Billions of dollars embezzled in Afghanistan’s construction projects

A survey by Construction Sector Transparency Initiative Afghanistan (CSTIA) segment of the Integrity Watch Afghanistan (IWA) has revealed that billions of dollars had been embezzled over the past 15 years in construction projects.

According to a statement from the CSTA, the survey was completed in 10 months with collaboration from GIZ. The investigation assessed challenges and available opportunities in the construction sector of Afghanistan.

The statement cited absence of transparency and corruption in implementation of infrastructural projects as the main reason behind the embezzlement over the past one and a half decade.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Economy minister and CSTIA head Abdul Sattar Murad highlighted low capacity, late payments by donors, problems in procurement area, insecurity and limited resources as some of the challenges facing the construction sector.

Sibghatullah Karimi, CSTIA coordinator, said some projects were awarded to companies based on favoritism and did not go through a legal procedure.

He added that poor reporting about construction process was one of the major problems.