U.S. investment in Iraqi reconstruction/ incompetence or corruption ?
- From: mike532 <mike532@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 30 Apr 2007 03:05:40 -0700
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/04/30/iraq.reconstruction/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Poor construction, improper design, substandard
materials and lack of maintenance have caused the failure of seven of
eight U.S.-funded Iraq reconstruction projects that were recently
reviewed by the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction,
according to an inspector general report.
"If these projects are typical of the quality and effectiveness of
operations and maintenance performance on transitioned projects, the
value of the U.S. investment in Iraq reconstruction will be at risk,"
said Stuart W. Bowen Jr., the special inspector general, in his report
to Congress and the Bush Administration. "Unless corrective action is
taken, the useful lives of those projects will be significantly
shortened."
The U.S. is spending $37 billion on Iraqi reconstruction. In addition,
914 people -- including 224 U.S. citizens -- have died while working
on the U.S.-funded projects, the report said.
The report said a major problem was the Iraqi government's lack of
maintenance plans for the facilities after it has taken over control
from the U.S.
For example, just 10 of the 17 electrical generators installed at a
cost of almost $12 million at the Baghdad International Airport were
operational. There was no plan for their maintenance, including
keeping oil levels up, the report said.
Expensive generators were missing from the Camp Ur military base,
having been hauled off to another post, the report said. Also at Camp
Ur, three modular buildings constructed at a cost of $1.8 million were
dismantled and removed with no explanation given.
Barracks renovated for enlisted soldiers were already in disrepair
just a year after being handed over to the Iraqi Army, the inspector
general said.
"Electrical wiring is pieced together to accommodate retrofitted
lights and appliances that were not in the original design," the
report said. "Newly installed fixtures, hardware, and appliances have
been pilfered or abused. A number of electrical generation systems
were not adequately maintained and were inoperable at the time of the
SIGIR's inspections."
Poor construction, design and materials also added to problems in the
barracks' bathrooms, the report said:
"The inspection found that leaks from the upstairs floor had damaged
floor tiles and ceilings on the ground floors. An inadequate design,
combined with low-quality fixtures and poor workmanship, made the
facilities too fragile for the volume of use they experienced. The
problem was compounded by poor maintenance and abuse by the tenants."
One health project that was touted just a year ago as a major success
has fallen far short, according to the report.
When the Erbil Maternity and Pediatric Hospital was completed and
turned over to the Iraqi government last May it had a new medical
waste incinerator. When U.S. inspectors visited the facility recently,
they found the sewer system was now clogged with medical waste, which
threatened patient health and the local water system. The report said
"the people initially trained to operate it were no longer employed at
the hospital" so staff instead flushed medical waste into the toilets.
"In another example of chosen non-use, a new sophisticated oxygen
generator and distribution system was used only as a backup system
while hospital staff continued to use oxygen tanks that were not
properly protected and secured," the report said.
The only project deemed to be functional and sustainable was a police
station in Mosul.
The report said nearly all of the $37.4 billion appropriated by
Congress for Iraqi reconstruction has now been spent.
.
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