REG boss freed but complaints of 400 employees remain unanswered

The Rwanda Energy Group CEO, Jean-Bosco Mugiraneza, might be a free man after he was set free on an understanding between his company and the Office of the Ombudsman, but the issues that led to his incarceration remain unaddressed. Mugiraneza was arrested on Monday for allegedly holding in contempt the Office of the Ombudsman, before he was released on Wednesday. According to the Office of the Ombudsman, the arrest followed several complaints concerning staff recruitment at the energy utility, which the Ombudsman had been investigating. Asked about the conditions for his release, Police spokesperson CSP Celestin Twahirwa, yesterday, referred The New Times to the Office of the Ombudsman. When contacted, Jean Pierre Nkurunziza, the adviser to the Chief Ombudsman, only said Mugiraneza was released after he accepted to cooperate with investigators on alleged misconduct and holding the Ombudsman’s office in contempt. He declined to divulge details of the case. However, The New Times learnt that at least 400 affected former employees of then Energy, Water and Sanitation Authority (EWSA) petitioned the Ombudsman, accusing REG of ‘unfair dismissal in a recruitment process where all employees were asked to reapply for their jobs.” In an interview, Jordi Musoni, the president of workers’ union, Sypelgaz, said the complainants allege there were many irregularities in the recruitment process during the public service restructuring process last year. “Many were told to sit exams only for the sake of it because we realised the process was not transparent and the whole exercise did not follow the Prime Minister’s on transfer and Presidential orders on recruitment,” Musoni said. Musoni claimed that the recruitment process was a sham. “There are cases of people who were told they failed exams when they did not sit them. Some were transferred to departments not corresponding to their competences and are now are applying to be transferred,” he added. The same disgruntled group is said to have petitioned the Public Service Commission; but efforts to get a comment from the Commission had been futile by press time as our calls went unanswered. In an interview with The New Times, yesterday, Mugiraneza said he had written a letter to the complainants, advising them to follow normal procedures of appeal. “Anyone with any complaint should come to our office and we will address their issues accordingly and in a transparent manner,” he said. He dismissed claims that 400 people were affected in the process, putting the number at only 200. Article 4 of the Presidential Order governing modalities for the recruitment, appointment and nomination of public servants, states that public servants shall be recruited and appointed on the basis of the organisational structure of the respective institution and as approved by competent authorities. The same Order in its Article 7 further states that the institution that requires personnel shall publish a list of the candidates selected for the interview, those who did not make the shortlist, and the reasons thereof. “The list shall be published at the notice board of the institution that needs personnel,” reads the Presidential Order. However, the complainants claim that the list was not published as required by law. Government last year conducted reforms in the public service meant to ensure efficiency, avoid redundancies and duplication of roles both at institutional and staff levels. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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REG boss freed but complaints of 400 employees remain unanswered