PAFOR director summoned to court

GASABO - The director of administration and finance (DAF) at the Forest Conservation Project (PAFOR) will appear in court next month, the Prosecutor General’s office has confirmed. Alphonse Hitiyaremye, Deputy Prosecutor General, said Friday that Augustin Habimana, will appear before court on June 6. “He will appear together with Gerald Nikuze in charge of environment protection and Céléstin Kabera, a store keeper,” Hitiyaremye said in a telephone interview. Habimana and his colleagues were arrested last month for alleged mismanagement and embezzlement of public funds. PAFOR operates under the Ministry of Agriculture and is based in Rulindo District in the Northern Province. Habimana, who has also been doubling as chairman of the tender committee in PAFOR, was arrested after the 2006 Auditor General’s report indicated that about Frw77 million was reportedly embezzled by the organisation’s accountant. SFAR director Deputy Prosecutor General Hitiyaremye also confirmed that Students Financing Agency for Rwanda (SFAR) director Emmanuel Muvunyi will also soon be summoned. The Auditor General’s report also exposed an extraordinary case where by the accountant at the Students’ Financing Agency for Rwanda (SFAR) stole Frw96 million and deposited Frw20 million of it into the account of the Director General, Emmanuel Muvunyi. “The case of SFAR Director is under probe and will be summoned after we have filed it,” he said. In January this year, the Auditor General, Evelyn Kamagaju, presented the 2006 report to the joint Chambers of Parliament which indicated that Frw5.3b had not been accounted for. Ends