John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction (SIGAR), said the U.S.’ failure to implement a tracking system of its reconstruction projects has contributed to cases of corruption throughout the Afghan government.
“We don’t even know what we spend and where we spend it 12 years into this,” Sopko said in an address at the Atlantic Council. “That’s the frustrating thing.”
During his most recent stint in Afghanistan, Sopko said he learned of new schools that were in “danger of collapsing,” hospitals low on supplies, roads that were “disintegrating faster than we can build them.” He also has been investigating allegations of possible inaccuracies in the Afghan police payroll where “ghost workers” might have been receiving compensation.