Corruption watchdog, Transparency International (T.I Rwanda) has questioned the Auditor General (AOG)’s report over a particular methodology that “discourages” local government entities from being ambitious in their work.
The anti-corruption watchdog raised the concerns on Friday, March 30, during the dissemination of findings of an analysis it made on the 2020/2021 OAG’s report, specifically focusing on districts.
Released annually, T.I Rwanda’s analytical report aims at creating a basis to increase the clarity and transparency of OAG’s reports to the general public and local government officials, and providing evidence-based information for the steering of local public financial management activities.
In an interview, Marie Immaculee Ingabire, the Chairperson of T.I Rwanda, pointed out that the OAG’s report “rather funnily” faults districts when they make more revenue than the targets they had set for a particular year.
‘’For example, if a district’s annual target was Rwf 15 billion for the financial year but fortunately it makes Rwf 16 billion, the AOG’s report seems to consider that as a failure,’’ she said.
“This may discourage districts from taking new initiatives to make more revenue.”
The OAG financial audit methodology comprises a set of interdependent audit work steps. The methodology comprises various procedures which represent a categorization of audit steps in partly sequential and most frequently interdependent manner.
The OAG says “the audit teams should remain cognizant of the fact that unlike public establishments and projects, central and local government entities are mainly affected by actions or inactions of the government. These entities will consequently not be affected by most external factors.’’
However, T.I Rwanda issued recommendations to districts, different institutions and the City of Kigali. It urged them to put more effort in studies that inform their investment decisions in order to reduce the idle assets being continuously reported.
Anti-corruption institutions and Rwanda Public Procurement Authority ( RPPA ) should promote preventive monitoring and regulatory interventions especially in procurement of big projects to avoid losses, it added.
