Cases of idle buildings, especially in Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board Board(RAB) stations will also have to be explained, according to PAC
Members of Parliament have agreed to summon the Prime Minister (PM) and ministries over irregularities sighted by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in accountability for funds used in the financial year budget of 2020/2021.
This was agreed on November 7, 2022 during a plenary session in which PAC submitted its findings from public hearings in which officials were summoned to explain cases of public asset mismanagement raised by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) reports.
The parliament resolution gave the PM up to six months to “Show to the Parliament, Chamber of Deputies the program for putting to use unused buildings, located all over the country, especially in Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB) buildings and other government agencies and Guest houses constructed in districts.”
The PM will also present measures to solve problems that emerged in the nature of agreement Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC) made with the partner in the use of Kanzenze Water Treatment Plant in order to eliminate the loss that the government continues to incur in paying the debt to the investor.
In the Kanzeze findings it was showed that the cost of water treatment is high, where in this contract one cubic meter(1m3) is worth $0.85 /m3 which is 3 times the normal price of water treatment.
The cost of servicing the debt is heavy for WASAC: it pays 44% of its total income; but it is not enough to get government support. In 2020/2021 WASAC ltd paid $2,587,792, while the Government of Rwanda through MINECOFIN paid $ 11,370,738.
The plant is operating at a rate below its capacity and the audit revealed that in the year 2020/2021, WASAC received only 1,843,733 m3 going to Kigali city and 232,590 m3 (41%) going to Bugesera (15%).
The Ministry of Justice was asked to show a roadmap to recover property and funds misused or squandered while National Public Prosecution Authority(NPPA) was requested to prosecute those involved in the mess
Recovery will involve, for example, the Ministry of Health loss of Rwf 11.2 million paid due to a lost lawsuits resulting from late payment of Rwf264.8 million to contractors, among ,many other cases.
To be explained will also be the implementation of a contract for the construction of King FAISAL Hospital New Outpatient Department facility worth $14.4 million in which items of “Bills of Quantities (BOQ)” which had a value of Rwf 417.1 million paid to the contractor were recorded more than once.
Prosecution was asked to follow up on Rwanda Polytechnic saga of 70 workbenches and 53 electrical installation walls, which were purchased at extremely high prices (Workbench Rwf86.4 million and electrical installation walls at Rwf46.9 million).
City of Kigali officials will explain the construction of two bridges at the Mpazi where they offered a contract to a contractor who presented a price that is too low (Rwf2billion) compared to the value of the work that was shown in the study of Rwf4.4 billion and the project had already been awarded more than Rwf7billion.
