Top Officials of the Ministry of Infrastructure are being grilled by Legistilators in the on-going inquiries about issues of energy and water in the country.
The two officials include; Minister of Infrastructure Albert Nsengiyumva and his assistant Emma Francoise Isumbingabo the state Minister in charge of Energy and Water. They both presented an overall report on status of Energy and water in the country.
Minister Nsengiyumva presented an overview of both demanding sectors while the State Minister Isumbingabo presented an in-depth report on Rukarara hydro power project.
Several parliamentarians from lower chamber of deputies expressed their dissatisfaction about the presentations from the two officials saying that what they presented was contrary to what is reflected on ground.
Parliamentarians are worried if the government will be able to achieve what it aimed to attain by 2017 in only six years remaining to have a national electricity grid.
The MP’s complained that Rukarara hydro power project and other energy related projects have not delivered to what was expected in past ten years.
Parliamentarians are now requesting the speaker of parliament to allow the setting of the adhoc committee to thoroughly investigate and ascertain whether statistics presented by both ministers reflect what is on the ground as first suggested by deputy Abbas Mukama.
Mukama questioned the State Minister about budgeted funds that were meant for production of electricity from the Rukarara hydro power plant since the Minister said that the plant can now only produce 9MW instead of 9.5MW.
“There is where the state Minister said that there is a gap of 0.5MW which will not be produced as planned yet it was budgeted for. These are public funds. The difference of 0.5MW is equal to funds we voted for in the national budget. I remember we voted for over US $ 22m for the whole 9.5MW, where is this fund and how will it be accounted for”.
“My suggestion is that let there be an adhoc committee that will carry out an in-depth investigation on ground to obtain independent findings to compare with what the ministers have presented,” Mukama suggested to the House.
“They have told us about funds worth US $ 100,000(approx Rwf 59.6m) used to visit the entrepreneur of Sri-Lanka now in charge of the power plant. We need to know is that entrepreneur in Rwanda or in Sri-Lanka, visiting for what purpose? Why did it cost that much?,” Mukama added.
Another MP, Henriette Mukamurangwa wondered whether in six years to 2017 target, government will have attained a national electricity grid of 1000MW.
“Madam Speaker I have tried to pick from the figures they have given us and I have added up to 129MW by at least the end of 2012, Madam Speaker I am seeing a very long journey, how many years remaining now?”
“We have a role of calling upon investors in the country, we shall invite investors, they will come and look around and go back, that is a big challenge, listening to the plans the ministry has, it looks like a more of just a speech, they are not tangible, we have heard such kind of speeches from their predecessors,” Mukamurangwa wondered.
Mukamurangwa questioned again; “If the State Minister has told us that water distribution has reached 80%, it simply means that 8 million of Rwandans have water but i see that not reflected in the public, I think she should revisit her statistics and tell us the truth, this why I also propose an adhoc committee,” She added.
According to many parliamentarians that spoke questioned their dissatisfaction about the Rukarara hydro power plant which is currently said to be producing actually 5.5MW and if fully functions it can only produce 7.2MW instead of 9MW mentioned by the state Minister Isumbingabo in her presentation to the lower chamber.
It has been said that one of the three turbines at the power plant does not function.
Before voting for the adhoc committee to be set for detailed investigations of the Rukarara hydro power plant project, the house has instead voted for the two Ministers to go back tomorrow to the lower chamber to respond to the questions fired against them.
The two ministers were summoned after the lawmakers recently showed discontent over the manner in which Rukarara Hydro Power project was leased to a local firm, Digitech Solutions.
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