A U.S. government watchdog says the organization created to spearhead Afghanistan's battle against corruption has too little authority, independence and personnel to be effective.
Federal auditors have identified more than $950 million in "questioned and unsupported" costs submitted by Defense Department contractors. The figure excludes potential waste from contracts with other departments or agencies, such as USAID.
The Washington Post, Dec. 18, 2009
In an audit released Wednesday, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction says the leaders of the country's High Office of Oversight have conflicts of interest because they also serve as advisers to President Hamid Karzai.
The audit said that in addition to being understaffed, many of the anticorruption office's employees are inexperienced or lack basic skills such as computer use and information gathering.
The Afghan office was created in July 2008. Karzai is under international pressure to stamp out government bribery and graft.