The Auditor General’s report identified 96 cases of assets worth over Rwf21.7 billion which were lying idle in 54 public institutions as of the financial year ended June 2020. These comprise 58 new cases worth Rwf16 billion – for the financial year ended June 30, 2020, and 38 cases worth over Rwf5.6 billion from the previous year’s audit. The assets have been idle for varying periods from three months to ten years. For instance, 29 assets of government board and enterprises estimated at Rwf8.8 billion lie idle while 32 asserts which belong to districts and the City of Kigali worth over Rwf6.2 billion are also idle. For specific projects, at least 11 assets worth Rwf4.9 billion are idle. Among the assets in question, there are irrigation infrastructure, health posts, agriculture mechanisation equipment, markets, crafts and exhibition building, cold rooms for handling fresh perishable agricultural produce, and biogas plants. “There has been no value for money for such idle assets…this is attributed to inadequate needs assessment,” outgoing Auditor General, Obadiah Biraro, told The New Times. Biraro said that the national budget should be put to good use to respond to people’s needs. In the City of Kigali, an incinerator at Nduba Landfill located in Gasabo District has been lying idle for seven years, while Agaseke House in Kicukiro District has not yet been put to use for four years after its construction. The incinerator was acquired in 2014 at a cost of more than Rwf180.7 million. Pudence Rubingisa, City of Kigali Mayor, has previously told parliament that the incinerator has been idle because there was no hazardous waste to destroy because the City of Kigali has other incinerators. On the Agaseke House – a business and touristic house constructed at a cost of Rwf423 million – it was not yet put to use since the provisional handover held on March 23, 2017. The outgoing Vice Mayor in charge of Socio-Economic Affairs at the City of Kigali, Nadine Umutoni Gatsinzi said the house was also meant to facilitate women’s access to training for knitting and crafts, and serve exhibition purposes. Talking about the delay in its utilisation, she said that there was not a thorough study on how it would be put to good use. Initially, she said, it was realised the location of the house was not easily accessible by the beneficiaries as it was far from them, which involved transport cost issue. In Kayonza District, there was no indication that a faecal sludge treatment plant that cost over Rwf517 million had ever been put to use at the time of audit in November 2020, the report exposed. Meanwhile, it noted that inquiries with Management and review of executive committee minutes dated May, 22, 2020 revealed that the district is lacking the competent company to manage the above infrastructure. However, there was no plan indicating when this company would be sourced. Another case is for Rusizi District which has a tractor, seven power tillers, and four rice transplants, which have not been working for nine years. Their acquisition cost is over Rwf40 million. This, according to the report, was due to the fact that they had all broken down. The District did not maintain and repair these machines for a long period. The Executive Secretary of Rusizi District, Priscah Mutesi said it was realised that the machinery was not compatible with the terrain – the Bugarama Valley – where they were supposed to be used. She said that among the power tillers, some had lacked spare parts that were needed for their functioning. Meanwhile, she indicated, the required spare parts to maintain seven power tillers have been identified by a team of technicians from RAB where an amount of Rwf2 million is required, she pointed out. Regarding the tractor, she said, Sodar Ltd – a rice processing firm in the district, committed to repair and manage it after reaching an agreement with the District. “The machinery has been inoperative for up to 10 years; now you want to spend money on buying spare parts. There is a concern that they might break down one year after their maintenance. It would be better to buy new ones instead,” said MP Christine Bakundufite. To avoid the reoccurrence of unnecessary expenditure through idle assets, Biraro said, public entities should conduct a proper needs assessment before procuring assets. “Public entities should exercise extreme caution in decisions involving public funds to ensure that money is spent on projects that generate value,” he advised.
