| Submit your comments on this article |
| Afghanistan |
| US State Dept: Funds Withheld Because of Corruption |
| 2019-09-20 |
| [ToloNews] US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released a statement on Thursday with some teeth. The opening line reads: "Afghan government institutions and leaders must be transparent and accountable to the Afghan people. We stand against those who exploit their positions of power and influence to deprive the Afghan people of the benefits of foreign assistance." Then Pompeo goes on to say that the US will be withdrawing $100 million from a planned infrastructure program, withholding $60 million in planned assistance funds, and by the end of the calendar year the US will no longer pay for Afghanistan’s Monitoring and Evaluation Committee. Pompeo is direct about his reasons: "Due to identified Afghan government corruption and financial mismanagement, the US government is returning approximately $100 million to the US Treasury that was intended for a large energy infrastructure project," which involved "transmission infrastructure" between Ghazni and Kandahar and Kajaki and Kandahar. Significantly, Pompeo says the US will fulfill its commitment to the project, but it will have to use an "off-budget" mechanism, given "the Afghan government’s inability to transparently manage US Government resources." The withholding of $60 million is due to a "lack of transparency surrounding procurement decisions" by the National Procurement Authority, which is "a great cause for concern." This may not come as surprise to many Afghans, who, in the midst of a nationwide power outage, read US Ambassador John Bass’ September 18 tweet (which was reported on by Afghan media) : "Hearing reports the National Procurement Authority won’t authorize fuel purchases for the power plant providing the only electricity in Kabul‐even while the US & Resolute Support [US/NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... military mission] help Afghan cops enable repairs to transmission lines. Could this be true?" Then, The Monitoring and Evaluation Committee lost its funding because it is "incapable of being a partner in the international effort to build a better future for the Afghan people." And a final pledge: "The American taxpayers and the Afghan people can count on the United States to act when we see assistance funds misused." |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #5 |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2019-09-20 11:58 |
| #4 |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2019-09-20 08:04 |
| #3 |
| Posted by: AlanC 2019-09-20 07:21 |
| #2 |
| Posted by: Herb McCoy 2019-09-20 07:10 |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Dron66046 2019-09-20 04:54 |