City officials grilled on Rwf29m transport expenditure

City of Kigali officials on Monday failed to explain how Rwf29 million was spent on transporting Indatirwabahizi, a traditional dance troupe(s), prior to the last President’s swearing in ceremony.The officials were appearing before the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee to explain circumstances under which over Rwf80 million was given to AS Kigali football team and Indatirwabahizi without supporting documents. The anomalies were highlighted in the 2011 Auditor General’s reports. According to the report, the City of Kigali transferred over Rwf80 million to support football teams and dance troupe, both sponsored by the city, but there was no evidence to indicate that the city’s management reviewed any supporting documents that justify the funds used.The committee chairman, MP Juvenal Nkusi, tasked the officials to explain how they could pay out Rwf29m for transport within one day to the traditional dance troupe. MP Jean Baptiste Musemakweli said: “I want you to give satisfactory explanations on the Rwf29 million you gave to people in the city’s Itorero,” It was given out on a single day! A lot of money was given out, in one day, to different people!”“What kind of transport was that meant for? Was it for individuals, or bus transport? Were there lists that were verified? Is there a list where people signed? Who took the money? These things, as the Auditor General states, are worrying. Why were things not done properly?”In his defence the city’s Internal Auditor, Jean Marie Vianney Maniraguha, said the money was given out during the preparations for the President’s swearing in ceremony.He explained that at the time, every city district had a dance troupe that was supposed to do rehearsals three days before the ceremony. “The city administration was tasked with ensuring that the dance troupe was facilitated in terms of transport,” he said. Maniraguha added the money was given to one individual who then distributed to other people in charge of the dance troupes in the city districts.The problem is that at the time, the end users did not give feed back as well as supporting documents to verify how money was used.Musemakweli asked: “What should have been the best accounting practice? Do you just give out money and that’s it?”The city’s Executive Secretary Jean Marie Matabaro, , owned up to the mistakes and told the committee that what was done in the past was improper but proper systems are now in place.Matabaro said: “What you are saying is true and we acknowledge the mistake. It was not proper to just hand out money like that. There was a risk and anyone could have had problems in the process. However, the individuals who were given the money are known and at the time, they also had the supporting documents but it is just that they were not asked to provide them. We later retrieved them, and we now have them.”The AG’s report indicates that in absence of reviewing utilisation reports and supporting documentation submitted by beneficiaries of funds from City of Kigali, management can’t be convinced that public funds were put to proper use.While compiling the report, AG’s office found account errors involving transactions totalling Rwf63, 688, 472m in the city’s books.

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City officials grilled on Rwf29m transport expenditure