USA TODAY
An article “Problems plague Afghan power projects” reports
“Beset by delays and cost overruns, two U. S.-funded power projects in Afghanistan are generating only a fraction of the electricity that was promised—and the Afghan government may not be able to keep the bigger plant working, according to a new federal audit….The U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is on track to spend $340 million on two projects designed to boost power production in a country where only 15% of the population gets electricity…As of May, the two projects—a large power plant in Kabul, the Afghan capital, and a dam in Helmand province—were delivering 12 of what were supposed to be 140 megawatt of power, the audit says. Even that small amount was not getting to the public because of transmission problems, the audit says.”
WATCHDOG: Generating electricity was one of the highest priorities in 2002, not only to relieve the suffering of the people but also to demonstrate Western ingenuity. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, a Senate subcommittee on budget matters bemoaned that the USA would soon be a second class economic power, and that came from members of both parties. See a connection?
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