The United States is spending billions in Afghanistan and the special inspector general overseeing the spending says huge savings can be made by cutting out waste and abuse in a program designed to help the Afghan Army.
The watchdog for the U.S. reconstruction in Afghanistan is warning about lax controls in a $1.1 billion program to supply fuel to the country's Army, saying it is ripe for corruption, fraud or theft by insurgents.
The new report Monday concluded the international coalition that is training the army can't prove whether the fuel is actually being used by Afghan security forces, meaning it's not known how much has been lost, stolen or diverted to the insurgency.
"Unless funding levels based on accurate ANA fuel requirements are developed and effective controls instituted prior to the transition date, both ANA fuel and ASFF funds will be vulnerable to theft and waste," Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John F. Sopko wrote.
Sopko is recommending that the program's budget be restricted until officials figure out how much fuel is needed for Afghan forces to do their job.
Sopko also warned that an audit of the spending was set back because someone shredded more than four years' worth of financial records for the program.
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction is a special watchdog hired to provide independent and objective oversight of U.S. reconstruction projects and activities in Afhganistan. His job is to stop wasteful or abusive spending.
