VZCZCXYZ0002
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBUL #2797/01 2940227
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 200227Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5885

C O N F I D E N T I A L KABUL 002797 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/19/2018 
TAGS: PREL KWAC AF
SUBJECT: AFGHAN OFFICIALS AIR CONCERNS TO SIGAR ON USAGE OF 
RECONSTRUCTION FUNDS 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William Wood for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Special Inspector General for Afghan 
Reconstruction (SIGAR) Arnold Fields heard two common themes 
during meetings with the GIRoA Auditor General and senior 
Afghan MOD and MOI officials:  A) that there is insufficient 
coordination between Afghanistan and the Donor Community, 
including the U.S.; and B) that there is a perception among 
the general Afghan public that aid funds are not bringing 
expected improvements to their daily lives. 
 
¶2. (U) On September 24, the SIGAR met with the Afghan Auditor 
General, with auditors and inspectors general from the 
Control and Audit Office at the MOD, and with Interior 
Minister Zarar.  The SIGAR explained that Congress had 
established his office to ensure that U.S. and other 
reconstruction funds in Afghanistan are used to achieve the 
purposes for which they were appropriated.  He asked each of 
his hosts whether they believed that funds directed to 
Afghanistan for reconstruction are employed appropriately 
under the current strategic approach. 
 
¶3. (U) GIRoA representatives in the MOD and the Auditor 
General,s office said more U.S. technical assistance in 
their function would be welcome and asked the SIGAR to help 
them curb contractor corruption, avoid civilian casualties, 
and expand capacity building efforts.  Some had specific 
complaints.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------------- 
Auditor General Sharifi 
------------------------------- 
¶4. (SBU) Auditor General, Minister Sharifi said that in the 
seven-years that the U.S. has been making significant 
financial contributions to Afghanistan, that there has been 
no relationship between the Afghan Auditor General,s and the 
U.S. GAO.  He expressed certainty that his office could learn 
new techniques from the GAO to help bring transparency and 
international standards to the Afghan government.  Sharifi 
ended the meeting by asking the SIGAR to find a way to create 
a relationship between his office and the GAO. (Note:  The 
GAO reportedly has plans to meet with Afghan counterparts in 
the near future.  End note.) 
 
¶5. (SBU) According to Sharifi, last year the GIRoA was unable 
to use approximately 45 percent of its development budget due 
to lack of capacity, both lack of qualified personnel and 
lack of administrative capacity to initiate reconstruction 
projects in certain areas. (Note: The money that was not used 
has been rolled over into this year,s budget. The Paris 
Conference, aware of the same issues that Sharifi cited, 
estimated that execution of the development budget would only 
be 55 percent. End Note) 
 
¶6. (SBU) Sharifi also discussed the challenges of having 
ministers who have been outside of their own country for 
35-years returning to take charge of a dynamic they no longer 
understand. He also expressed concerns about illiterate 
governors who hire unskilled personnel. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
MOD Deputy Minister Akram Khan 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
¶7. (SBU) Deputy Minister of Defense, General Akram Khan 
welcomed the &good news8 recently conveyed by Secretary of 
Defense Gates that the Afghan National Army (ANA) will 
expand.  He said expansion would help with Afghan efforts to 
defend the country during the winter, provide highway and 
election security, and with the new Afghan responsibility for 
Kabul security.  Asked whether the billions of donor and 
Afghan funds were being directed at the right issues to 
achieve peace, security and development, Khan spoke 
positively of ANA development under Coalition tutelage.  He 
pointed, however, to some lack of coordination between ANA 
and coalition forces on training, and singled out shortages 
in quality weaponry and ammunition, especially heavy weapons, 
as problems. 
 
¶8. (SBU) He expressed concern about slow development of an 
Afghan air force.  &Foreign pilots are not familiar with our 
customs.  Afghan pilots would better distinguish harmless 
gatherings from clusters of fighters,8 he said.   General 
Akram Khan acknowledged the difficulty of completely avoiding 
collateral damage when civilians are being used as human 
shields, but he urged better ANA-Coalition coordination. 
 
¶9. (U) Addressing the broader question, Khan said that the 
GIRoA would always prefer to be receive aid funds directly to 
spend on GIRoA determined priorities.  However, he 
acknowledged major advances--the Ring Road and wider 
education for children, including 1 million girls, for 
example--had been achieved. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
MOD Inspector General Abdul Fazil 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
¶10. (SBU) Abdul Fazil, MOD Inspector General, outlined the 
extensive training his auditors received to bring them in 
line with U.S. standards, and expressed appreciation for U.S. 
assistance.  Later, however, he spoke of &difficulties8 and 
listed his main problems as:  (A) lack of discussion within 
the MOD on overall strategy and a resulting lack of general 
direction; and (B) slow adaptation away from a Russian-style 
system of accountability, which could be helped by greater 
Coalition guidance.  &Our audit system is in chaos,8 he 
said. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
ANA Inspector General MG Khan 
--------------------------------------------- - 
¶11. (SBU) MG Khan, who has held his position of Inspector 
General of the Afghan Army for only two months, said that 
much donor money is not spent effectively. He cited concerns 
that contractors promise high quality products to win USG 
contracts in Afghanistan, but switch out the goods for low 
quality items when they deliver.  Some construction projects, 
he said, could have been done for 60 percent of what was 
paid.  MG Khan had an aide bring in a bag of products and 
pointed out the poor quality items in basic Army toiletry 
kits, shoes and uniforms.  He also complained that that the 
MOD auditing policy is different from that dictated by the 
Council of Ministers, presenting the two documents as 
evidence. 
 
------------------------------ 
Interior Minister Zarar 
------------------------------ 
¶12. (U) MOI Minister Zarar, replaced since this conversation, 
convened his top police commanders for the meeting with the 
SIGAR.  When asked whether he thought funds were properly 
used in Afghanistan reconstruction efforts, Zarar gave a long 
presentation of facts and figures touting progress on 23 
MOI-led projects involving training and capacity building of 
the Afghan National Police (ANP).  He cited a need for funds 
for additional projects to allow the ANP to develop capacity 
in mine detection, fire fighting, and air support to evacuate 
the injured from remote areas. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Zarar said 203 cases of corruption and bribery 
among the police force had been sent to the Attorney General 
for prosecution. Noting that real rule of law crosses the 
domains of police, the attorney general and judges, Zarar 
said that prosecutors and judges in Afghanistan are weak, and 
that the cycle of law enforcement is therefore not complete. 
WOOD