Events in the Rwandan capital Kigali have been folding unfortunately for culprits of corruption, embezzlement and misuse of and public funds.

From ministers to permanent secretaries, down to ordinary civil servants the buzz word is the same: zero tolerance for corruption and mismanagement of public resources.

The government's anti-corruption unit as watchdog and the ombudsman are bark and bite organisations which have been working with Rwanda National Prosecution Authority to investigate, arrest and prosecute corrupt officials who are menace to public coffers and morality. So far interdicted are the permanent secretaries of the ministries of Infrastructure, Education and officials of Central Public Investment and External Finance Bureau (CEPEX),

A former Permanent secretary of the ministry of education is on the run. Others include the director general of Rwanda National Institute of Statistics (RNIS). Punishments are in accordance to the law and in the event that one is found clean they are free to go. Justice cuts across.

After a 2006 Auditor General's report showed massive mismanagement of public funds, government moved and investigated 11 ministries and 65 government institutions.

The government has shown consistency in this area and no body is above the law.

This has endeared the country in the area of accountability and has shown many African, and more closely East African, countries that the vice can be combated.

It also shows that a commitment by the leadership to fight a vice if done in full accordance to the law and justice to all can render corruption largely impotent.

A recent study released by the East African Business Council, the Business Climate Index (BCI) Survey, estimates that US$9.8 million is lost by business every year through payment of bribes; 56% lost at weighbridges and 25% at roadblocks. This is not good for the region given that the cost of business increases with loss of public funds. Examples abound: in Kenya the graft that ensued at the Nairobi Stock Exchange, the BOT scam in Tanzania and the recent NSSF saga in Uganda, show an urgent need to curb corruption. The Rwandan example is good for business and will certainly serve to show regional governments the need to clean up and create a conducive environment for local and national investments.

Editorial
East African Business Week
February 23, 2009

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