Senate wants Ministers quizzed over FARG saga

KIGALI - A report digging deep into the housing projects of Genocide Survivors has prompted the Senate to call for several government Ministers to be quizzed over the misuse of the fund’s finances, The New Times reports. The report released yesterday by the Committee on Social Affairs details the rot that has derailed the completion of housing units that were meant to shelter Genocide survivors 16 years down the road. The chairperson of the Commission; Agnes Kayijire told the Senate that there was need to question Ministers Protais Musoni, James Musoni, Christine Nyatanyi, John Rwangombwa and the Local Government Permanent Secretary Eugene Barikana over the issue. “These ministers need to be quizzed mainly because they were directly connected to FARG and yet they didn’t do their job of following up how the association was using the money causing huge losses to the government,” she said. The report pointed out what it called “carelessness” by former Minister for Local government; Protais Musoni and the State Minister for Social Affairs; Christine Nyatanyi; under whose jurisdiction FARG falls. Musoni is now minister for Cabinet Affairs.“Musoni chaired all the meetings (while still at Local Government), and he should be answerable to all the mistakes that we see in this report. Nyatanyi was and is still in charge of organizations like FARG but she did not follow up. She needs to explain why,” she said. The report called for Barikana to be quizzed on the tenders that have cost the government millions of francs over the years. “Barikana appended signatures on the contracts of several companies that were in charge of constructing and repairing the houses of Genocide Survivors. Most of the work was shoddy and he should explain why,” she said. Kayijire revealed to the stunned Senate how most associations financially supported by FARG had been operating for years but had no paperwork to support the expenditures. “There was almost no paperwork to support the millions that had been dished out by FARG in most districts and even the minimal paperwork that was available was quite suspicious,” she said. Kayijire also explained the embezzlement of funds, some of which were used for purposes that were not in any way connected to providing shelter to Genocide Survivors. To shed light on the issue, Kayijire pointed out Rusizi and Nyagatare districts which misused Rfw 46 million and Rfw 30 million respectively. “There was an issue of Rfw 100 million that was said to have been disbursed to Gasabo district and yet the available paperwork can only account for Rwf 56 million,” she said. Senator Joseph Karemera requested for a thorough investigation into the report findings. “There is need for an investigation into the connection between the false numbers and the malpractices mentioned in the report,” he said adding that it was important that the people implicated in the report be investigated whether they are in or outside the county. Senator Rwigamba Balinda referred to the contents of the report as sad and confusing. “The contents of this report are sad and confusing. The loss of government money indicated here is quite tremendous and saddening” “I am supportive of the idea of an audit and heavy punishments to be levied on anyone found guilty. We cannot allow this carelessness and mismanagement to eat away our society,” he said The report review continues today. Ends

National

Senate wants Ministers quizzed over FARG saga