U.S. To Lose Billions On Un-Monitored Afghanistan Contruction Projects
After we leave Afghanistan in 2014, U.S. contractors will have access to only 20% of the country because the proximity of troops to respond to attacks are quite limited. That means projects funded by U.S. taxpayer dollars will have little or no oversight.
By plotting some of the largest civilian and military projects on a map generated by the inspector general’s office, The Post found that at least 15 major reconstruction initiatives, projected to cost more than $1 billion, are expected to be beyond the reach of U.S. government personnel next year. Among them are two of the U.S. government’s signature development endeavors: the $75 million installation of a new turbine at a dam in the southwest and part of the area where a $230 million highway is being built in the east.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is building three garrisons for the Afghan army — each costing between $60 million and $80 million — in parts of the country that are outside the sectors identified by the inspector general as accessible.
“Many of these projects will never be seen by an American government employee, and that’s a concern,” said John F. Sopko, the special inspector general. “We need to ensure that tax dollars for these programs are properly spent.”
…the Pentagon would seek to place more responsibility on the Afghan government to track the use of U.S. funds. “We’ve told them that it’s incumbent on them to be good stewards of the resources given to them,” the official said.
And that can only go well, right?
