American officials have no strategy for fighting corruption in one of the most corrupt countries in the world despite spending $96 billion in a dozen years on Afghan reconstruction, according to a government watchdog.
"We found that the U.S. anti-corruption activities in Afghanistan are not guided by a comprehensive U.S. strategy or related guidance that defines clear goals and objectives for U.S efforts to strengthen the Afghan government’s capability to combat corruption and increase accountability," said John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghan reconstruction, in a report made public Wednesday.
Sopko said persistent corruption in Afghanistan's government "raises the risk that reconstruction funds will be misused or wasted, reduces popular support for the Afghan government, hampers economic growth and governmental performance, and reduces international support for the entire reconstruction effort."
Despite claiming one of its top priorities is strengthening the Afghan government's ability to fight corruption, Sopko said the lead U.S. agency responsible for that goal lacks a strategy of its own.
The U.S. Department of State drafted an anti-corruption strategy in 2010, but then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton never implemented it, and no comprehensive strategy or plan currently exists, according to Sopko.
The two international agreements used by the State Department to guide its anti-corruption efforts, the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework and the U.S. Civil-Military Strategic Framework for Afghanistan, lack metrics to measure progress in reducing corruption
"We found that the U.S. anti-corruption activities in Afghanistan are not guided by a comprehensive U.S. strategy or related guidance that defines clear goals and objectives for U.S efforts to strengthen the Afghan government’s capability to combat corruption and increase accountability," said John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghan reconstruction, in a report made public Wednesday.
Sopko said persistent corruption in Afghanistan's government "raises the risk that reconstruction funds will be misused or wasted, reduces popular support for the Afghan government, hampers economic growth and governmental performance, and reduces international support for the entire reconstruction effort."
Despite claiming one of its top priorities is strengthening the Afghan government's ability to fight corruption, Sopko said the lead U.S. agency responsible for that goal lacks a strategy of its own.
The U.S. Department of State drafted an anti-corruption strategy in 2010, but then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton never implemented it, and no comprehensive strategy or plan currently exists, according to Sopko.
The two international agreements used by the State Department to guide its anti-corruption efforts, the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework and the U.S. Civil-Military Strategic Framework for Afghanistan, lack metrics to measure progress in reducing corruption
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