SIGAR audit reveals limited interagency coordination in Afghanistan reconstruction

The July 2011 performance audit by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) reports on U.S. efforts to improve the capacity of the Afghan government to regulate Afghanistan’s financial sector and to strengthen the controls U.S. agencies use to track U.S. funds in the Afghan economy.

SIGAR reports that since 2002, the U.S. government has appropriated over $70 billion to implement security and development projects in Afghanistan.  Some of those funds were converted into cash to help stimulate the Afghan economy.  This performance review evaluated U.S. efforts to improve the capacity of the Afghan government to regulate the financial sector, and assed the controls that the U.S. agencies use to track U.S. funds as they flow through the Afghan economy.

The audit found that two challenges prevent U.S. programs from fully achieving their intended results.  The first challenge was the lack of coordination between U.S. agencies, and the second challenge was a lack of consistent cooperation between Afghan ministries and the U.S.  This lack of interagency and intergovernmental cooperation limits U.S. financial sector development efforts.

SIGAR recommends that the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan improve interagency coordination through the financial sector development programs, and that the Secretaries of State and Defense strengthen oversight over the flow of U.S. funds through the Afghan economy.

To read the complete audit by the Office of the Special Investigator General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, follow the link below.
Limited Interagency Coordination and Insufficient Controls over U.S. Funds in Afghanistan Hamper U.S. Efforts to Develop the Afghan Financial Sector and Safeguard U.S. Cash