Gaps in the process of approving feasibility studies is one of the reasons behind the increasing number of government assets that fail to take off, local watchdog Transparency International (T.I) Rwanda has said. ALSO READ: 10 key highlights from Auditor General’s report The Auditor General (AG)’s report for the 2021/2022 fiscal year showed that there were 117 idle assets worth Rwf124 billion in the country. The figure is three times in monetary value compared to the Rwf 37 billion in 2020/2021. Such assets were identified in 66 public institutions. An analysis that T.I Rwanda did on the findings of the AG’s report showed that one of the reasons for such issues is the hasty approval of feasibility studies. Presenting the results of the analysis on Friday, November 24, Enock Byiringiro, a senior researcher at T.I Rwanda said some feasibility studies are approved within periods that are as short as two hours yet they took about six months to be made. “You should not take such a short time on something into which you are going to invest money,” he said. ALSO READ: Why Rwf21bn of public assets lie idle Richard Kubana, the Director General for Community Mobilisation and Youth Volunteers Coordination in Community Policing at the Ministry of Local Governments, said the issues raised give them, as leaders, direction on what to improve. He noted that they are working to make sure that idle public assets are made operational by either repurposing them for alternative activities or giving them to the private sector to make profitable use of them. It is understood that the finance ministry has been working to count the idle assets in the country so that decisions will be taken concerning them. In early November this year, the Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA) said there is a plan to put idle buildings to use. “We have registered the idle government buildings and assessed their conditions. We are currently evaluating those that can be renovated and used again, while others may be demolished to free up land for alternative uses, RHA’s Director General Alphonse Rukaburandekwe, told The New Times. ALSO READ: Gov’t to repurpose 1,000 idle state-owned buildings As part of T.I Rwanda’s analysis report, it recommended districts and the City of Kigali must put more effort into feasibility studies that inform their investment decisions in order to reduce and avoid idle assets. “MINALOC, LODA, and MININFRA should strongly support districts in carrying out high-quality in-depth feasibility studies for infrastructure projects in order to properly evaluate the needs and ensure the sustainability of projects,” the report noted. Papias Kazawadi, a seasoned civil engineer and former president of the Institution of Engineers Rwanda (IER), faulted institutions that are responsible for implementing projects for not cooperating well. “There are some chances that districts employ unqualified engineers because some of those they give jobs are not registered with the institution of engineers,” he said, adding that the engineers’ institution has always asked the government to make it a point that all professionals are registered members, but this has not materialised so far.
