Afghanistan Times
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KABUL: Hundreds of millions of dollars were either wasted on unused assets or misused in Afghanistan, according to a report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).
The agency said it reviewed 60 US infrastructure projects in Afghanistan in 2021, and it found that 91 percent of those projects, an equivalent of $723.8 million, had gone toward assets that were unused or abandoned, were not used as intended, had deteriorated, were destroyed, or some combination of the above.
Economic experts said administrative corruption in the former government was the main reason for the waste of foreign countries’ investment in Afghanistan.
SIGAR said that the reconstruction projects were not properly completed.
“The projects supported by the international community’s aid were not completed properly. The projects were involved in corruption and these projects didn’t add to any permanent infrastructure,” said Sayed Hakim Kamal, a political analyst. “The contracts for these projects were a mistake.”
SIGAR has previously expressed concerns over the existence of high-level of corruption in the former Afghan government’s institutions.
