Nearly $29 Billion Wasted from Afghanistan Reconstruction Budget, Report Finds
The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has reported that out of the $144 billion allocated for Afghanistan’s reconstruction, nearly $29 billion was completely wasted—a significant portion of the program’s financial resources.
SIGAR’s latest report states that America’s two decades of efforts to rebuild Afghanistan were marked by extensive resource losses, mismanagement, and failed projects. According to the agency, a large part of the budget was spent on projects that were either never completed or had little tangible impact on improving the lives of Afghanistan’s residents.
The report cites clear examples of such waste, including the purchase of old, unusable aircraft, the construction of power plants without connection to distribution networks, half-finished roads, and infrastructure projects that were destroyed within a short period.
John Sopko, the former special inspector general of SIGAR, said that the primary problem was not a lack of budget but the rushed spending of funds and ignoring technical and oversight warnings, which led to these failures.
This report comes amid the backdrop of America’s 20-year presence in Afghanistan and spending of approximately three trillion dollars, during which the announced main objectives were not achieved. Moreover, the country continues to face deep humanitarian, economic, and political crises—challenges that continue to profoundly affect the lives of Afghanistan’s people to this day.
