The Rwanda Parliament has recommended an in-depth investigation into government officials and managers behind gross mismanagement of public assets and taxpayers’ money in different public entities.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) asked the ministry of justice and prosecution to follow up on specific cases which have an inclination to corruption and mismanagement of funds.
These include a follow up on persons who paid twice an enterprise (Rwf103, 9 million) and only refunded the payment two years after the transaction that was uncovered in Water and Sanitation Corporation(Wasac), follow up on the latter’s accounts which lost over Rwf77 million that were returned between 2017 and 2019 without any supporting documents.
Persons behind the 28 transformers bought by EUCL without full documents planned in the purchase tender, illegally paying off 6 staff members at Rwanda Utility Regulatory Authority (RURA) a Rwf 56,3 million lump sum, and failure to request guarantees (performance security) worth Rwf16, 9 million for two tenders worth Rwf 338,2 million at the Ministry of Trade and Industry(Minicom).
Cases to investigate was also 13 enterprises who delayed projects at Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resource Development Board (RAB) in which government lost Rwf 403M, refusing to take a guarantee on Rwf130millions supply tender for medical supplies to Rwanda Biomedical Center department of medical procurement which resulted to supply of substandard goods worth Rwf90.2M, and Ruhengeri hospital paying off Rwf230billion for vehicle insurance whose actual cost was Rwf67m.
Illegal tenders
Offering illegal tenders has been largely blamed on the Rwanda Public Procurement Authority (RPPA) and boards not following up in details and criminal tendencies.
However, the PAC asked the prosecution office to follow up on tender contracts which were offered under illegal procedures and these include a tender for rent of offices for the Supreme Court at over Rwf117 million per month.
The tender was awarded by the Rwanda Housing Authority where the agreement was reached without the involvement of the institution’s tender committee and the legal advisor.
There was also Rwf223 million tender offered by Rwanda Information Society Authority (RISA) to a bidder who didn’t have all bidding requirements.
In the National Rehabilitation Service (NRS), a tender for food items was offered to a bidder who gave the highest prices that resulted in over Rwf161 million extra amount.
Also in NRS, they offered a- Rwf27 million tender offer with requirements of a “Brand name” which limited other bidders from taking part in the bid, and offering a tender to someone who increased the pricing by Rwf161.8 million.
Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) will be followed up on a dairy equipment and testing tools worth Rwf749 million, which was offered and it was realized that the tender document was changed after its publication.
Also to follow up in RAB is Rwf699 million tender for milk dryers which had its documents altered during the tender.
On top of that, Rwf531, 7 million were offered for fruit processing equipment without proper tender documents
Also RAB offered tenders worth over Rwf2.1 billion for technical studies and supervision works for valley dam repair for irrigation in Eastern Province.
This was awarded to the same bidder- which is contrary to the provisions of the law governing public procurement.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM) offered a tender for an event management worth Rwf173 million to a single contractor who didn’t bid and also fell short of requirements in the tender document.
MINICOM also offered a tender of over Rwf35 billion and $7 million for the supply of petroleum products, but received a performance guarantee which was less than the 10 percent of the value of the tender provided.
Rwanda Education Board (REB) offered a tender for the purchase of textbooks showing abnormal cost increase as it was given at Rwf195 million against the planned Rwf108 million budget.
The institutions offered three tenders worth Rwf4.2 billion to bidders who fell short on delivery requirements.
Similar issues for investigation were recorded in districts where officials also broke tender procedures and there was not proper explanation to the cause.
For instance, in Kayonza district they offered a tender worth Rwf1.1billion and altered its security guarantee from the required 10% to 5% to pave the way for one bidder.
In Rwinkwavu hospital, just like other districts of Ngoma and Bugesera, they offered a Rwf15,2 million fuel tender without bidding.
