CNN
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The dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) by Trump’s government and the general freezing of foreign aid have hindered the monitoring of the possible improper use of humanitarian aid financed by the American taxpayers, which means that it could end up getting involuntarily reaching terrorist groups, according to a new report by the Independent Control Agency.
The conclusion of the Usaid inspector’s office seems to undermine the arguments of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk that his measures to abolish the agency will reduce fraud and waste.
Although the inspector general report indicates that the office has been “identifying important challenges and offering recommendations to improve the programming of the agency in order to prevent fraud, waste and abuse”, it makes it clear that the reduction of USAID personnel , as well as the freezing of foreign aid, they have had a negative impact on supervision efforts.
“The recent and generalized personnel reductions throughout the agency… together with the uncertainty about the scope of exemptions of foreign aid and the communications allowed with executors, have degraded the ability of Usaid to distribute and safeguard humanitarian aid financed by Taxpayers, ”says the report.
USAID demands that the programs in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Syria, the West Ribera and Gaza, and Yemen receive a “investigation of the background of the partners”, in order to guarantee that the taxpayers’ funds do not end up supporting To groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, Isis or Los Hutíes. According to the report, these research efforts have been paralyzed due to the reduction of personnel in Usaid.
“Although the USAID Inspector General’s office has previously identified lagoons in the scope of members’ investigation, 10 USAID employees have reported that in recent days the Anti -Terrorist Research Unit that supports the programming of humanitarian aid has been ordered in recent days That he does not present to work (because the staff has been suspended or placed on administrative license) and, therefore, cannot carry out any partner investigation, ”says the report.
“This lagoon leaves USAID exposed to involuntarily finance entities or salaries of people associated with terrorist organizations designated by the United States,” he said.
Trump fired general inspectors of more than a dozen federal agencies in his first week in office, but the USAID control agency remained in his position.
The freezing of foreign aid also suspended all contracts and supervision activities by third parties, which are used to supervise humanitarian aid programs in considered dangerous places, “including high -risk environments such as Ukraine, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Haiti, Gaza, Iraq, Lebanon, Somalia, Syria and Venezuela, which affects another level of supervision of the aid provided by US taxpayers, ”according to the report.
The vast majority of the workforce of more than 1,000 people from the USAID Humanitarian Assistance Office has already been affected by permits or is about to be paid in a paid administrative license, according to the report.
“Together, the measures executed and planned in the field of personnel would temporarily or permanently eliminate approximately 90 % of the worldwide BHA staff,” he says.
This reduction of personnel has also had a negative impact on the agency’s ability to respond to allegations of possible improper use of humanitarian funds.
“The uncertainties on the scope of the exemptions, the degree of permissible communication between the USAID staff and the assistance organizations, the sudden dismissal of contracted personnel and the placement of remunerated administrative license personnel have limited the capacity of BHA to receive and Respond to complaints of fraud, waste, abuse or diversion of humanitarian aid, ”he said.
