$15.5b wasted in Afghanistan over 11 years: SIGAR

KABUL over the past 11 years, estimates an American watchdog. 

In a letter to congressmen, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said the waste amounted to 29 percent of the spending it audited.

According to NBC News, SIGAR began tallying the waste and fraud in America’s reconstruction effort in response to a request from three congressmen in 2017.

“After 10 months of research, SIGAR sent a letter back to the congressmen that estimated the waste at $15.5 billion between 2008 and 2017,” the TV channel reported.

Obtained by the cannel, Special Inspector General John Sopko’s letter read the figure could only be a portion of the total waste, fraud, abuse and failed efforts.

It is the first estimate by SIGAR, charged with tracking government spending in Afghanistan, of the money misappropriated in the war-torn country.

More than $4 billion intended for stabilisation initiatives instead led to exacerbated conflicts, enabled corruption and boosted support for insurgents, the federal entity alleged.

It noted the $7.3 billion spent on controlling the Afghan drug trade had failed to stop the production and export of illicit drugs.

PAN Monitor/mud