(ProsperNews.net) – A new report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) is suggesting that two federal agencies, the Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) had failed to demonstrate that their programs which awarded funds to Afghanistan-based organizations were in compliance with official State Department guidance for vetting to make sure the organizations were legitimate.
The DRL was slammed for failing to maintain “partner vetting documentation” in four separate instances while the INL lacked compliance for 19 awards. The State Department totalled the amounts involved at $293 million, suggesting it could have gone to terrorist organizations or other criminal actors stealing taxpayer funds meant to aid reconstruction of Afghanistan.
Demonstrating how sprawling the bureaucracy is, other agencies including the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, and the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration all complied with State Department mandates on vetting potential organizations who receive federal funds.
The report elaborated that guidance was specific: basic vetting, and best-practices, and a risk assessment before any funds are distributed. While all other organizations had supporting documentation to show they completed all the steps, the INL and DRL lacked the documents altogether.
State Department officials suggested that the vetting was completed at the time but that records were lost during the pullout of Afghanistan and the dissolution of offices overseas that would have had the records filed.
SIGAR highlighted that other agencies were able to fulfill their requirements which actively prevented abuse of taxpayer funds by the Taliban or other terrorist militias in Afghanistan. Due to the failures of DRL and INL officials, it’s possible that nearly $300 million in taxpayer funds were given to potential enemies of the United States.
The report added documentation was critical to ensure compliance and prevent funds meant for reconstruction from causing harm by enabling bad actors.
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