ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN GATHERS FORCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L KIGALI 000150

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/06/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV KCRM ECON RW
SUBJECT: ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN GATHERS FORCE

REF: A. KIGALI 78 (NOTAL)

B. 08 STATE 872 (NOTAL)

Classified By: CDA Cheryl Sim for reasons 1.4 (b) (d)


1. (C) Summary. In recent months, anti-corruption efforts
by the Rwandan government (GOR) have gathered force, with
several senior civil servants under arrest. The GOR
leadership is issuing orchestrated messages on
anti-corruption, and a new anti-corruption body has been
established to coordinate investigation and prosecution of
malefactors. Prosecutors believe they have President
Kagame's full backing to follow corruption wherever it leads.
The GOR has made "service delivery" a key priority for the
next 18 months as it heads for the fall 2010 presidential
elections. Honesty in government is an essential component
of that policy goal -- a government that delivers on its
promises and holds its officials to high standards. Not all
senior officials support these high standards, and some
ministers and other are reportedly shaken by the rising
intensity of the campaign. End summary.


2. (C) Since December 2008, a number of government officials
have been arrested or are being sought on corruption-related
charges. These include the permanent secretaries (the senior
civil servants in each ministry, with broad budgetary
authority) of the Ministries of Infrastructure, Education (he
reportedly has fled to London) and East African Community, as
well as two directors general in the Ministry of Finance and
Institute of Statistics. The directors of 12 of Rwanda's 14
prisons are also under investigation, and so is the director
general for a genocide survivors fund. A number of employees
at the Rwanda Revenue Authority and other government offices
have been fired. Several dozen mid-level civil servants in
various ministries are also either under arrest or active
investigation. Every week, more announcements are made of
investigations and arrests.


3. (SBU) To strengthen anti-corruption efforts, the GOR
announced the formation of an anti-corruption council in late
January composed of the Ombudsman office, the Prosecutor
General, the Rwanda National Police Commissioner and several
ministries. At the same time, the GOR has stepped up its
anti-corruption public statements. During the National
Dialogue at the end of 2008, when Ombudsman Tito Rutaremara
challenged the entire national local leadership assembled at
the Parliament building: "I will be watching you" (ref B).


4. (SBU) At the National Leadership Retreat (a yearly
February convocation of senior executive branch officials)
President Kagame pointed to the recent corruption arrests and
stated, "It is not enough to be clean, you should not turn a
blind eye and pretend corruption elsewhere does not concern
you." Most recently, at the inauguration of the 2009
National Judicial Year, Kagame called upon the nation's
judiciary and court officers to desist from corrupt acts,
calling corruption a major stumbling block to the
establishment of a strong and effective judiciary. He added
Rwanda did not need donor aid to address corruption. He
issued a strong warning that those officials who do not
"change their evil ways" will be subject to "harsh
punishment." Other speakers, including the President of the
High Court and the Chief Prosecutor, also focused their
remarks on battling corruption.


5. (C) Prosecutor General Martin Ngoga (strictly protect)
recently discussed with pol/econ counselor the unfolding of
the national-level anti-corruption campaign and President
Kagame's keen interest and support in rooting out corruption.
According to Ngoga, he regularly briefed the President on
these ongoing investigations. With this high degree of
Presidential support, Ngoga and his prosecutors now act with
greater confidence in their investigations. Ngoga noted that
the police and prosecution service had been investigating
various ministries and offices for over two years, following
Auditor General reports on the financial failings of numerous
government offices (see 07 Kigali 743). Recent prosecutions
were to some extent the fruits of that lengthy labor, he
said, but equally useful were the rising number of tips and
reports from inside those offices. "People take us more
seriously on corruption, and they report more now," he
commented. Lack of required financial disclosure by senior
civil servants had also been a focus of investigation.


6. (C) Ngoga said his office receives regular "reaction"
from what he termed "blocks" of influence within the Rwandan
government. He noted that whenever a major arrest is made,
certain persons call to tell him how "wonderful" his efforts
are, while others call to register their dismay and surprise.
Sometimes these unsolicited calls will take on an ugly
tinge, alleging a particular arrest was made to balance an
arrest from another of Rwanda's two main ethnic communities.
Ngoga stated, however, that "these opinions are almost never
based on the merits of the case," but rather which "block" is
affected, for good or ill. With the President behind him, he
ignores these expressions of concern or approval, he
commented.


7. (C) Following the government retreat, one minister
described for DCM the strong efforts being made to address
corruption in the government ranks. At the same time, this
minister asserted that not all ministerial-level hands were
clean and some colleagues appeared to be shaken by this heavy
and intense Presidential and prosecutorial focus on
corruption. The corruption includes missing funds for
survivor housing tracts, tendering scams on road projects,
solicitation of bribes from local businessmen, and
accumulations of wealth far beyond the modest salaries of
mid-level civil servants.


8. (C) Comment. Rwanda's anti-corruption campaign is not
window-dressing. The GOR and ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front
pride themselves on their discipline and attention to detail,
and important government policies are implemented with a
degree of strictness and exactitude that can be breathtaking
to behold. Anti-corruption is just such a policy goal, and
to date government cadres found wanting are dismissed and
prosecuted with little sympathy for the persons involved.
Which "block" within the government is up or down is in some
ways beside the point -- the GOR has determined that honest
behavior is a core value in its very focused efforts to grow
the economy and expand opportunity for its people.
Opportunistic corruption by local and national officials,
anxious to cash in their positions through solicitation of
illegal payments, is one worry for government. Another is
the effort by some senior officials to foster relationships
with large business interests, and extend significant
government or RPF ownership in these businesses, open or
disguised, for their own benefit. Ngoga, Ombudsman
Rutaremara, and others embarked on this campaign have many
allies within the government, including President Kagame.
There are also powerful people who oppose their efforts.
With the exception of the removal of the head of the Rwandan
National Police in summer 2008 (he is still technically
"suspended"),no close Presidential associate has been
accused of engaging in corrupt practices. End comment.


SIM