The US Taxpayer Money's Continued Waste in Afghanistan - Abdullah Sharif

The US has spent some $110 billion on Afghanistan's reconstruction. More than half ($60 billion) has gone to build the Afghan security forces, including the Afghan National Army and the various police forces. The balance was spent on infrastructure such as roads, schools, hospitals, power plants, and so on. To put the situation in perspective, the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe in the aftermath of World War II cost about $103 billion in today's dollars. But unfortunately unlike Europe in the 1950s, neither the US nor the Afghan government has a lot to show for the vast amount of funds spent in Afghanistan. The Afghan security forces continue to be seriously challenged by the insurgency and a high attrition rate. And much of the infrastructure is in shambles. The thankless job of discovering the waste and conveying the bad news falls on the shoulders of John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).

In a recent interview with Al-Jazeera, Sopko attributed the disappearance of taxpayer dollars to waste, fraud and abuse. As an example of waste, $400 to $500 million was spent on the purchase of airplanes for the Afghan Air Force (AAF). The AAF could not use the planes because they were not right for the country. Therefore the planes had to be destroyed. Mr. Sopko also mentioned fraud and abuse in implementing the reconstruction projects.

The Tarakhil project was launched in 2007 by the USAID at a cost of $335 million of taxpayer money. The contract for building the power plant was awarded to Louis Berger/Black & Veatch in a joint venture. It employs diesel fuel generators and was slated as a back up to compensate for power shortages in Kabul. After much delay, poor contractor performance and cost overruns, it was finally handed over to the Afghan authorities in 2010. The USAID Office of Inspector General conducted an audit in 2014 to assess the performance of the power plant. It found that the 105 megawatt power plant was constantly and severely underused at only 2.2% of its capacity. The cost of fuel alone is about $245 million per year, which the Afghan government cannot afford. The USAID has indicated that it has put corrective actions in place to help the Afghan government run the power plant more efficiently, but does that mean that the US taxpayer have to foot the $245 million per year fuel bill? 

As a mountainous country with ample water, Afghanistan could use cheaper hydropower to meet its energy needs. In the 1960s and 70s all of Afghanistan's power needs were generated by hydro-electric power plants. But the current corrupt, incompetent and divided Afghan government is not capable of turning the situation around anytime soon. Its problems are compounded by the security situation and an ever increasing assertive Taliban. In the meantime the US continues to pay for their incompetence and bills. - Read More at Huffingtonpost

The US Taxpayer Money's Continued Waste in Afghanistan