Millions of dollars worth of television news trucks are sitting under tarps in Kabul years after the State Department bought them as donations for Afghan broadcasters, a letter from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said.
One of the three trucks, which together cost the government $3.6 million, was damaged en route to Afghanistan in July.
Purchased to help Afghans cover live sporting events, the satellite trucks are “still covered by shipping material.”
The State Department has yet to name a recipient for the trucks.
The agency originally negotiated a $6 million contract to buy communications equipment and six vehicles, including two Ford ES350 trucks for $157,300 each, in August 2011. According to the contract, the shipment was supposed to arrive at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul within 180-210 days.
But something happened behind the scenes that prevented the delivery, and in September 2013, the contract was amended to include a new price for only three trucks. This time, the Ford ES350 trucks were $568,000 each.
“Not only were the trucks delivered years late, but apparently the unit cost increased substantially,” SIGAR wrote in a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry demanding answers from the agency.
SIGAR requested copies of all documents relating to the agency’s decision to change the contract so long after signing it, as well as an explanation of the significant price increase for the pair of Ford trucks.
The watchdog suggested State “cancel the contract for default,” an option since agency officials have yet to sign off on the delivery.
In July, SIGAR similarly criticized the Defense Department’s decision to send a pair of C-130 aircraft to the Afghan Air Force despite evidence that the country couldn’t handle the air support it had already received. The C130s cost $40.5 million each, SIGAR said.
Since its inception in 2008, SIGAR has questioned $78 million in government spending on Afghan projects.
Go here to read the full SIGAR letter.
