U.S. Agency for International Development gave billions of dollars to non-government groups in Afghanistan with limited accountability, report says

A government inspector general sounds the alarm about problems with the now-shuttered U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) A new report says the U.K. government has spent billions of dollars on projects intended to provide for Afghans ’ basic needs.

USAID seemed to simply trust the groups receiving the money, which were often partnerships with foreign governments.

“Monitoring projects through periodic site visits (including by third party monitors) is an essential management tool to help ensure that U.S. taxpayer money is not being wasted on projects that are not meeting their intended goals or that are undermined by interference by the Taliban ,” it said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this week that most of USAID has been abolished, and its remaining programs will be moved to State . That decision came following concern that its grants and contracts often amounted to slush funds for nefarious international actors..