-----Original Message-----
From: Bronstein-Moffly, Alexander H (Alex) CIV SIGAR CCR (US)
Sent: Friday, May 15, 2015 9:30 AM
Subject: $562 Million in US Assistance for Afghan Civil Aviation Sector
Today, SIGAR released an audit of the $562.2 million in U.S. assistance to
Afghanistan's civil aviation sector, primarily administered by the DOD ($500
million) and the FAA ($56.5 million).
The audit notes:
-- The U.S. and its international partners have succeeded in strengthening Afghanistan's civil aviation capabilities over the past 12 years.
-- Despite accomplishments, the U.S. could not transfer airspace management operations to the Afghan government at the end of 2014, as it had originally planned, due in part to a lack of trained Afghan civil aviation personnel, particularly air traffic controllers.
-- Despite its efforts, the FAA was not able to train enough air traffic controllers for Afghanistan to operate airspace management services on its own
-- As of October 2014, the majority of the FAA-trained Afghan personnel had not yet completed required on-the-job training programs.
-- FAA attempted to train students abroad, but faced problems obtaining passports and visas for the students, and some students did not return to Afghanistan after being sent for training in other countries, including the U.S. Additionally, due to security concerns, Afghan students could not access the facilities they needed for on-the-job training.
-- The Afghan government's failure to award an airspace management contract resulted in the U.S. paying $29.5 million for an interim contract to continue those services. The Afghan government did not award a contract, citing what it believed to be excessive costs. Unless the Afghan government awards a follow-on contract before the interim contract expires, the U.S. government could be called upon to fund another interim contract.
-- The Afghan government uses only a portion of the about $34.5 million revenue collected from airspace over-flight fees for civil aviation purposes, despite the government's stated commitment of using its civil aviation revenue to finance aviation services and infrastructure development.
Audit: https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/audits/SIGAR-15-58-AR.pdf
Alex Bronstein-Moffly
Director of Public Affairs
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction
O: 703-545-5984
C: 703-855-3929
sigar.mil
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