Four senior officials at Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB) were last evening dismissed from office, according to a statement signed by Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente. The premier’s letter noted the removal from office of Mark Cyubahiro Bagabe, who was the director-general of RAB and Daphrose Gahakwa, who served as his deputy. Others are Innocent Nzeyimama, who was the head of land husbandry, irrigation and mechanisation department, and Violette Nyirasangwa, who headed the Corporate Services Division. The four officials have been on suspension to give way for investigations. Bagabe was suspended on January 19, this year following a cabinet meeting while other officials had been suspended around October last year. Prior to his appointment as RAB director-general, Bagabe was director-general of Rwanda Standards Board (RSB). Gahakwa, before her appointment as the institution’s number two, served as a minister in two dockets; Agriculture and Education. Ange Soubirous Tambineza, the Agriculture Ministry Spokesperson, told The New Times that the officials had been suspended by the prime minister for investigations which were carried out by the Rwanda National Police. Without revealing much details, she said that the four were among the officials being investigated. Rwanda Agricultural Board has previously made headlines for the wrong reasons largely due to issues of wasteful spending and flawed procurement procedures. The latest such cases were cited in the 2014/2015 Auditor General’s report where the office came under fire for issuing tenders worth over Rwf800 million without observing standard procedures and giving out seeds worth Rwf114 million on credit without any records on the books of accounts. Patrick Karangwa, who was head of research at the agency has been acting as the interim director-general. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
