The Auditor-General this week released his report for the 2019-20 fiscal year, indicating that his office had identified unaccounted expenses worth Rwf5.6 billion. While this reflects a pattern of billions worth of missing public funds every financial year there was generally a notable improvement in the management of public resources this time round. During the previous fiscal year audited public institutions had failed to justify expenditure amounting to more than Rwf8 billion, yet the AG office had audited less institutions than during the latest audits. This is a welcome development since it means that more public resources are being used as planned and are potentially having intended impact. Two of the most important factors behind this progress is the fact that more and more public institutions are increasingly implementing recommendations of the Office of the Auditor-General designed to help stop haemorrhage of public funds, as well as recent efforts to bring to book those suspected of mismanagement or embezzlement of taxpayers’ money. This goes to show that collaboration between different public institutions, in this case the AG’s office, Rwanda Investigation Bureau and prosecution, can be effective in promoting accountability for the use of public funds. These institutions should work even more closely in ensuring that these offences do not go unpunished. In particular, efforts should be made to recover stolen funds from those found guilty. Eventually, it will serve as a wake-up call to public institutions and chief accounting officers, and help end the vice. Now, while issues of spending public funds without supporting documents, misuse or outright misappropriation of public resources are gradually being addressed, there are growing concerns pertaining to cases of delayed or stalled projects worth billions of Rwandan Francs. This equally needs urgent attention. There is need to get to the bottom of issues surrounding abandoned contracts because it’s a growing trend that does not only result in loss of public funds but it also derails development programmes.
