Members of Parliament have tasked the Minister of Local Government to provide a report on how local government officials who were responsible for the illegal recruitment and placement of workers in district positions have been sanctioned. The parliamentarians also asked the minister to show measures that have been instituted to completely address such public service issues. It was during the Plenary Sitting of the Chamber of Deputies held virtually on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, in which Minister Jean Marie Vianney Gatabazi was summoned to respond to the cases of illegal recruitment reported in districts and the City of Kigali. On March 24, the Plenary Sitting of the Parliament’s Lower Chamber made a resolution to summon the Minister of Local Government to respond to the cases of illegal public service recruitment in the decentralised administrative entities that were recurrent in the National Public Service Commissions annual reports for three fiscal years between 2017 and 2020. Most of the issues that were exposed by the Commission’s reports include changing marks for candidates with the aim to favor some at the expense of others, and candidates falling short of the requirements including qualifications and experience. For instance, through the Commission’s post-recruitment audit for the fiscal year 2018/2019, it said it was realised that 21 public institutions complied with the recruitment and employee placement legislation, while 14 ignored it, the Commission said. In that regard, it assessed 177 petitions by dissatisfied candidates and found that 59 of them had valid grounds. Districts accounted for more petitions as 30 of the 59 petitions – were from districts, followed by government institutions, and higher learning institutions. MP Odette Uwamariya, Chairperson of the Committee on Social Affairs said that for instance, in 2018/2019, in Kayonza District, four candidates for sector finance and administration officer got their marks fraudulently increased, which made them be placed in the positions – in different sectors of the district – that they did not deserve. As a result, she said, those who deserved the places because they scored the required grades were denied their rights. Minister Gatabazi replied that some of the candidates were not placed though they were added marks. For a candidate who had scored 18 out of 50 in written exam, but her marks were changed to 37 out 50 and was wrongly awarded the place, Minister Gatabazi said that this candidate was removed from the position by the district through a letter it wrote to her in 2020. He said that the same applies to a candidate who was given 14 out 50 scores in written exam, but that was changed to 36 out 50, indicating that she was also removed from the position in 2020. MP Jeanne Henriette Mukabikino wondered why districts did not implement the recommendations of the Commission to remove the illegitimately placed workers and waited for the resolutions of the Plenary Sitting of the Chamber of Deputies. “There are employees who were placed in positions after being fraudulently given more marks, but they were paid salaries before being suspended. This implies that they got undue remunerations because they were not deserving that,” she said, suggesting that those who employed them should recover such misappropriated public funds. There are cases such as in Nyamagabe District, where exam results were canceled after realising that there was lack of transparency in the recruitment process. MP Gloriose Uwanyirigira said that such a practice implies that there are people who subsequently became victims yet they were deserving the positions they were placed in. “Such a situation means that there is an injustice committed against those people who were already working, yet they lost jobs because recruitment results were canceled. Can’t that have consequences to the Government when those people take it to court over injustice they were done?” she asked. Accountability Talking about accountability, Gatabazi said that the cases of those who were responsible for the malpractices were taken to Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) so that they are held accountable in compliance with the law, referring to the cases in Kayonza District. He said that some of the officials from the district and Rwanda Association of Local Government Authorities (RALGA) who were found responsible for such cases were dismissed. RALGA is in charge of giving and marking recruitment exams for districts and. However, MPs expressed concern that though responsible officials were held accountable in some districts and were taken to RIB for investigation and subsequent legal action, they were somehow let off with just caution or reprimand in other districts. They called for equal treatment to ensure that the culprits get the penalties they deserve. Gatabazi said that the recruitment and placement of people in public service should ensure justice for all candidates, and the best ones should be awarded jobs for the public interest. “We are making efforts to ensure that the local government recruitment process is transparent,” he said, citing heavy penalties against the staffing malpractices.
