If there is one single government institution that has come under fire every time the Auditor General releases results of the annual audit, it is the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB). With an investment portfolio of about 700 billion Francs, it is undoubtedly the jewel in the state’s crown and managing it without hiccups is a daunting task. That could probably explain the fact that it is a government agency that has registered the highest turnover among the top leadership. Last week it saw another change at the top in one of the biggest government shakeups in a long time. Annual reports by the Auditor General have year-on-year raised concerns about the pensions and medical insurance fund, concerns that have included poor financial management and ill-thought investment decisions, which, fortunately, the incoming leadership has promised to address. Judging from the past, that is a very old song, we have heard it before from many former RSSB managers. They come in with a lot of drive and confidence, but somehow down the road, they slip into old habits and feature at the top of Auditor General’s report, year in year out. It is not about poor management because RSSB has had some of the best brains at its head; the problem must be somewhere else and the accusing finger is slowly rotating towards the Board of Directors. The recurrent problems in the institution would be history if the board worked glove-in-hand with RSSB’s management as no problem is insurmountable. Nipping the problem in the bud should be adopted as a custom as there will be fewer tears to shed. The best we can do is wish the incoming management the best of luck and hopefully won’t feature prominently in the next Auditor General’s report.
