Governor intervenes in Gakenke corruption scandal

As Gakenke District grapples with corruption scandals, the Provincial Governor, Aime Bosenibamwe, on Tuesday met with district leaders. The meeting came on the heels of an extraordinary District Advisory Council meeting which interdicted four top officials over allegations of graft. Those fired include the Vice Mayor in charge of Economic Development, Clemence Ugiribanga, the District Executive Secretary, the Accountant J Claude Serumwe and Budget Officer, Peter Kwizera. District officials say over Rwf 90 million was lost through corruption, especially through breached tendering procedures. “The Public Finance Management team, along with the Police, will carry out a full inquiry to assess how the money was misused and find the network of people involved. All the money must be returned,’’ Bosenibamwe said. The fired leaders are also accused of flaws in the implementation of activities of a development partner, the Belgian Technical Cooperation-BTC, especially in the construction of offices and establishment of nursery beds. The officials also allegedly inflated the costs of activities. Police says there was a need for technical expertise to investigate whether the costs of the alleged activities by various NGOs were not inflated or whether they were value for money. Ends

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Governor intervenes in Gakenke corruption scandal