Now ARBEF fueds with donor

The Association Rwandaise pour le Bien-Etre Familial (ARBEF) is embroiled in a dispute with the organisation’s parent body, the Nairobi-based Africa Regional Office of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). Trouble started in 2012 when ARBEF executive director Dr Laurien Nyabienda was accused of mismanagement and abuse of office by individuals in the NGO’s National Executive Committee (NEC). Following the saga, the IPPF in 2013, suspended funding to ARBEF and threatened to suspend the latter from IPPF membership. “We need their money but cannot succumb to intimidation and threats,” Nyabienda said, describing IPPF action as an “imperialistic type of corruption.” He says developments in the past three years led him to the conviction that there was a plot by IPPF to unseat him, and as a result, accomplish a hidden agenda not in line with ARBEF’s development mission. ARBEF focuses primarily on family planning and Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH), as well as efforts to combat HIV/Aids. “Instead of resolving issues through established national structures, NEC appealed for IPPF’s intervention. The latter responded very quickly, pretending to be acting in good faith, but later, it became obvious that they were the source of all the trouble,” Dr Nyabienda said. In May 2012, the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) appointed an Interim Governing Committee (IGC) and gave it a three-month period to investigate the allegations. Documents seen by The New Times indicate that successive investigations by the IGC – comprising government and IPPF representatives, and a private auditing firm cleared Dr Nyabienda of any wrongdoing. However, the IPPF proposed a forensic audit which the IGC commissioned in October 2012. The interim period was extended by for another three months. IPPF also pushed for the setting up of an interim structure with a Senegalese national, Alpha Dieng, as administrator. This move was thwarted as the “general consensus” was that there were plenty, cheaper and highly qualified nationals for the position. ‘Lies countered’ On March 23, 2012, Elly Mugumya, the IPPF team leader for Eastern and Southern Africa, wrote to the ministries of local government, health and justice, indicating that IPPF had legitimate interest in the affairs of ARBEF for “two major reasons.” One, was that “IPPF is a major donor to ARBEF and contributes close to” $1 million annually to the ARBEF budget. Later, the chairperson of ARBEF, Emmanuel Shamakokera, and Dr Nyabienda, in an official letter to the government, noted that the “claim by IPPF that it contributes close to $1 million annually” to their budget is a falsehood. They also argued that IPPF’s proposal to have an interim foreign administrator had “no justification other than protecting the wrongdoers at ARBEF.” Nyabienda told The New Times that annual IPPF grants did not come close to $0.5 million in the last five years. “IPPF must have lied to government to create an impression that they give us a lot of money. It is true we need their money but we shall not allow them to tell lies,” he said. Apollinaire Mupiganyi, the Executive Secretary of Transparency International Rwanda, who was a member of the interim ARBEF management team, said he was surprised by current developments. “I thought all concerns had been sorted out during the interim period and expected the new committee to foster mutual understanding between ARBEF and IPPF,” Mupiganyi said. Another disturbing factor, according to Nyabienda, was that during the interim period starting May 2012 when investigations were underway, a local audit firm, RSK Associates-CPA, contracted to carry out a forensic audit “fabricated” things and had its report hastily published before proper approval. “This audit report was fabricated in Nairobi and brought to the RSK auditors in October 2012 by an IPPF officer called Silue Tiegbe,” Dr Nyabienda claimed. Adding to Dr Nyabienda’s suspicions was that the interim Executive Director, Dr Felix Kayihura, signed the said forensic audit report on November 30, 2012, a date when he was actually on official duty in South Africa. On November 23, 2012, RGB had officially relieved him of his responsibilities as interim administrator, meaning that he was not supposed to endorse or disseminate the report. On February 19 this year, in a letter addressed to Lucien Kouakou, the IPPF Regional Director, Jerome Mbonirema, the ARBEF president, justified why they should not be suspended from IPPF. Mbonirema wrote that during the nine-months interim period, IPPF regional office had “rushed to adopt” an audit report that had been disqualified by the interim governing committee. The Institute of Certified Public Accountants (ICPAR) had also found the report inappropriate. In a February 21 response, Kouakou noted that “we are disappointed by the responses provided and as such, IPPF donors will not wait in perpetuity for matters to be conclusively resolved.” When The New Times contacted Kouakou for clarification, the response was evasive. “The conflict between IPPF and ARBEF is internal and is being discussed by the appropriate decision making body,” Lakachew Walie, an IPPF senior advisor, said in an e-mail. “ARBEF is still a Member of IPPF. I cannot comment any further at the moment,” he added.