Preliminary findings of the audit by the Acting Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, Steven Trent, said security for USAID projects may cost as much as 46 percent more than it does now under the new system mandated by Karzai, adding as much as $55.2 million to USAID’s bill in the first year of the transition.
And here comes the sticker shock. I mean really, what did you folks think was going to happen with this idiotic idea? A corrupt government demanding a 20 percent profit charge for the cost of their state run guard force? lol A guard force that will end up costing us 46 percent more than it does now? Does this guard force give back rubs and provide champagne with this contract? pfffft
Well at least there are some elected officials that are questioning this thing. Which is great, and especially if 16 of this year’s coalition deaths were green on blue–afghans killing troops. We will see… –Matt
US lawmakers offended by spike in Afghan guards’ cost
March 29, 2012
By Susan Cornwell
U.S. lawmakers were disturbed on Thursday by a government auditor’s prediction that security costs will spike for U.S. development projects in Afghanistan as they are forced to switch from private contractors to Afghan government-provided security.
Representative John Tierney suggested the United States might want to just walk away from aid projects in Afghanistan rather than pay the additional costs, including a 20-percent “profit” charge, under the new policy mandated by Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Tierney said there were already too many questions about “where the money is going” in Afghanistan.
“There’s always one last option. Just don’t do it,” Tierney, a Democrat, told a senior official of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Alex Thier, in a hearing on Capitol Hill.
“Personally, I’m offended … I think we are being pushed around,” said Representative Jason Chaffetz, a Republican. “We’re paying for everything, we should be able to provide the security.”
The hearing also aired disputes among U.S. agencies over whether security costs will indeed go up, and whether that will force closure of some U.S.-funded development projects.