References: In law, there are series of agencies, or equivalent mechanism overseeing state-owned companies and they are generally governed by Organic law N° 14/2004 of May 26, 2004 establishing general provisions governing public institutions:

"Article 3: Categories of Public Institutions, modified and complemented by Organic Law n° 34/2007 of 13/08/2007 and the Public Institution shall be established by Law where necessary for public interest.

Paragraph 2 states that the Public institution shall be classified in one of the following main categories in accordance with its mission:

1. Public Institution for commercial or industrial exploitation;

2. Public Institution having the responsibilities of regulation and promotion in economic, social, and other activities as required by general interest;

3. Public Institution for scientific, technological and cultural researches.

When the general interest requires, the Law may create a Public Institution with particular or hybrid characteristics according to the mission entrusted to it.

In accordance with the category of a Public Institution, the Law establishing it shall determine special matters relating to its organismic and its management."

References: There are a large number of state-owned institutions whose management is legally protected from any political or interference under the organic laws on organization and functioning. The constitutional provisions regarding their establishment also guarantee independent mandates of the managing teams.

References: In practice, a series of agencies, or equivalent mechanism overseeing state-owned companies has a professional, full-time staff according to Ms. Monique Nsanzabaganwa (interview September 30): "All the institutions under the umbrella of the Rwanda Development Boards (RDB) are corporate and business-oriented under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce, Cooperatives, Industry and Tourism and are answerable to the presidency; but there are others that are under the supervision of other ministries like agriculture and local government." She added that each public organ has an organic law stating its scope of operations.

Prof. Nshuti Manasseh, former minister of finance, now Rector, Rwanda Institute of Administration and Management (RIAM) in Southern Province (interview September 30) says: "The RDB was created recently to coordinate foreign and local investment to profitable government priorities."

References: In practice, the agency, series of agencies, or equivalent mechanism overseeing state-owned companies receives regular government funding and other foreign development partners according to all the interviewees quoted above.

Peer Review Comments: Rwanda is a case of aid dependence and policy independence, meaning that the government receives considerable budget support from international donors, but is able to set its own priorities. I think political considerations play into budget allocations.

The agency that probes and investigate the finances of state-owned enterprises is the Auditor General"s office together with police Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

References: In practice, when necessary, a series of agencies, or equivalent mechanism overseeing state-owned companies independently initiates investigations on investment potentialities and shortcomings and advise the government on the appropriate measures to resolve the obstacles according to the interviewees quoted above.

The agency that probes and investigate the finances of state-owned enterprises the Auditor General"s office together with the police Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

References: In practice, when necessary, a series of agencies, or equivalent mechanism overseeing state-owned companies imposes penalties on offenders in conformity with relevant laws on the organization, functioning and competencies according to the interviewees cited above.

References: In law, citizens can access the financial records of state-owned companies pursuant to Organic law N° 14/2004 of May 26, 2004, which established general provisions governing public institutions.

Article 2: "A public institution enjoys a legal personality and is managed in accordance with laws governing Public Service, to which the State allocates funds in order for it to carry out specialized activities for public interest. The responsibilities, category, organization, management and functioning of such an institution shall be governed by the Law establishing it. The institution shall enjoy administrative and financial autonomy and report to a public supervising authority. "ORGANIC LAW N° 14/2004 OF 26/5/2004 ESTABLISHING GENERAL PROVISIONS GOVERNING PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS, Article 6: "The Institution Director shall be accountable to the deliberative assembly for the implementation of its decisions as well as for the management of activities and services of the public institution. He or she shall be allowed to attend meetings of the deliberative assembly with a deliberative or consultative vote, depending on what is provided for in the law establishing the institution and shall be its Rapporteur. The Institution Director shall not attend meetings where a case involving him or her is to be discussed."

References: In practice, the financial records of state-owned companies are regularly updated according to the Auditor General Everlyn Kamagaju in an interview (quoted earlier): "Ever since this office was established in 2000, we have ensured that the accounting system in this country, specifically in public institutions, is improved to the standards of international accounting standards; we have regularly presented audits to parliament and we have been able to audit at least over 80 percent of state-owned companies."

She stressed that the audit body has recruited more personnel to cover all the public institutions in the country

References: In practice, the financial records of state-owned companies are audited according to international accounting standards as already clarified above by the auditor general Everlyn Kamagaju. She further stressed that most importantly, a comprehensive, reliable, uniform, and integrated accounting system has been put in place that services the needs of all levels of government.

Also, according to the International Monetary Fund Report Rwanda July 2003 on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) Fiscal Transparency Module Prepared by the Fiscal Affairs Department: "This report provides an assessment of fiscal transparency practices in Rwanda in relation to the requirements of the IMF Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency, based on discussions with the authorities and other organizations, the authorities' response to the IMF fiscal transparency questionnaire, and other sources of information.

"Rwanda's budget management system had to be reconstructed from a low base, following the devastating events of 1994. Since then, the authorities have taken a number of actions to enhance fiscal transparency. "The government's role in the economy has been clarified by the privatization process and improvements to the regulatory framework; budget preparation has been significantly strengthened: the budget is presented to parliament in a timely manner, the classification was revised in line with international standards, planning takes place in the context of a medium-term expenditure framework, and a comprehensible background document is being prepared." states the report's executive summary. The report can be accessed online at [ LINK ].

Peer Review Comments: Yes, the government has a strong commitment to international reporting standards.

References: In practice, citizens can access the financial records of state-owned companies through the auditor general's annual report within a reasonable time period, especially immediately after its presentation to parliament and online at www.aog.gov.rw, according to Auditor General Everlyn Kamagaju.

Prof. Nshuti Manasseh, former minister of finance, now Rector, Rwanda Institute of Administration and Management (RIAM) in Southern Province (interview September 30) says: " Any citizens or interested parties can access the Internet; they can easily get the comprehensive copies of the report without any hurdles."

References: In practice, citizens can access the financial records of state-owned companies at a reasonable cost, the above quoted interviewees say it costs less that US$ 1 to print out a copy in an Internet cafe.

Peer Review Comments: Yes, citizens can access the financial records of state-owned companies, but how many people have access to the Internet and are able to read the language of the report?