Fraud risk for aid to Afghanistan warns watchdog

British aid in Afghanistan is at “significant risk” from theft, fraud and corruption because the government does not have tight enough controls on how money is spent, an independent watchdog has warned.

The UK’s aid programme in the war-ravaged country, focusing on issues such as education, governance and humanitarian assistance, is costing £178 million a year.

But the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) said the Department for International Development (DfID) was not monitoring closely enough how much of the money was lost in “leakage”. The watchdog gave the Afghanistan programme an “amber-red” rating, meaning it was “not performing well” and requires “significant improvements”.

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In a report today, the ICAI acknowledged that aid work in Afghanistan was conducted in “exceptionally difficult circumstances” and that the DfID team in the country was “committed, respected and experienced.

“We found, however, that DfID’s financial management processes are insufficiently robust,” it said.

International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said the report found “no evidence at all of leakage of DfID funds” but identified areas where there was “more we can do”.