Waste, fraud, no accountability mark US aid to Pakistan

This article gets better as it goes along; data rich

U.S. may terminate military aid to Pakistan
May 21, 2011 6:30 pm ET .
Jim Kouri writing on Public Safety
Examiner
[See link at Examiner website for information on Kouri]

Prior to visiting with Pakistani officials in Islamabad on Monday, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) had said that Pakistan faces significant changes in its relationship with the U.S. In Washington, D.C. several lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pondering whether the U.S. should continue financial aid for Pakistan earmarked for counterterrorism operations.

The friction that's occurred as a result of U.S. Navy SEALs' surreptitious entry into Pakistan to terminate the command of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden on May 1 appears to have strained the relationship between the United States and Pakistan. But most national security experts and diplomats understand that Pakistan's reliance on the U.S. is paramount to that Muslim nation's survival.

Pakistan is certainly a key U.S. ally in the effort to combat terrorism and violent extremism. Taliban, al Qaeda, and other terrorists have used parts of Pakistan to plan and launch attacks on Afghan, U.S., and NATO security forces in Afghanistan, as well as on Pakistani citizens and security forces in Pakistan.

"U.S. aid to Pakistan is under review as a result of questions about whether or not elements of the Pakistan military and intelligence services were aware of the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden. Regardless, it is troubling that USAID would let a dollar, much less millions of dollars, go out the door to any organization susceptible to waste and abuse of U.S. funding," said Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) a ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

"Perhaps this problem explains why so many IG reports of USAID programs fail to find measurable results. Working with trustworthy partners is the necessary first step to ensure we are not wasting millions in aid on good intentions alone," she said.

Since 2002, the United States has provided over $18 billion in foreign assistance and reimbursements to Pakistan, about two-thirds of which has been security-related. In October 2009, Congress passed the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009, which authorizes up to $1.5 billion a year for development, economic, and democratic assistance (referred to as "civilian assistance" by U.S. lawmakers) to Pakistan for fiscal years 2010 through 2014.

In the act, Congress declares that the United States requires a balanced, integrated, countrywide strategy to support Pakistan's efforts that does not disproportionately focus on security-related assistance. The act authorizes civilian assistance for a wide range of activities, including projects to build the capacity of government institutions, promote sustainable economic development, and support investment in people through education and health programs.

The act also encourages, as appropriate, the use of Pakistani organizations to provide this assistance. In several reports and testimonies since 2008, the Government Accountability Office identified the need to improve planning, monitoring, documentation, and oversight of U.S. assistance to Pakistan.

For example, in previous reports analysts noted the need to increase oversight and accountability for Pakistan's reimbursement claims for Coalition Support Funds and to improve planning, performance, and monitoring documentation of U.S. development assistance to Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

The Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009 requires the Department of State (State) to develop several monitoring and strategy reports for U.S. assistance to Pakistan, including the Pakistan Assistance Strategy Report and the Semi-Annual Monitoring Report. The act also directed the Comptroller General to provide a review of -- and comments addressing -- the Department of State's Pakistan Assistance Strategy Report; an assessment of the impact of the civilian assistance on the security and stability of Pakistan; and a detailed description of the expenditures made by Pakistan with Foreign Military Financing (FMF) grants.

As of December 31, 2010, the full impact of the fiscal year 2010 civilian assistance could not be determined because most of the funding had not yet been disbursed. According to a State Department document, it will take some time before significant outcomes of the civilian assistance can be measured.


Furthermore, performance indicators, targets, and baselines had not yet been established for all of the civilian assistance. USAID, for example, is in the process of establishing new indicators across all sectors. Since fiscal year 2002, a total of $2.11 billion has been appropriated for FMF grants to Pakistan. Of that amount, Pakistan has used about $1.86 billion to acquire various defense articles, services, or training.

Some of these funds have been used to refurbish or upgrade defense articles that were given to Pakistan under the Excess Defense Articles program, including Cobra helicopters, armored personnel carriers, and the frigate U.S.S. McInerney. As of the end of calendar year 2010, Pakistan still had approximately $250 million available to purchase U.S defense articles, services, or training.

According to agency documents, some of these funds will be used to acquire naval surveillance aircraft, communications equipment, upgrades to TOW missile launchers, and additional helicopters. To supplement the Pakistan Assistance Strategy Report so that information reported to Congress complies with all requirements of the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009, GAO analysts recommended that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton take two actions: include information on plans for operations research, as defined in the act, in its forthcoming Semi-Annual Monitoring Report; and deliver to Congress a projection of the levels of assistance to be provided to Pakistan under the act, broken down into the 17 Millennium Challenge categories listed in the act.

To enhance the accountability of U.S. civilian assistance to Pakistan, the GAO recommended that the USAID Administrator should ensure that U.S. assistance to Pakistani organizations identified as high- or medium-risk be provided through contracts, grants, or agreements that require these organizations to address weaknesses identified in their pre-award assessment that would improve the accountability of U.S. funds. These measures can include such steps as implementing a conflict of interest policy, recruiting more qualified internal audit and procurement staff, embedding approved CPA staff, and participating in a capacity-building program.