Infrastructure development is lagging behind in several districts of the country as a result of poor supervision by local authorities, a new survey says.The survey conducted in districti by a consortium of organisations, among them, Transparency International Rwanda (TI-RW), Rwanda Association of Local Leaders (RALGA), Private Sector Federation (PSF) and Rwanda Public Procurement Authority (RPPA). Other organisations involved in the survey are Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) and Rwanda Association of Architects (RAA).The findings also identified a high risk of corruption, not only during the tendering process, but also during implementation, based on the chain of officers involved in the exercise.It found local enterprises are more corrupt compared to foreign firms. It also cited deliberate delays in project implementation to give technicians room to engage in corruption. It was meant to examine the current situation of tendering processes in the infrastructure sector.Unveiling the report, Apollinaire Mupiganyi, the Executive Secretary of TI-Rw, said after awarding tenders, local authorities sit back and wait.“Awarding a tender does not mean work is complete as there is the possibility that contractors may not abide by the agreement in terms of materials to be used, which may also result in shoddy work,” Mupinganyi said.The pilot survey was carried out in the districts of Bugesera, Huye, Kicukiro, Musanze and Rubavu. Those interviewed included district procurement officers, private companies and development partners.In an interview with the Mayor of Rulindo District, Justus Kangwagye, who doubles as Chairman of RALGA, he attributed the lack of close supervision to shortage of staff in the procurement departments.“With the decentralisation policy, districts have assumed a lot of responsibilities and with this, we are bringing in new measures like building on staff in the procurement department,” he said.
