Error-prone Rwandan officials to pay for losses they caused

 

Inmates in Kigali Central Prison. A local company has sued the government over non-payment for food it supplied to prisoners. The government is also facing a case involving a road construction tender. Photo/FILE  Nation Media Group

By IGNATIUS SSUUNA Special Correspondent

In Summary

• More than 200 civil servants named in the 2010/11 Auditor-General’s report will be affected by a directive by the Prime Minister to penalise the culprits as the government cracks down on corruption in the public sector.
• The affected officials include accountants, budget officers and finance managers said to have committed administrative errors, including negligence, but cannot be taken to court for lack of sufficient evidence to sustain a criminal case.
• Rwanda Today has learnt that Prime Minister Dr Pierre Damien Habumuremyi wrote to Minister for Labour and Public Service Anastase Murekezi recently asking him to deduct a quarter of the salaries of those implicated.

Government employees who mismanaged public funds will have their salaries deducted.

More than 200 civil servants named in the 2010/11 Auditor-General’s report will be affected by a directive by the Prime Minister to penalise the culprits as the government cracks down on corruption in the public sector.

The affected officials include accountants, budget officers and finance managers said to have committed administrative errors, including negligence, but cannot be taken to court for lack of sufficient evidence to sustain a criminal case.

Rwanda Today has learnt that Prime Minister Dr Pierre Damien Habumuremyi wrote to Minister for Labour and Public Service Anastase Murekezi recently asking him to deduct a quarter of the salaries of those implicated.

Implemented the order

Innocent Nkurunziza, an adviser to the Prime Minister, confirmed the development, adding that the Labour Minister had implemented the order.

“Some money is lost due to negligence and, upon investigation, you discover that these government employees did not pocket the money for personal use,” said Mr Nkurunziza.

Previously, government officials who committed such administrative offences would receive a warning, he added.

“We have changed this approach because some of these people were not changing their behaviour.”

Send a strong warning

The directive follows investigations by the Office of the Prosecutor-General on government officials implicated in 2010/2011 audit report.

The investigations found two categories of cases: Criminal cases, where the errant officials have been taken to court, and administrative lapses, whose list of culprits the Prosecutor-General sent to the Prime Minister for action.

Mr Nkurunziza added: “It was becoming a habit. We hope this will send a strong warning to the other employees.”

Seriousness in tackling corruption

According to Transparency International, Rwandans need to know what happened to the mismanaged funds: Whether the money is being recovered or not.