The new rules have been issued by Finance Minister Yusuf Murangwa and Justice Minister Dr Emmanuel Ugirashebuja
KIGALI – Public servants in Rwanda whose actions or failure to act result in the loss of government money or property will be required to repay the losses within 30 days, under new regulations governing public finance management.
The rules, issued by Finance Minister Yusuf Murangwa and Justice Minister Emmanuel Ugirashebuja, make public employees financially responsible for losses attributed to their actions or omissions.
Under the new Ministerial Order No 010/26/10/TC, published in the Official Gazette on October 30, an employee found responsible for a loss must receive a written notice from the head of their institution, stating the amount involved and demanding payment within 30 days.
Payment may also be made in reasonable instalments.
Employees who fail to pay could face legal proceedings before a competent judicial authority to recover the money.
The regulations cover central government institutions, local government entities and non-commercial public institutions, among other public bodies.
Reporting losses
The order requires public servants to immediately report any suspected loss of public money or property to their direct supervisors. Reports must also be sent to the official responsible for asset management and the institution’s chief budget manager.
Every reported incident must be investigated, regardless of how it was brought to the institution’s attention.
Where a loss may involve a criminal offence, the matter must be reported to the relevant investigative authorities.
An employee who disputes responsibility may have the matter referred to the courts for determination and possible recovery of the funds.
However, the regulations allow certain losses to be written off where they result from unavoidable circumstances or cannot be recovered following a thorough investigation.
New emergency spending provision
The order also introduces a provision for emergency government spending through what it describes as an “impromptu” budget line.
The provision creates a reserve for urgent and unforeseen expenditure that was not included in the original budget.
At central government level, the reserve will be managed by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. Ministries facing unexpected financial needs can request additional funding, provided they justify the request.
The Finance Minister must approve the allocation and transfer the money to the relevant institution’s budget before it is spent.
Institutions receiving the money will be required to submit quarterly reports explaining how it was used.
Local government entities will also have their own emergency budget provisions, with their respective executive heads authorised to approve spending. They must report quarterly to their councils.
The order does not prescribe a fixed amount or percentage of the national budget for these emergency allocations. Their size will be determined during the annual budget preparation process.
Stronger financial controls
The new regulations also require public institutions to separate financial responsibilities, ensuring that the same employees do not control every stage of budgeting, payments, asset management and accounting.
Every public institution must maintain an internal audit function and an audit committee, while also establishing systems to identify and manage financial risks.
Public assets must be insured against specified risks. Government buildings, for example, must be covered against fire, earthquakes and floods, while movable property must have protection against fire, theft and floods.
The measures come against a background of repeated concerns over the management and recovery of public funds.
In the Auditor General’s report for the financial year ending June 2025, presented to Parliament in May 2026, Rwf1.47 billion was recovered through preventive audits, compared with Rwf9.3 billion in the previous year.
The report also identified Rwf600 million in unlawful expenditure, down from Rwf2.04 billion in 2024.
Separately, the Auditor General has highlighted difficulties recovering money lost through mismanagement and embezzlement.
In one case, 46 cooperatives were found to have misappropriated Rwf455 million in 2025, but only Rwf10 million had been recovered by December that year.
The new order establishes an administrative process through which public institutions can demand repayment from employees responsible for financial losses, alongside existing investigations and criminal proceedings.
It took effect on October 30, the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
