House summons Karugarama over AG reports

Parliament has summoned Justice Minister and Attorney General, Tharcisse Karugarama, to explain in writing what action the government had taken on officials implicated by the Auditor General’s reports. The lawmakers want tough action taken against officials responsible for mismanaging public funds as indicated by AG’s 2003, 2004, and 2005 reports. The minister will appear before the legislators on Tuesday. The MPs want him to brief them on the measures being taken to recover the missing funds. Connie Bwiza, a member of the chamber of deputies, confirmed the development yesterday. She said the minister will be required to explain in writing what is being done against those implicated. “The last time he appeared, we were not satisfied. There are pending issues,” said Bwiza in a telephone interview. The AG reports which gives an analytical picture of how state institutions spent taxpayers’ money revealed that tenders worth Frw3.8 billion were not sanctioned by the National Tender Board. Other tenders worth Frw7.85 billion had no justifications for being awarded by Internal Tender Committees (ITCs). When Karugarama appeared before the chamber of deputies earlier this year, the justice minister gave verbal explanations about what was being done to investigate and prosecute those implicated by the AG reports. The majority of the MPs, in their first term plenary session, had voted against Karugarama’s explanations on the alleged embezzlement of taxpayers’ money. 43 MPs voted against Karugarama’s explanations. Only 12 were in favour while nine abstained. “I am sure this time he will come up with full information regarding the measures they have taken in regard to dealing with those implicated in the AG’s reports,” Bwiza added. The last time he appeared before the legislators, Karugarama said that as a result of the 2005 report, 12 institutions involved in the alleged mismanagement of taxpayer’s money had been taken to court. A further 18 were cleared after investigations revealed that the irregularities were caused by administrative mistakes. Ends