Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 25. Oktober 2006 / Time Line October 25, 2006
Version 3.524. Oktober 2006, 26. Oktober 2006
10/25/2006
US Audit: Administrative Costs Swallow 50 Percent of Iraq
Reconstruction Funds
Voice of America news; issued Oct. 25, 2006
A report on reconstruction in Iraq says up to half of the money
paid to U.S. government contractors goes to administrative costs
rather than actual building work.
An audit released by the government's special inspector general
examines spending patterns on reconstruction projects. Together
they account for more than $1 billion ($1.3 billion) of an $18.4
billion Iraq aid package approved by Congress.
In one case, the report says, KBR Incorporated, a subsidiary of the
giant U.S. corporation Halliburton billed the federal government
$163 million for its overhead costs in Iraq - more than 55 percent
of the amount budgeted ($296 million) for the full rebuilding
project.
A spokesman for the inspector general, Jim Mitchell, says
bureaucratic flaws caused the high administrative costs. The audit
notes there were long delays between contract staff being mobilized
in Iraq and the start of reconstruction, with some workers staying
idle for up to nine months.
The audit says the full cost of many projects may be even higher
than preliminary government forecasts, because U.S. officials have
not properly tracked expenses.
The report analyzed several U.S. reconstruction contracts worth
one-point-three billion dollars. The money is part of an aid
package of $18.4 billion approved by Congress.
U.S. Representative Henry A. Waxman, a Democrat, responded to the
report by criticizing Halliburton for wasting taxpayers' money.
A Halliburton spokesman, Melissa Norcross, defended the company's
administrative costs, saying they were extensively audited and
deemed legitimate.
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