Parliament orders renovation probe

KIGALI - The Parliament yesterday ordered an audit of the controversial tender to renovate its buildings and purchase equipment. The resolution follows a report by a special parliamentary committee which shows that the project was inadequately supervised. The committee headed by MP Desire Nyandwi investigated the issue for more than four months.According to the report, poor supervision led to delays in completion of the renovation work which also increased the cost of the project. The committee also said in its report that the competence of the contracted companies was not analyzed before they were awarded the tender. The renovation was jointly carried out by Thomas & Piron and Fair Construction. The ministries of infrastructure (MININFRA) and Finance and Economic planning (MINECOFIN), were singled out for failure to carry out the required supervision. Both ministries were blamed for carelessness in monitoring the process and failure to vet the quality of equipment. Most of the equipment purchased developed damages after a short period. “There was a lot of work left uncompleted after the handover. There was loss encountered which calls for an audit for the sake of accountability to the parties,” said MP Pélagie Mukantaganzwa Many contributors called for all individuals involved to be held accountable and face legal sanctions.The renovation was funded by the European Union (EU) following a deal with the government in 2004, valued at approximately €3.9m. The deal was extended to include the construction of the new Senatorial building and the Supreme Court in 2007 with EU financial boost pushing the deal to €9.5m. The renovation of was initially supposed to last for 16 months, but it was completed after 35 months. Ends

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Parliament orders renovation probe