Three years after government merged former public universities and colleges into one institution called University of Rwanda, cases of serious financial mismanagement continue to come up.

The 2014/15 auditor-general’s report highlights outright irresponsibility and mismanagement of resources which led to loss of billions of francs across the nine entities of the institution.

The University of Rwanda was created as a merger of seven former public institutions of higher learning namely the National University of Rwanda, Kigali Institute of Science and Technology, Kigali Institute of Education, Institute of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Kigali Health Institute, School of  Finance and Banking and Umutara Polytechnic (now Nyagatare College).

The number later came to nine with the amalgamation of five other institutions namely three former schools of nursing based in Byumba, Kibungo and Kivumu and two teacher training colleges of Rukara and Kavumu.

While each of the entities still undertakes financial management and reporting separately, most of them experienced weaknesses in accounting with huge unsupported expenditure, debts and credits, among others.

When the University of Rwanda officials appeared before Parliament’s Public Account Committee this week, lawmakers expressed deep concerns that persistent financial flaws frustrate the effective operation of the three-year-old institutions.

This compromises results expected of the merger designed to make public high education more efficient as well as centralising national resources in the wake of declining education standards.

MPs questioned weaknesses in accounting for internally generated revenues across Nyagatare campus, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, College of Arts and Social Sciences, College of Business and Economics, Rukara College of Education and Kavumu College of Education.

The entities recorded huge amount of unsupported balances including long outstanding receivables of over Rwf1.6 billion, Rwf1 billion of unsupported expenditure, Rwf92 million of unsupported revenues while unsupported debts and credits amounted to Rwf246 and Rwf2.2 billion respectively.

Nyagatare College couldn’t justify the payment of over Rwf900 million in the botched Rwf3.7 billion construction project of a Veterinary Complex which would serve as a laboratory for veterinary students.

MPs alluded to apparent corruption tendencies by university employees as the contractor still received additional payments despite his inability to deliver.

“This is open corruption on the side of those in charge of this contract. The value of the work done is estimated at Rwf308 million which is not even a half of the Rwf900 million paid to him. And now you are talking of cancelling the contract with no action after government incurred losses,” said MP Juvenal Nkusi.

The University of Rwanda officials blamed the project failure on the contracting firm. However, the Vice Rector of Administration and Finance Prudence Rubingisa, could not justify the basis for the selection of the firm as well as the payments approved by the university notwithstanding the fact that the construction progress only stood at eight per cent.

The university officials were also faulted for being slow in implementing the auditor general’s recommendation as well as failing to take appropriate action with regard to individuals implicated.

Earlier reports of the Auditor General had called for a clear accounting framework, policies to cater for accounting issues the University of Rwanda inherited from the individual universities.

A 2014/15 report had particularly fingered Nyagatare College, for ineffective accounting. While implementation of audit recommendations stood at 47 per cent in other campuses, Umutara implemented only 20 per cent.

Nyagatare College was also put on the spot for illegally raising staff salaries.