Rwandans who follow developments in Parliament and especially in the Lower House’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) applaud the work done in the crusade against misuse of public funds. Marie Immaculée Ingabire, chairperson of Transparency International Rwanda (TI Rwanda) especially stresses that longstanding and outgoing PAC Chairperson Juvénal Nkusi, 63, has been instrumental in the Committee’s anti-corruption crusade. Nkusi became a Member of Parliament in November 1994 when the Transitional National Assembly held its first sitting and served as the first post-Genocide speaker, from 1994 to 1997. The man who has chaired the PAC ever since it was created nearly eight years ago, however, does not appear on the list of prospective legislators to campaign on his party’s [the Social Democratic Party (PSD)] ticket ahead of the upcoming parliamentary election. Ingabire said: “He has done a lot. I appreciate the work done by PAC especially the commitment and determination of Honourable Nkusi. They did their best to hold all those institutions accountable. PAC is very important more than any other commission in parliament in accountability and control of how public money is managed”. Joy Uwase, a university student, first heard – on radio – PAC members pressing government officials over misuse of public funds in 2015 and :“I was first shocked that it was actually happening but again, I was deeply impressed”. Uwase who was initially coy to comment said she paid attention as one of the officials then being grilled was a close family friend. “I was in high school at the time and had initially overheard neighbours talking about a tough session in parliament. There were rumours that people were going to be arrested. Ever since then, I started paying attention to developments in parliament whenever I had time. A year later, I actually toured parliament. I think the deputies have done a commendable job. A lot more work needs to be done but the efforts they put in are better than nothing.” As the third Assembly’s five-year term comes to end, journalists who have reported events in the House also say that PAC which was created nearly eight years ago has been instrumental in the country’s fight against corruption. According to Jean Pierre Kagabo, a journalist with the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA), PAC has played a key role in holding accountable government officials. Kagabo said the Committee’s public hearings where public finance managers were grilled are important in the sense that nobody is above the law. “Although it was criticized as only talking without serious actions to punish those who misuse public funds, PAC formulated recommendations to government which I think helped the government take measures to ensure proper public funds management and fight corruption,” Kagabo said. “People will never forget how [PAC Chairperson, Juvénal] Nkusi and team strongly and publically condemned wrong doers regarding public funds miss management”. Rodrigue Rwirahira, of The EastAfrican, a weekly newspaper published in Kenya, thinks the third Rwandan Legislature will go down in history as one that set precedence in application of the true concept of rule of law. “All the committees were exemplary in their own ways, but PAC was outstanding, mostly on the scrutiny of public finance management. Shrewdness in ensuring accountability and responsibilities of fiduciary duties by public servants has served a lot to the government and brought many changes,” he said. “Quite a number of laws were inspired by outcomes of their assessment on the use of state funds. For example, the revised law on public procurement and rules of procedures when issuing tenders. Some new provisions helped seal gaps that were being exploited by corrupt people. Whoever is taking over in the next PAC team of the Fourth Assembly, Rwirahira said, will need to pick from there and “ensure order and continuity”. Teddy Kaberuka, an economist, said PAC was very effective in holding budget officers and senior government officials accountable. “Every time institutions want to spend public funds they are careful because they expect an audit and in case of negative findings, they are called by PAC to account. PAC played a dissuasive role in corruption and mismanagement of public funds. We experienced some cases of mismanagement and people at fault were taken to court,” he noted. “For the incoming parliament, we wish to see more action such as dismissals or vote of no confidence from PAC for people with bad audits records”. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
