Billions in Iraq aid unaccounted for, group says

Associated Press ^ | 10-23-03

[Brian S]

Christian Aid calls on U.S.-appointed regime to become more transparent

JILL LAWLESS ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON (AP) — The U.S.-run body governing Iraq has failed to account for billions of dollars allocated for rebuilding the country, a prominent British aid group said today.

Christian Aid said in its report that the Coalition Provisional Authority had only explained publicly how it had spent $1 billion (U.S.) of the $5 billion in Iraqi funds it has been given for the country's redevelopment.

The funds include $1 billion from the former United Nations Oil for Food program, $2.5 billion in assets seized from Saddam Hussein's ousted regime and $1.5 billion in oil revenues, the group said.

"This is Iraqi money," said Roger Riddell, Christian Aid's international director. "The people of Iraq must know where it is going and it should be used for the benefit of all the country's people, particularly the poorest."

In Baghdad, the provisional authority said it was "unequivocally committed to maintaining the highest standards of transparency and accountability in stewarding Iraqi funds."

The funds in question are administered by the Development Fund for Iraq, set up to allow Iraq's new administrators to acquire frozen Iraqi assets and oil revenue for the reconstruction of the country and approved by a United Nations resolution in May. The fund receives 95 per cent of the proceeds from the sale of Iraqi oil.

Christian Aid estimated that by the end of the year the fund will have taken in $9 billion, mostly from pre- and post-war oil revenues.

But the group said the money taken in so far had not been properly accounted for. The report said the board overseeing the fund had not, as required, published funding plans in Arabic, while an international monitoring board called for by the UN resolution has yet to be set up.

The provisional authority said it was "adhering fully" to the UN resolution and was working with international agencies to set up the monitoring board. Christian Aid said the board — intended to be made up of representatives of the UN, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Arab Fund for Social Development — should have been up and running a long time ago.

"It's six months now since the UN resolution was signed," said spokeswoman Katherine Nightingale. "We welcome the announcement that it is going to be set up soon. We just hope it will have the power to hold the U.S. authorities to account."

The report warns that if "proper systems of accountability are not urgently established, the country could spiral into a classic version of the `oil curse,'" with oil revenues benefiting multinational firms and a local elite, rather than the population as a whole.

Some American legislators have alleged that money meant for Iraqi rebuilding has been squandered by paying inflated prices to Halliburton, the Texas-based company that buys oil for Iraq from neighbouring countries.

Delegates from 77 countries are in Madrid this week for a donors' conference which the United States hopes will help raise $35.8 billion to jump-start Iraq's economic recovery through 2007.

Most of the money raised will be administered by a trust fund managed by the World Bank, the United Nations and a committee of Iraqis.

[eureka!]

Haliburton and Cheney has it. Just as planned. /sarc.

[Hank Rearden]

And George Jr. only wants to dump $87B more of our money down this rathole. No offsetting spending cuts to cover it, nooooo, just pile it on our backs in the form of more debt.

I'm sure it'll be carefully watched and efficiently spent - a real blessing to all of us from whom it was stolen.

[KantianBurke]

"And George Jr. only wants to dump $87B more of our money down this rathole. No offsetting spending cuts to cover it, nooooo, just pile it on our backs in the form of more debt."

bump

[mrsmith]

Christian Aid doesn't think it's getting enough of the loot from Iraq.

IMHO

[lady lawyer]

What gives this NGO the right to demand the information? The mere fact that the coalition hasn't opened its books to this bunch of self-appointed busybodies doesn't mean that the money is "unaccounted for."

[lady lawyer]

If you recall, the UN wouldn't say where any of the oil for food money went. Was Christian Aid screaming about that? Or is there a little agenda here.

BTW, in my experience at the UN, the majority of NGO's with religious names were not very religious at all, in the traditional sense of the word. It is very possible that "Christian Aid" has become no more Christian than, say, the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA).

[steve50]

I'm sure it'll be carefully watched and efficiently spent

Wish I could share your optimism. When they placed it under Rice who can claim Executive Privilege I thought that pretty well did away with "watching" how it's spent.

[hobbes1]

87 Billion.

Drop in the bucket for the amount of good done, especially in our societies interest.

It is, Defense Money, when properly considered.

(Without drawing this into a long discussion, What was Bin Ladens main Gripe? the US on Saudi Soil....Where are we now?

What is the age breakdown of the Iraqi Population? Very young I bet, IF we can explode a 1950s style Middle Class in that country, the rest of the Arab world will be too busy looking inward, to bother us for a very long time.)

[dts32041]

The funds include $1 billion from the former United Nations Oil for Food program, $2.5 billion in assets seized from Saddam Hussein's ousted regime and $1.5 billion in oil revenues, the group said.

UN accounting sucks 1 billion in Kofi Anon's own account, 2.5 billion moved out of country, 1.5 billion in oil revenues, internal in the country never exported.

There problems solved, see how easy that was.

If they can make the accusations, I can tell where the money went.

[ido_now]

People were expecting some other result?

Na, Americans are to smart to waste taxpayers money on anything.

[Coop]

And George Jr. only wants to dump $87B more of our money down this rathole.

The vast majority of this money goes to the "rathole" known as the U.S. military, Einstein.

[Coop]

Oh, and the President ain't a "Junior," either.

[Judith Anne]

As I recall, Kofi Annan had "oversight" of some of the tens of billions from the oil for food program. The UN changed the accounting and oversight rules so that every year, a different country administered the fund, so that no one could do an accurate audit of the fund because each year it was set up again in a different country...

I blame that egregious crook Annan for all of that. I think he saw a way to make himself a huge billionaire and did. I doubt we'll ever know how much was stolen by him and delegates out of that so-called oil for food program, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn in heaven someday that a lot of it went to Arafat, to China, to North Korea, and to Iran.

The sons of dogs.

No wonder billyjeff wants to be the UN secretary. What he's stolen so far from Americans makes him nothing but a piker in terms of world thievery. I get nauseous every time I see Kofi Annan, and hear him prate piously over the fate of the poor Iraqis whom he sold down the river for over a decade.

[TopQuark]

Yes, and then they send all that money to Israel.

That's the ticket...

[avg_freeper]

The provisional authority said it was "adhering fully" to the UN resolution and was working with international agencies to set up the monitoring board. Christian Aid said the board — intended to be made up of representatives of the UN, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Arab Fund for Social Development — should have been up and running a long time ago.

Liberal Press Rule #532 - See, here is what you do. Find some minor trifling problem that you know is just moments away from being solved. Then release a news blitz (this is plastered all over the place in the arab press) just moments before the announcement of the solution in order to get people all riled up. This helps to mask any possible good news like the following:

Monitoring board for Iraqi development fund set up, UN says

excerpt:
23 October – An international monitoring panel charged with keeping an eye on expenditures in Iraq was formally established today with the agreement of all parties on the terms of its operation, according to a joint statement released at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

[Oatka]

What is the age breakdown of the Iraqi Population? Very young I bet, IF we can explode a 1950s style Middle Class in that country, the rest of the Arab world will be too busy looking inward, to bother us for a very long time.)

Excellent point! Iraq has the chance to become another "economic miracle" aka Germany in the 1950s. Should that come to pass, the rest of the Middle Eastern dictatorships and monarchies will, as you point out, be so busy either trying to suppress their own restless populations or making token signs of democratizing their countries, they won't have the time or money to expend harrassing the U.S.

[hobbes1]

Fully 40% of the Iraqi population is under 14.....

[eureka!]

Re#15 ;^) You need to get a job with AlJazeera, er, CNN, er, the NY Times er, nevermind, you know what I mean...

[Almondjoy]

Ahh yes.. so I take it you disagree with the war in the first place yes?

I mean you must because obviously you don't care about American citizens lives.

Sure let's not give them any money. In fact let's pull out now. We've done our job.. the people of a poor and shattered Iraq won't ever be a threat to us again.

In fact let's take that 87 billion and split it between Iran and North Korea... they will surely abandon their weapon programs and join the US in spreading world peace.