Parliament this week yet again expressed dismay at continued cases of misappropriation and mismanagement of taxpayers’ money in public institutions, especially through breach of tendering procedures. Now, the Lower House has asked the Ministry of Justice and other relevant authorities to see to it that thorough criminal investigations are conducted in similar cases exposed by the Office of the Auditor General in their 2019/20 report. Some of the most glaring irregularities involved public entities illegally awarding tenders for both implementation of works and supervision to the same bidder, inflating prices, as well as awarding tenders to the bidders with the highest financial offer. Others were found to have awarded lucrative deals to contractors who did not meet minimum requirements set by the procuring entity, some sidestepped their internal tender committees, while others did not seek legal advice where they needed to. Unfortunately, such breaches are not uncommon in public institutions as they have tended to dominate Auditor’s General’s reports over the years. As a result of these recurring anomalies, billions of public funds have gone unaccounted for, costing citizens in terms of delayed and/or derailed development programmes. The National Public Prosecution Authority has over the years pursued some of the offenders dragging many to court but there is a sense that criminal investigations have yet to go far enough. The lawmakers have now given the Prime Minister eight months to follow up on the matter and report to parliament about progress made in the implementation of their resolutions, signalling a strong stance by the House. However, tendering irregularities are far from being the only anomalies reported by the Auditor General. One of the other areas of concern is linked to the state of affairs at the Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC), which continues to be dogged by inefficiencies despite repeated reforms at the agency. For instance, the AG found that WASAC paid a supplier twice, through two different banks, a case which involved hundreds of millions of Rwandan Francs. While part of the money was later recovered, it is shocking that such errors continue to occur at the utility despite recent institutional reforms. The MPs have called for yet another cycle of reform at the agency, with a view to improving its governance and management systems, and have given the prime minister six months to ensure this happens. While reforms are welcome if they are inherently progressive, there is a need for concrete action against the offenders. Criminal investigations and prosecutions should be scaled up to end impunity and ensure a higher level of deterrence. Rwandans have seen the benefits of good governance and having a leadership that does not tolerate corruption, and such loopholes need to be plugged as soon as possible.
