Lance Cpl. Edward Flores walks point sweeping the Tangye bridge with a Combat Mine Detector as Marines from 2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon, Alpha Co., 1/8 Marines go a a joint patrol with members of Afghan National Army (ANA). The bridge, a primary Helmand River crossing has deteriorated to the point that vehicle crossings are limited. FOB Zeebrugge in Kajaki, Afghanistan on April 11, 2012.
Received the following email communication from the Office of the Special Investigator for Afghan Reconstruction regarding USAID fund:
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE
Today SIGAR (Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction) released three reports: An audit of USAID’s $580 million effort to develop Afghanistan’s water sector, a letter on concerns with the Kajaki Dam project and a report on the State Department’s spending in Afghanistan.
The water sector audit found that USAID did not meet key provisions of the U.S. government’s strategy for developing Afghanistan’s water sector. Specifically, USAID did not develop a work plan, measure progress toward the strategy’s goals, or update the strategy.
Water projects that SIGAR reviewed showed mixed results; among the findings:
–USAID spent about $3.5 million for 27 watershed assessments that it did not use as intended and did not share in a timely manner.
–Performance problems and deficiencies with the Afghanistan Water, Agriculture Technology Transfer (AWATT) project raised in prior oversight reports were not addressed and continued to persist. The AWATT project ended prematurely because of financial management and performance problems.
–USAID’s Commercialization of Afghanistan Water and Sanitation Activity’s (CAWSA) project had significant delays that affected overall implementation and the overall impact on Afghanistan’s water sector is unclear.
Water Sector Audit: http://www.sigar.mil/pdf/Audits/SIGAR-14-52-AR.pdf
The letter on Kajaki Dam raised concerns about significant cost increases, delays and the willingness of customers to pay for electricity.
Kajaki Dam Letter: http://www.sigar.mil/pdf/special%20projects/SIGAR-14-53-SP.pdf
The report on State Department funding notes that $4 billion has been obligated for Afghanistan reconstruction, from 2002 to March 2013. Of that amount, DynCorp has received 69% of the funding.
State Department Report: http://www.sigar.mil/pdf/special%20projects/SIGAR-14-49-SP.pdf
If you would like any additional information or have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to me or our Director of Public Affairs, Phil LaVelle, at philip.j.lavelle.civ@mail.mil or (703) 545-5974.
Best,
Alex
Office: 703-545-5984