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Corruption in Afghanistan:
Worse than you thought
A new report suggests up to 30 percent of U.S. taxpayer
money spent on certain aid projects is stolen
A private security organization contractor listens to a radio during his duty at guard
tower in Camp Nathan Smith in Kandahar City (Credit: Nikola Solic / Reuters)
It’s not exactly breaking news that Afghanistan is rife with corruption.
But a new Congressional Research Service report obtained by Salon
underscores just how bad things have gotten — and just how much
taxpayer money is being lost to fraud.
“One USAID official estimated that on some projects, up to 30% of
contracted project costs can be attributed to corruption. A number of
government and industry officials stated that corruption is the ‘price of
doing business’ in Afghanistan,” writes report author Moshe Schwartz,
citing “more than a dozen interviews with officials from DOD, USAID, the
Department of State, Industry, and coalition forces” in Kabul in recent
months.
In the last decade, USAID has spent about $15 billion in Afghanistan on
projects in areas ranging from agriculture to transportation to education.
So where is all that stolen money going? The report explains:
Wartime Contracting in Afghanistan 11142011
Corruption in Afghanistan: Worse than you thought - Afghanistan - Salon.com
Worse than you thought
A new report suggests up to 30 percent of U.S. taxpayer
money spent on certain aid projects is stolen
A private security organization contractor listens to a radio during his duty at guard
tower in Camp Nathan Smith in Kandahar City (Credit: Nikola Solic / Reuters)
It’s not exactly breaking news that Afghanistan is rife with corruption.
But a new Congressional Research Service report obtained by Salon
underscores just how bad things have gotten — and just how much
taxpayer money is being lost to fraud.
“One USAID official estimated that on some projects, up to 30% of
contracted project costs can be attributed to corruption. A number of
government and industry officials stated that corruption is the ‘price of
doing business’ in Afghanistan,” writes report author Moshe Schwartz,
citing “more than a dozen interviews with officials from DOD, USAID, the
Department of State, Industry, and coalition forces” in Kabul in recent
months.
In the last decade, USAID has spent about $15 billion in Afghanistan on
projects in areas ranging from agriculture to transportation to education.
So where is all that stolen money going? The report explains:
Corruption takes many forms, including government officials
charging bribes for transporting goods across the border and
extorting protection payments. Many analysts view large
swaths of the judicial sector and the attorney general’s office
as corrupt, as evidenced by the lack of prosecutions against
high-ranking government officials or warlords accused of being
involved in criminal activity or rampant corruption. In other
instances, members of the Afghan security forces use their
position to demand bribes and extort shipping companies at
Afghan borders and airports.
Here is the full study:charging bribes for transporting goods across the border and
extorting protection payments. Many analysts view large
swaths of the judicial sector and the attorney general’s office
as corrupt, as evidenced by the lack of prosecutions against
high-ranking government officials or warlords accused of being
involved in criminal activity or rampant corruption. In other
instances, members of the Afghan security forces use their
position to demand bribes and extort shipping companies at
Afghan borders and airports.
Wartime Contracting in Afghanistan 11142011
Corruption in Afghanistan: Worse than you thought - Afghanistan - Salon.com
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