The parliamentary Public Accounts Committee need to go beyond scrutinising financial statements and assess the practical benefits for the common Rwandan, according to experts.

According to Auditor- General Obadia Biraro, the commission has made positive strides, but as the country’s budget increases, they will need to put in more effort in financial management that is people-centred.

“In line with standard 12 of international audit, we are looking for complementarity between our office, the parliamentary commissions in charge of budget and PAC. As the budget has been increasing, the value for money should be on the same trend, therefore the new standing committee should do better than the previous ones,” he said.

He added that the country is doing well since the establishment of PAC in 2011, hence the need to increase the capacity of members of parliament especially those in PAC and the commission in charge of budget.

“We should help them improve their accountability and finance management skills and that is why these committees are being trained,” he told reporters during a training organised by his office for new members of PAC and budget commission in parliament.

Mr Biraro said the country subscribes to the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions, whose mandate is to train on the latest models of accountability and financial management.

Jean Chrysostome Ngabitsinze, the new PAC chairperson and a former university professor of economics, said his commission will put emphasis on performance reports and more critical analysis.

“We need more knowledge to improve how we probe performance audit reports,” he said.