Afghan authorities examine some of the largest international companies KABUL-, the food and fuel to U.S.-led troops for allegedly bring duty-free supplies in the country, providing then you redirected to the local market.
Associated press tankers cross Afghanistan from Pakistan. Duty-Free fuel for coalition forces imported sometimes sold to private airlines, Afghan officials say.These studies which described as "Smuggling" coalition, sensitive, are high say Afghan officials and officers from the U.S.-led coalition contractors Afghanistan's Minister of finance. The Coalition collaborates in the request, but is not playing.
The war effort would soon grind to a halt without supplies the Coalition made by companies in the investigation. Officials at the US-led ISAF say are concerned questions can turn into a witch hunt of the Afghan Government. ISAF has repeatedly said Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the main source of rampant corruption here, against which do accusations from the West, he graft to combat more within his own Government is their foreign suppliers.
Afghan officials are believed to some this smuggling be complicit and Western officials say it is important, investigated and punished for any wrongdoing Afghans, together with the foreign contractors.
On Friday warned that any military gains are made by US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan fragile, governance unless it improves the Afghan Government and cracks are simply reversed on corruption, American officials. The comments in Kabul from ADM. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, and U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, House came the nine years war in Afghanistan, one day after the white a review highlighting published steady progress in the military effort.
The value of the imported duty-free were allegedly redirect to the local market is relatively small, and soldiers at the front, aren't affected Coalition officials say. But the problem further undermining of the Government is serious, because revenues from import duties needed Afghanistan Treasury of urgent, shaky authority, robbed a coalition officer said.
Promoting a viable Afghan Government is an important war; Commanders say you need a reliable partner to overcome the Taliban. The Coalition officer said alleged misconduct of foreign contractors Afghan officials a simple also publishes, when confronted with evidence of the omnipresent corruption within their own Government. "We must set an example," the officer said.
The investigation is an Afghan affair. But it comes in the midst of a broader coalition deal effort with a contracting system, which spends more each year on supply, security, construction, infrastructure projects and other Afghanistan needs as the country's gross domestic product, which was$ 13.5 billion last year. Armed forces of the allies were contractor can import duty-free.
"If we have to eat MREs, then eat let's damn MREs all day," a U.S. civilian officials with knowledge of the Afghan study added. MRE is the acronym for meals ready to eat, who canned foods eaten by soldiers in the field. They are favorites among the troops.
Food soldiers and Marines like Apple Pie - how individual Sara Lee segments, Baskin-Robbins ice cream tubs, many cheeses, the Coalition cafeterias, even butter ball turkeys available - are easily accessible to Kabul well-stocked supermarkets, often in industrial size packages intended for military use.
In Kabul, it's easy by military clothing, gear and electronic equipment identical to the products, which sold at shops on coalition bases to come. Afghan officials say, duty-free fuel imported for coalition forces sometimes privately owned airlines is sold.
Afghan officials said they are not sure which level at which supplies were allegedly diverted: whether level of companies under investigation, the work was coordinated to senior individual middle managers or only the initiative of subcontractors employed to the goods from the port of Karachi, Pakistan, to drag Afghanistan.
The largest contractor, examines so far, according to Afghan officials, top group, a multinational company headquartered in Amsterdam, which has been operating since 2002 in Afghanistan. The Amsterdam-based company, one of the largest active in Afghanistan, offers fuel and food and restaurants of many Coalition bases runs and operates the cafeteria at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. Supreme denied any wrongdoing in conjunction with its imports in Afghanistan.
Coalition officials confirm that expenditure and poor supervision have years of lots helped breed corruption and that dumping large sums of money in such a small economy may have a corrosive effect on Afghanistan's ability to manage their own affairs. Last year the coalition has created to examine a handful of task forces own supply system alleged corruption.
Afghan Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal said Supreme before recently on the Government $ 11 million for back duties were paid it imported and sold in the local market since 2002. "In the past year, we have a dozen cases where we you broken," he said in an interview.
Mr Zakhilwal confirmed the sum was small compared to the billions of dollars in contracts awarded by the Coalition to the top since 2002, and said, he believed that the company probably more due. He said the Government worked with Supreme to ensure that it is provisions in future in accordance with Afghan tax and customs revenues. "Of course, there are many other" against the rules violated, said Mr Zakhilwal.
Supreme called in a declaration, the 11 million $ "an arbitrary estimate." "The company said it doesn't believe, owes it all back taxes or customs duties, and he expected that the Afghan Government, the money back when the investigation is complete.""We offer ISAF troops here, fuel and food", said Kevin gainer, a spokesman for top Afghanistan. "We are involved in the commercial market in Afghanistan, not with it."
Supreme said it expects that more than 500 to spend millions of dollars locally in Afghanistan this year, and employs more than 1,900 Afghans.
-Maria ABI Habib contributed to this article.Write toMatthew Rosenberg at matthew.rosenberg@wsj.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment