Rulindo district officials cited in shoddy construction work

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has blamed Rulindo District officials for not holding accountable a contractor who did a shoddy job during construction of houses for Genocide survivors that cost Rwf341 million. The houses got damaged just a few months after their completion. The district authorities were yesterday appearing before the committee to respond to discrepancies observed in the Auditor General’s report. Felicien Niyoniringiye, the Director of One Stop Centre who is also the engineer who was in charge of supervising the activities, was thrown out of parliament for lying that he had followed up and reported the case. The MPs could not buy any of his explanations “The pavement, foundation, water systems, and walls are in poor condition, among many others, just a few months after construction” explained MP Alice Uwera. “The engineer first told us that he compiled reports of the damaged parts of the shelter in order to correct them, but our own investigations show that he never followed up on the issue since he has no single report on the houses. Jean Chrysostome Ngabitsinze, the PAC’s chairperson, said it was an urgent issue that had to be handled immediately but there had been negligence.” “We request the mayor to use the law and take appropriate administrative measures against the engineer who tells lies in parliament over issues regarding social affairs,” Ngabitsinze said. Other issues were also observed in a deal to rehabilitate Rwf500 million roads for which the contract was terminated after realising that the firm had forged documents to win the tender. MP Ngabitsinze grilled the internal tender committee over not seeking enough information about the bidder. The district also has no reports about teachers who resigned and MPs suspected that they continued receiving their salaries. Other projects with irregularities include biogas plants, a Rwf50 million rehabilitation transit centre, Rwf34 million pre-primary schools and district properties that have no land titles as well as 13 tenders worth over Rwf1 billion that never complied with procurement laws. Emmanuel Kayiranga, the Mayor of Rulindo District, admitted the mistakes blaming poor planning. editor@newtimesrwanda.com

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Rulindo district officials cited in shoddy construction work