Court decision sets back probe into NGO

KIMIHURURA -THE Supreme Court has overturned a decision to award a tender to two audit firms in an ongoing probe into a local church NGO accused of financial mismanagement.It said Ernest & Young and Offre Technigue et Financiere could not audit Italia Solidale because the bidding process was marred by lack transparency,.The Nyarugenge Lower Court of Instance had awarded the tender to the two firms in its probe to ascertain whether Italia Solidale Rwanda Chapter diverted the funds meant for orphans.A source within the Supreme Court said on Friday the bidding exercise conducted by Nyarugenge court reportedly flouted the rules and lacked fair competition to potential contractors and did not follow normal tendering process.The source said Ernest & Young had put in a bid of Frw 12 million while Offre Technigue et Financiere suggested Frw 15million to carry out the work.“The Supreme Court has re-advertised the tender again because we discovered the Nyarugenge Court did not follow the rules well,” said Supreme Court Director of Administration and Finance, William Rukundo.He was briefing journalists on the developments in the Italia Solidale saga.“It is a sensitive matter and we want to handle it in a manner that satisfies all the parties involved,” he said.The Secretary General of the Supreme Court, Anne Gahongayire, told The New Times that the government would mobilize money to foot the audit exercise. “We shall make sure that the audit is done in a transparent and honest manner,” Gahongayire assured. A fortnight ago, The New Times broke the story on the alleged misuse of funds by Italia Solidale, a Church-affiliated NGO. Critics had accused those in charge of the NGO of allegedly using Genocide orphans as a means of raising billions of francs which they later diverted for their own use.Italia Solidale Rwanda was set up to help over 2,000 orphans in need left vulnerable by the 1994 Genocide who had been registered by Sainte Famille church in Kigali.. Documents seen by Sunday Times suggest that the parent NGO, Roma Italia Solidale, could have sent about Frw1.8 billion to Rwanda between the years 1997 and 2003 for the orphans but there is little activities on the ground to show for it. Guardians of the orphans petitioned the Supreme Court to institute an independent audit to unearth the alleged scam.Last year, the police arrested Gerald Ndamage and Faustin Ngendahayo (leaders of Rwanda Italia Solidale) and dragged them to court but were later released on bail pending investigations into their case.Both Father Anthony Kambanda and Ndamage have in the past denied any wrongdoing. In November 2006, the Mayor of Nyarugenge district directed that Italia Solidale activities be halted because the NGO was operating illegally. In a letter signed by the mayor, Origene Rutayisire and addressed to the director of Union de Caisse de Travailleurs (UCT), the bankers of the NGO, he requested that their bank accounts be frozen until investigations could be carried out.Ends