USAID deserves defunding: What I saw firsthand in Afghanistan and beyond
Opinion by Hedieh Mirahmadi • 3h
I will never forget the time I witnessed a meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul when the ambassador was screaming at the USAID representative for lying to him about a school they claimed was built on the outskirts of the country. He had personally flown in a helicopter the day before, and the supposed buildings were not erected. There was nothing there.
For those of us who have worked in the federal contracting space, we know that local organizations often receive a very small percentage of allocated funds, in many cases just 10%! The bulk of the funding ends up back in the hands of American for-profit entities and non-governmental organizations to pay exorbitant management and administrative costs, as well as the inflated costs for a whole range of supplies, equipment, and transportation overseas.
Originally conceived to advance American foreign policy objectives, support American interests overseas, and provide aid, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) operations have strayed way beyond this mandate into a multi-billion-dollar behemoth, unbridled by Congressional oversight and public accountability.
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