Afghan inspector general questions construction spending

Insufficient project management and weak contract oversight are jeopardizing billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded Afghan reconstruction monies, a top federal watchdog testified on Monday.

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction Maj. Gen. Arnold Fields, who recently announced that he will resign, told the congressionally chartered Commission on Wartime Contracting that efforts to build bases and training facilities for the Afghan Army and police are well behind schedule and that billions are at significant risk of going to waste.

"SIGAR's audits of infrastructure projects in Afghanistan have identified serious problems resulting from insufficient planning, inadequate contract management, and inability to provide quality assurance and oversight, particularly in areas that are not secure," Fields testified.

The retired Marine general criticized the military's Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan for an inability to develop a long-term capital construction plan. For example, CSTC-A has 884 construction projects it intends to build by the end of fiscal 2012. But Fields noted that only 133 of those projects had been completed as of November 2010 and another 78 were under construction. The remaining 673 projects have not been started.

The Afghan government is expected to assume control of its own security in fiscal 2013.

Maj. General Jeffrey Dorko, deputy commanding general for military and international operations at the Army Corps of Engineers, told the panel that ongoing violence and security concerns have slowed construction projects.

"Lack of security limits our ability to travel to construction sites and provide quality assurance by Corps personnel," Dorko said. "The hostile environment in Afghanistan can make it difficult to provide quality assurance and project oversight on all projects at all times and certainly not at the same level as we could in a secure environment."

U.S. military and international support agencies, meanwhile, have failed to develop a long-term plan that will allow the Afghan government to maintain the barracks and training centers without continued American financial support, Fields said.

"These issues place the entire U.S. investment of $11.4 billion in [Afghan National Security Forces] facilities construction at risk of not meeting Afghan needs or intended purposes and resulting in a large degree of waste," Fields said.

The logistical challenges, he added, were compounded by the Obama administration's decision last year to increase the Afghanistan National Security Force to 400,000 -- a process that will require an undetermined number of additional or expanded facilities.

SIGAR is investigating 90 cases of alleged bribery and contract fraud. These include allegations that contractors have used inferior-grade asphalt on road projects and substandard materials in infrastructure projects such as bridges, canals and facilities, he said.

Fields announced his resignation earlier this month after facing stiff political pressure challenging the quality of his office's work. His last day is Feb. 4.

The commission also raised questions about the often-shoddy construction of Afghan schools, hospitals, clinics and prisons.

"Too often, adverse impacts are felt by American soldiers, Marines, and airmen who find themselves jammed into cramped and inadequately protected quarters," said commission co-chairman Michael Thibault. "The Afghan people we are trying to help have also been ill-served by some of the U.S.-funded construction projects in their country. These issues go beyond delays and cost overruns, and are just unacceptable."

Commission members were particularly concerned about a sole-source $266 million contract awarded by the U.S. Agency for International Development for a power plant in Kandahar. The contract was awarded to Black & Veatch Corp. of Overland Park, Kan., a company USAID had previously criticized for its electrical system work in Kabul.

But USAID defended the contract as necessary and prudent. J Alexander Thier, director of USAID's Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs, said Black & Veatch had turned around its performance in Kabul after increased remediation, oversight and a change in leadership. "Their performance has improved dramatically," he said.

Bill Van Dyke, president of Black & Veatch's Special Projects Corp., defended the company's past performance, noting in a prepared statement that its work for USAID "has resulted in the successful delivery of electricity to more than 500,000 people in Afghanistan."

Five contractor officials, including Van Dyke, were present and scheduled to testify before the commission, but did not because of time constraints.