Afghan government seeking bigger slice of aid pie

Afghan government seeking bigger slice of aid pie
By David Fox
KABUL | Sun Jul 11, 2010 11:06pm EDT

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan will ask for more control of billions of dollars pledged to reconstruct the war-torn country at a major international conference this month.

Critics accuse the government of squandering millions in foreign aid, but President Hamid Karzai says most waste occurs on development projects outside official control, and he wants direct access to more of the $13 billion pot.

The Kabul Conference, scheduled for July 20-21, will draw foreign ministers from more than 60 nations to Afghanistan, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, to review government projects the international community hopes will kick start the economy.

Western diplomats, in a series of background briefings ahead of the gathering, said they expected presentations detailing how billions already committed would be spent in perhaps the most crucial year for the country since the Taliban's 2001 ousting.

"This is probably the most important meeting Afghanistan has ever held," said one.

International donors frequently complain that millions spent on Afghanistan has been wasted through incompetence or graft, but the government -- while acknowledging problems -- says it has been responsible for only 20 percent of the money spent, and most of that has been well managed.



unhappycamper comment: This tribute will do exactly the same thing that all the other tributes to Afghanistan have done.

Nothing.