The Minister for Justice, Johnston Busingye, will appear before the parliamentary Social Affairs Standing Committee on Tuesday, February 4, where he is expected to answer queries on what measures are in place to hold leaders accountable for their poor decisions that cost the government millions in lawsuits.

The losses stem from cases revolving around the dismissal of permanent staff, termination of contracts and failure to pay compensation on time, which some have seen as a demonstration of weaknesses in dealing with labour disputes within public institutions.

Between 2009 to June 2018, the Government lost cases that forced it to cash out Rwf1.5bn.  

Between 2017 and 2018 alone, the Government lost Rwf224 million through lawsuits filed against its institutions by civil servants.

Busingye is expected to break down the mechanisms in place to hold the leaders in parastatals and local governments accountable for such losses, how much of the money has been recouped and reasons why some have not been.

According to a list seen by The New Times, the lawsuits were filed forcing institutions like Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC) and the Rwanda Energy Group (REG) to each payout Rwf13m respectively.

The others are the National Industrial Research and Development Agency (NIRDA) which was ordered to pay out Rwf6.3m, Nyarugenge District Rwf8.7m and Nyabihu Rfw2.9m, among others.

In 2018, members of both chambers of parliament called for a review of the law governing public service to minimise litigation costs.

The Vice President of the Social Affairs Committee told The New Times that the summons are routine and are part of the parliament’s core duties to ensure that the government implements its policies.

"This is not unusual. It is one hundred per cent what is entailed in our oversight duties. We have been having these sessions since January 28 and have heard from different leaders to get an understanding of some of the issues raised in the 2018/2019 National Public Service Commission report,” he said.

This is not a new issue. From final court rulings delivered between 2015 and 2017, 43 institutions were sued by 147 people in a combined 83 cases. The government won only 30 cases, which account for 36 per cent of the total lawsuits.

While reacting to the 2017/2018 National Public Service Commission report which raised concerns over a similar issue, the Vice Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Musa Fazil Harerimana reminded his colleagues that there was a need to enforce the Prime Minister’s Order regarding civil servants’ responsibility in causing government losses.

"In 2013, the Prime Minister issued a directive saying that any civil servant that costs government any losses would be required to pay it back. We are seeing a loss of more than Rfwfw200m. There is a need to look into the reinforcement of this directive,” he said.

In recent months, the Ministry of Public Service and Labour has embarked on a campaign to sensitise employers countrywide to comply with the provisions of the new labour law.

Chief Labour Inspector, Javan Kalima Nkundabakura, said the ministry was working closely with districts – through labour inspectors – to raise awareness and compliance with regard to the new law.

"Since the new law was gazetted, we have had four such meetings. In September, we were in the Northern Province, after which we held another meeting in Kigali, then Eastern Province, and the Southern Province,” she said.

Previously, the labour law was limited to matters prevailing in the informal sector – covering only such issues like social security, trade union organisations, and health and safety at the workplace.

However, the new labour law is broader covering such aspects as the minimum wage, the right to leave, and protection against workplace discrimination.

But it does not set the minimum wage, only stating that this will be catered for under a subsequent Order of the Minister in charge of labour.

Conclusion of employment contract  

As was the case under the previous legal framework, article 11 of the new law provides that employment can be for a fixed or indefinite term and it can be written or unwritten as it was in the repealed law.

However, while an unwritten contract was previously not exceeding six consecutive months under the repealed law, under the new law the duration of unwritten contract must not exceed 90 consecutive days.