as the project is inhibited by management issues and has taken long to complete at the expense of taxpayers’ money. “The project was supposed to be up and running by 2014, but during our survey, we realised that the feasibility study done was a fraud and lacking; the delays were due to a number of issues, including lack of sufficient reserves and shortage of water,” Cyanzayire said. “We also realised that delays equally pushed Rwanda Energy Group (REG) to pay $70,560 (about Rwf52 million) a week to run electricity generators at the plant, which is way too much.” The Gishoma Peat Plant project was supposed to supply 10 megawatts to the nearby cement factory (Cimerwa) and channel the remaining 5 megawatts to the national grid. However, since its inception, the project is yet to generate any electricity. The project’s estimated cost was Rwf22.3 billion, which was supposed to be funded through a loan from the Bank of Kigali. ‘Bye Bye’ campaign The ombudsman equally noted gross mismanagement of the ‘Bye Bye Nyakatsi Diaspora’ campaign, which was supposed to help raise funds to build houses for vulnerable families which lived in thatched huts. The drive, initiated by the Diaspora community, had managed to raise close to Rwf81 million, 89 per cent of which, according to the report, was spent in organising the fundraising. The project initially had sought to build 504 affordable housing units for vulnerable residents in Bugesera District but ended up constructing only nine units, which by the time of the survey were also not completed, according to the ombudsman. “There was no proper design of the project and a lot of funds ended up in exhibition of the project to raise more money,” Cyanzayire told lawmakers. Although the whole saga is being investigated by Police, the ombudsman has urged officials at the district to make proper follow up on the whole project, while Ministry of Foreign Affairs was tasked to coordinate similar other projects to ensure they fall in line other government’s projects. On the other hand, lawmakers questioned what they said was lack of follow up by the Office of the Ombudsman, saying this creates laxity in the institutions they investigate. MP Adolphe Bazatoha said mentioning cases is becoming like a culture, which does not provide tangible recommendations for government to significantly curb mismanagement of public funds. “Do we just report for the sake of it? The recommendations are not that telling, the same was said by the recently tabled annual report by Rwanda Human Rights Commission, outlining cases and offer no tangible recommendation to remedy the situation. Surely, we can do better,” he said. In response, Cyanzayire said the mandate of the Office of the Ombudsman is to work with other government institutions, including the National Public Prosecution Authority and Rwanda National Police to ensure that cases are handled properly. Despite the shortfalls, however, Cyanzayire said there had been improvements in all spheres of public service, especially when compared to other countries in the region. For example, in the category of wealth declaration, the report said out of 9,565 public servants, only 28 had not declared their wealth. Cyanzayire said these were not high ranking officials and that they were reprimanded. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Misuse of public funds: MPs ask Ombudsman to take 'tangible action'