Members of Parliament have given the Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM) three months to present measures to address persistent corruption risks and weaknesses in cooperative inspections highlighted in the Ombudsman’s 2024/2025 report. The directive was issued on Tuesday, May 14, during a plenary sitting of the Chamber of Deputies, following the presentation of a report by the Committee on Governance and Gender Equality. ALSO READ: Ombudsman decries high volume of citizens’ complaints Presenting the committee’s resolutions, Deputy Chairperson Jeanne d’Arc De Bonheur said MINALOC must present to the Chamber of Deputies measures being taken to resolve complaints received by the Office of the Ombudsman through its programme to prevent and combat injustice and corruption. She noted that particular attention should be given to districts listed in the report which are; Kayonza, Rutsiro, Gicumbi, Nyabihu and Nyanza, which require urgent intervention. The ministry is expected to report back within three months. MINICOM, she added, is required within the same timeframe to outline measures to address the prolonged failure to inspect cooperatives, a gap that has undermined their performance, strained relations with citizens, and led to losses. ALSO READ: Govt launches probe to uncover ‘ghost and dormant’ cooperatives Committee Chairperson Anastase Nabahire, who presented the report, said the review assessed how effectively the Office of the Ombudsman is fulfilling its mandate to combat corruption and injustice. “Our scrutiny focused on identifying persistent challenges and establishing whether responsible institutions are putting in place lasting solutions,” Nabahire said. The Ombudsman’s report indicates that 2,305 complaints were received during the 2024/2025 financial year, of which 1,521 were resolved. The most common cases involved land disputes (792), social welfare (490), dissatisfaction with court rulings (332), unenforced judgments (324), and displacement in the public interest (238). ALSO READ: How Judiciary plans to plug loopholes fueling corruption Assets worth over Rwf1.39 billion were recovered from corruption and economic crimes during the year, bringing the cumulative total since 2014 to more than Rwf15.4 billion. Nabahire noted that weaknesses in service delivery continue to inconvenience citizens and create opportunities for corruption, particularly in districts visited by the Ombudsman, including Kayonza, Rutsiro, Gicumbi and Nyanza. The committee also raised concerns about the state of cooperatives, noting that despite an existing legal and policy framework, oversight institutions and advisory mechanisms, the sector remains plagued by poor management and inactivity. “Out of more than 11,000 cooperatives, over 4,200 are dormant, and some have gone more than 17 years without inspection,” Nabahire said. Other findings included idle cold storage facilities in need of technological upgrades, uncompensated damages caused by poor road drainage, and limitations in the Special Guarantee Fund (SGF), whose list of covered animals includes only 17 species—leaving victims of dog, bee and wasp attacks without compensation. Nabahire also flagged delays in resolving citizens’ complaints, noting that some issues are only addressed when institutions become aware of parliamentary follow-up. He cited delayed land registration affecting 60 citizens in Rutsiro and 130 in Kayonza, unresolved compensation for 161 people displaced by the Gishwati Forest expansion, and 11 residents of Nyaruguru who were compensated for damages from the Ntaruka Dam project only on the day the committee met MINALOC. An inspection of the Feeder Roads Development Project found that while 741.1 kilometres of roads were constructed across 10 districts creating 21,685 jobs, the project faced challenges including poor drainage, missed deadlines, and failure to involve district authorities in road handovers. An assessment of the Special Guarantee Fund showed that of 26,163 files reviewed over three financial years, 25,057 were settled, with Rwf5.57 billion paid in compensation and Rwf429 million recovered from uninsured vehicles. During the session, MP Minani Bizimana raised concerns about weak oversight of cooperatives, noting that a significant number remain inactive. “The issue of low inspection in cooperatives is recurring. With about 38 per cent of cooperatives dormant, this means more than 4,200 are not operational. That is a serious concern,” he said. He questioned the root cause of the persistent gap in inspections. Responding, Nabahire attributed the problem to poor oversight and mismanagement. “Many cooperatives that are no longer operational collapsed due to lack of inspection, which allowed misappropriation of their assets. Some may require government support to resume operations,” he said. He added that discussions with the Rwanda Cooperative Agency (RCA) revealed capacity constraints. “There are only 17 staff at the national level responsible for cooperatives. While there are officers at district and sector levels, they are not effectively monitoring activities on the ground,” Nabahire said. He further noted discrepancies between reports and the situation on the ground, with some officials portraying cooperatives as functional when they are not. Nabahire also pointed to gaps in supervision, noting that inspections are sometimes carried out by personnel lacking the required technical expertise. “The current weaknesses in inspection cannot be justified. There is a need to strengthen both capacity and accountability in the system,” he said.
