Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction finds $69 million in unpaid bills.
from MotherJones
"A new report released last week suggests that shoddy contracting practices are fomenting discontent and distrust among Afghan contractors, damaging efforts to foster Afghan businesses, and undermining the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) reported that $69 million in unpaid bills owed to Afghan subcontractors have led to death and kidnapping threats, work stoppages, fraud, at least one car chase, and the use of local police forces to extract payment.
"Here are some of the highlights from the report:
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In one instance, an irate Afghan subcontractor threatened to bomb the compound housing the US prime contractor and a slew of US government agencies.
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Another unpaid subcontractor, claiming his workers couldn't buy the necessities their families needed until his bill was settled, said he would set himself on fire in front of the US Embassy in protest.
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One subcontractor threatened to use a suicide bomb to destroy a contractor's office over a payment dispute.
"The pervasiveness of these sorts of disputes, the report claims, is 'eroding support for US and coalition forces' because Afghans believe 'that coalition forces failed to pay for projects that Afghans have worked on. …"
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