Articles found July 11, 2014
How a high-profile Canadian aid project in Afghanistan fell apart
Accusations of mismanagement and wasted millions levelled at $5.26M Afghanistan aid project
Michael Petrou July 11, 2014
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A Canadian development firm that received more than $5 million from the Canadian International Development Agency to boost economic growth in rural Afghanistan spent most of that money on salaries and bureaucracy and accomplished little that was sustainable, according to newly released government documents.
The “Kandahar Rapid Village Development Project” was a $5.26-million plan to “create rapid but sustainable economic growth in four villages of Kandahar province” between 2007 and 2009. CIDA provided the funding for the project to Development Works, an Almonte, Ont.-based organization that had previously worked in Afghanistan, including with USAID, an American government aid agency.
The project was launched at a time when large numbers of Canadian soldiers were dying in southern Afghanistan, and the government was keen to show that Canada’s engagement in the country involved civilian aid as well as combat. CIDA spent hundreds of millions of dollars in Afghanistan. In this case it didn’t get the results it wanted.
In February 2013, when Maclean’s first inquired about the Kandahar Rapid Village Development Project, a CIDA spokesman said it created short-term jobs, established a new “water and sanitation infrastructure,” improved roads, “promoted the establishment of economic facilities, like community-based bakeries and markets” and “increased agricultural productivity” by helping to build a plastic crate factory so farmers could more easily transport produce. CIDA later said the project was not renewed because it “did not represent the best value for money from a sustainable development perspective.”
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Afghan candidate rejects election results as violence escalates around country
Published July 08, 2014 Associated Press
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KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah defiantly told thousands of supporters Monday that he will declare victory as he claimed massive fraud was responsible for preliminary results putting his rival in the lead. The United States, meanwhile, warned both camps against trying to seize power, saying international financial and security support was at stake.
The turmoil came as violence escalated around the country. A suicide bomber struck Afghan and foreign forces near a clinic in the eastern province of Parwan, killing at least 16 people, including four Czech soldiers.
Abdullah said he received calls from President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and he was told that Kerry would be flying to the Afghan capital on Friday in a bid to help defuse the crisis. State Department officials accompanying Kerry in Beijing declined to comment on his travel plans.
Abdullah told his supporters that the results of the election were fraudulent, but asked them to give him a few more days to negotiate.
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At least 400 fuel tankers burn in parking lot outside Kabul
Published July 05, 2014 Associated Press
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KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan security official says at least 400 fuel tankers caught fire late Friday night in a parking lot in the outskirts of Kabul.
Hashmat Stanikzai, spokesman for Kabul's police chief, on Saturday said police were investigating the cause of the fire, which continues to burn.
Stanikzai says there are fears of casualties.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has claimed responsibility for the attack. His statement sent to the media says the Taliban set fire to foreign forces' fuel tanker supplies in a tactical attack.
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Afghan candidate defiantly rejects election results; US warns efforts to seize power will cost
By: Amir Shah And Rahim Faiez, The Associated Press Posted: 07/8/2014
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KABUL - Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah defiantly told thousands of supporters Tuesday that he will declare victory in the country's election, claiming massive fraud was responsible for preliminary results that put his rival in the lead. The United States warned both camps against trying to seize power, saying international financial and security support was at stake.
The turmoil came as violence escalated around the country. A suicide bomber struck Afghan and foreign forces near a clinic in the eastern province of Parwan, killing at least 16 people, including four Czech soldiers.
Abdullah said he received calls from President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and he was told that Kerry would be flying to the Afghan capital on Friday in a bid to help defuse the crisis. State Department officials accompanying Kerry in Beijing declined to comment on his travel plans.
Abdullah told his supporters that the results of the election were fraudulent, but asked them to give him a few more days to negotiate.
"We denounce and do not accept the results of the fraudulent vote. I assure you people of Afghanistan that I will sacrifice for you, but I will never accept a fraudulent government," he told his supporters, many angry over the result. "We announce that only the government elected through clean votes will come to power."
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