Quacks have infiltrated the consultancy services sub-sector, putting genuine providers in disrepute. 

Rebecca Ruzibuka, a senior consultant at Africa Development Consultants, said impostors are common in the practice and called for stern measures to stem the vice. 

"Some people who fail to make it in other sectors want to become consultants; this is unacceptable and should be stopped before it gets out of hand,” she said. 

Ruzibuka was speaking during a conference organised by the Rwanda Organisation for Professional Consultants (ROPC) and the Association of Genocide Victims (GAERG) as part of the activities to mark Consultants’ Week 2014 at Kigali International University on Wednesday. 

She said the vice could be growing because of the current shortage of consultants in Rwanda, which ‘gives unscrupulous individuals an opportunity to  pose as qualified consultants’. Fake consultants are in all sectors, according to participants. 

Meanwhile, ROPC has started a mentorship programme, where 20 graduates will be attached to selected organisations to improve their skills.

The mentorship programme, to run for one year, will benefit members of GAERG, Jean Marie Vianney Makuza, the ROPC chairman, said.