WASHINGTON:
Two State Department offices failed to demonstrate compliance with internal policies to vet aid groups in Taliban-run Afghanistan that received $293 million in funds, raising the risk that extremists could benefit, a US watchdog said on Tuesday. Wednesday.
“It is critical for the state to know who actually benefits from this assistance in order to prevent aid from being diverted to the Taliban or other sanctioned parties,” the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) report said.
The Taliban, the report said, sought to secure US aid funds “through several means, including the establishment of humanitarian organizations,” underscoring the need for the ministry to “fully and consistently assess the risks posed by its partners.”
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
SIGAR said three of the State Department’s five offices were found to be in compliance with departmental regulations that require auditing of eligible aid funds.
But the Office for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and the Office of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs could not provide sufficient documentation to prove their attachment.
“State was unable to demonstrate compliance with its partner audit requirements for awards disbursed at least $293 million to Afghanistan,” he continued.
For this reason, “there is an increased risk that terrorists and individuals and entities associated with terrorists have benefited illegally,” it said.
The department agreed with the report’s conclusions and “will work to ensure compliance” with the audit requirements, it said.
The US remains the biggest aid donor to impoverished Afghanistan nearly three years after the Taliban seized Kabul as the last US troops completed a chaotic withdrawal after 20 years of war with the Islamist militants.
Since the U.S. withdrawal was completed on August 30, 2021, Washington has provided more than $17.9 billion in aid to Afghanistan.
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