Spending programme worth £178m annually at risk of theft, fraud and corruption according to ICAI report A report by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI), an independent watchdog set up to scrutinise the UK government’s aid spending, has raised concerns about the financial management of British development projects in Afghanistan. The UK’s planned annual expenditure on bilateral aid to Afghanistan from 2011 to 2015 is £178m, with the money allocated to four areas: governance and security, education, wealth creation and humanitarian assistance. In carrying out its review, ICAI focused on 10 programmes deemed to be broadly representative of the Department for International Development’s (DfID) aid portfolio in the country. The report (pdf) gave the Afghanistan aid programme an amber-red mark, signifying that the scheme is “not performing well” and needs “significant improvements”. It found that while programme objectives are clear, DfID’s risk assessments – particularly in relation to the ability of project partners and managing agents to deliver on time and to budget – fail to meet expectations.

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