SIGAR's roles:
• Give objective oversight of Afghan reconstruction
• Perform audits and investigations
• Make sure reconstruction programs are efficient and effective
• Find and prevent waste, fraud and abuse in spending
Source: sigar.mil
Ball State was one of four universities asked to speak at a discussion Wednesday in Washington, D.C. about governmental money spent in Afghanistan.
Kenneth Holland, executive director of the Center for International Development, explained to staff members from Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) that the effort the U.S. government has put into Afghanistan hasn’t been wasted, and that it was money well spent.
The other three professors were from University of Virginia, University of Washington and University of South Carolina.
“Four universities were singled out for attention,” Holland said. “SIGAR thinks [we] are the most important four universities to talk about this subject.”
Ball State is one of the major universities working in Afghanistan, and Holland said the university has been heavily involved in improving the court system there.
“Ball State is very highly regarded by many different agencies in the U.S. government and so we have a strong reputation as a major university that’s helping developing counties,” Holland said.
SIGAR has to report quarterly to Congress whether the money spent by the U.S. government in Afghanistan is being spent appropriately.
The quarterly report looks at SIGAR’s audits and investigative activities, and gives an overview of the reconstruction activities going on in Afghanistan, according to sigar.mil. They also try to catch and prevent waste, fraud and abuse of the money going there.
Ball State received a grant from NATO to study trial courts in 100 districts in Afghanistan.
“Our study is one of the best-regarded studies of its kind and it’s one of the reasons we were singled out to be invited to Washington,” Holland said.
The U.S. had a high military presence in the past, and they worked on developing rule of law in Afghanistan, Holland said.
“There’s additional work that still needs to be done there,” Holland said. “My hope is that the U.S. government will continue to fund development projects in Afghanistan. The danger here is that Congress and the American people will lose their interest in the country.”
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