The government is pursuing about Rwf11bn that it hopes to recoup from cases that it won in corruption and public funds mismanagement-related cases, the Minister of Justice, Johnston Busingye has said. He said this on a local radio programme where he was tasked by the panel to shed light on what the government is doing to recover the monies that the Auditor General has over the years continued to highlight as lost in through mismanagement. Busingye, who also doubles as the Attorney General, explained that since 2015, the government has been pursuing around 700 people to refund the money and so far, about Rwf4bn has been recouped. “There was a culture and mentality of Rwandans not to feel the need to pay when they owe government. We decided that this cannot go on and compiled a list of all those that owe the government money, the oldest case we have is from 200,” he said. He warned those who continue to misuse government funds, saying that the wheels of justice are in motion to wipe such culprits from public offices and to hold those who continue this vice accountable. “Anyone can see that the wheels of eliminating such people from public office are in motion. However, when it comes to long term, we are building a system through which we can track the debtors without the process costing us lots of money,” he said. Need for accountability The Chairperson of Transparency International Rwanda; Marie Immaculée Ingabire said that there was need for the Ministry of Labour and Public Service (MIFOTRA) to explain what happens to the people that are highlighted by the Auditor General for their role in the mismanagement of government funds. “When this report comes out, what is thought to be a crime is sent to prosecution and what they call management errors are sent to the ministry of labour. What then? It’s shocking to learn that some are still working like nothing happened,” she said. Ingabire called for more stringent measures in holding those who are implicated accountable. “We have never heard of any one person whose property has been sold because of this. Do we completely forget that money? All these people own properties. If you cannot default on a bank loan and get away with it, why should citizens’ taxes be squandered,” she wondered. Disregard of recommendations Over the years, the Auditor General (AG), Obadiah Biraro, has consistently criticised public entities for their reluctance to implement his annual recommendations designed to ensure value for money and accountability in public expenditure. Last year, the government lost a staggering Rwf5.6 billion due to delayed and abandoned contracts, idle assets and payment of non-existent employees. Biraro blamed the continuous mismanagement of public funds on incompetence, indifference and recklessness. Prosecution is the answer Speaking to The New Times in a telephone interview recently, Biraro said that prosecuting those responsible for the losses would go a long way in fixing the issues. “You have to have enforcement. If you have not implemented the Auditor General’s recommendations, what happens to you? There are rules and if you go against them, you should face the consequences. There is no way out of this other than prosecution. There is no shortcut,” he said. Biraro said that leadership should come with accountability and those trusted with the task to disburse public funds should be stripped of these responsibilities and tasked to refund the monies they lost. Earlier this year, the President of the Nyarugenge Intermediate Court, Adolphe Udahemuka told The New Times that although all efforts are put in bringing those implicated in these crimes, the government still had a challenge of following up the money that it has won. Udahemuka said that for instance, his court, which mostly tries financial crimes that involves little money, has won cases worth almost Rfw350m, mostly which is a total of embezzled money and the fines attached to the crime.
