PAC evaluates parastatals

Members of the of parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have begun a follow-up exercise in selected public entities to check on the implementation of resolutions adopted by the House during the analysis of the 2012/2013 report of the Auditor-General. The committee members, who are divided into two groups, yesterday, visited several institutions, including Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (Midimar), Rwanda Public Procurement Authority (RPPA), City of Kigali, Rwanda Military Hospital - Kanombe, and the Central University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK). According to MP Marie Josée Kankera, who led the group that toured Midimar and CHUK, improvements have so far been registered in the public entities visited as per Parliament’s resolutions towards the implementation of Auditor-General’s recommendations. A dustbin placed outside of the wards. Every ward at the hospital has one of the kind. (Timothy Kisambira) “We have seen major improvements so far on our first day, in all the entities we toured. This gives an impression that Auditor-General’s recommendations have been taken seriously toward ensuring accountability of state finances,” said Kankera. “However, this is just the beginning of the follow-up exercise. We cannot rely on the first three institutions we have visited to gauge the rate of improvement. We have several other institutions to check.” The two-week exercise will see legislators go to at least 20 districts around the country, to visit public institutions, local government offices, government business enterprises and non- budget agencies like; Vision 2020 Umurenge Programme (VUP), district pharmacies, and secondary schools, among others. Members of PAC at CHUK sewage plant. (Timothy Kisambira) Although there have been notable improvement to ensure proper accountability for public funds, Auditor-General reported issues close to 70 per cent of public entities that still had issues in accounting, corporate governance, financial management, contract management and value for money which they should fix. The Auditor-General blamed the majority of the issues to laxity in the implementation of recommendations he gives to such institutions, hence resulting in repeatedly similar mistakes. As per the 2012/13 report which covered 127 out of the 331 public entities and projects, the level of implementation of prior year audit recommendations remained the same like that of 2012. One of CHUK incinerators that PAC members visited. (Timothy Kisambira) Of the 2,329 audit recommendations made to respective entities in the previous audits (2011/2012), 1,391 (60 per cent) were fully implemented, while 938 (40 per cent) were not implemented by the time of the 2012/2013 audits, the report reads. CHUK improves According to the 2013/2014 Auditor-General’s report, Chuk registered hitches in terms of healthcare waste management. The MPs lauded the rate at which the national referral has acted fast to fix the issues, including the emission of unfiltered smoke from the incinerators that were proven a health hazard especially to children and pregnant women around the hospital premises. Dr Theobald Hategekimana, CHUK director-general ( L) chats with MP Theogene Munyangeyo as PAC members tour the hospital. (Timothy Kisambira) The emission of black smoke from the incinerators is a sign that the incinerator is either inadequate or is not being operated properly. MP Theogene Munyangeyo said although the hospital has old structures, it has tried o maintain neatness in all departments visited. “The hospital is clean in general, compared to the recent past. One incinerator is properly functioning and it emits filtered smoke, and laundry is done properly,” Munyangeyo said. MP Marie Josee Kankera talks to media. She says that there is improvement so far on their first day in all the entities they toured. (Timothy Kisambira) CHUK has two incinerators but only one is running properly, the other having been grounded due to lack of filters. Dr Theobald Hategekimana, the CHUK director-general, told the MPs that the filter of the second equipment should be acquired in the coming month. The new incinerator has the capacity to burn 50 kilogrammes of hospital waste in an hour, while the broken one would burn up to 100 kilogrammes of waste in similar interval, according to Dr Hategekimana. “We are trying to fix the second incinerator so that we have space to burn waste from neighbouring clinics and hospitals,” the medical director said.

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PAC evaluates parastatals