United States Agency For International Development
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Students gather behind a business looking for a Internet signal for their smart phones in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, April 1, 2014. The U.S. Agency for International Development masterminded the creation of a "Cuban Twitter," a communications network designed to undermine the communist government in Cuba, built with secret shell companies and financed through foreign banks, The Associated Press has learned. The project, which lasted more than two years and drew tens of thousands of subscribers, sought to evade Cuba’s stranglehold on the Internet with a primitive social media platform. Its users were neither aware it was created by a U.S. agency with ties to the State Department, nor that American contractors were gathering personal data about them. In 2012, the text messaging service vanished as mysteriously as it appeared. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
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Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, and USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah prepare to embrace after she delivered the keynote address at the launch of the U.S. Global Development Lab, on Thursday, April 3, 2014, in New York. Clinton has helped launch a campaign aimed at ending extreme global poverty by 2030. The U.S. Agency for International Development is undertaking the anti-poverty effort with 32 partners from private industry and the academic world. Shah announced the campaign in New York on Thursday. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
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Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks as she delivers the keynote address at the launch of the U.S. Global Development Lab, an initiative of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), on Thursday April 3, 2014 in New York. Congress and USAID are headed for a showdown over the Obama administration's creation of a Cuban Twitter communications network to undermine the communist government in Cuba. USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah is expected to testify on Tuesday before the Senate Appropriations State Department and foreign operations subcommittee. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
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Balkh Education Facility roof in Afghanistan. In the latest aid problem in Afghanistan, investigators found that a school built for the Balkh province is still unfinished, with structural issues that could pose a danger to students and teachers. “Nearly 5 years after construction began, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is unable to transfer the facility to Afghan authorities,†said the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. The school needs repairs to “a leaking roof, defective electrical wiring, and an improperly sloped terrace roof,†inspectors said, adding that sewer pipes near water sources aren't properly insulated, raising the possibility of contamination. They're also concerned about whether the roof and septic system are designed to hold the weight imposed on them, and that officials cannot assure that the structure “will not collapse at some point in time.†USAID disagreed that the building is structurally unsound. The Army Corps of Engineers which built the school, has “rigorous procedures and requirements for the design and construction of its building projects.†The aid agency did agree that work on the school is incomplete, and said they will fix any remaining problems with the building. The school has yet to be approved for use, but classes were held in the building in 2013. In response, USAID secured the facility to make sure no one used it, but SIGAR noted that Afghan authorities are not pleased about the ongoing delays. The original contract to build the school was just under $3 million, part of a $17.1 million program to build a system of educational facilities across Afghanistan.
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Balkh Education Facility 3 in Afghanistan. In the latest aid problem in Afghanistan, investigators found that a school built for the Balkh province is still unfinished, with structural issues that could pose a danger to students and teachers. “Nearly 5 years after construction began, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is unable to transfer the facility to Afghan authorities,†said the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. The school needs repairs to “a leaking roof, defective electrical wiring, and an improperly sloped terrace roof,†inspectors said, adding that sewer pipes near water sources aren't properly insulated, raising the possibility of contamination. They're also concerned about whether the roof and septic system are designed to hold the weight imposed on them, and that officials cannot assure that the structure “will not collapse at some point in time.†USAID disagreed that the building is structurally unsound. The Army Corps of Engineers which built the school, has “rigorous procedures and requirements for the design and construction of its building projects.†The aid agency did agree that work on the school is incomplete, and said they will fix any remaining problems with the building. The school has yet to be approved for use, but classes were held in the building in 2013. In response, USAID secured the facility to make sure no one used it, but SIGAR noted that Afghan authorities are not pleased about the ongoing delays. The original contract to build the school was just under $3 million, part of a $17.1 million program to build a system of educational facilities across Afghanistan.
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Balkh Education Facility 2 in Afghanistan. In the latest aid problem in Afghanistan, investigators found that a school built for the Balkh province is still unfinished, with structural issues that could pose a danger to students and teachers. “Nearly 5 years after construction began, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is unable to transfer the facility to Afghan authorities,†said the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. The school needs repairs to “a leaking roof, defective electrical wiring, and an improperly sloped terrace roof,†inspectors said, adding that sewer pipes near water sources aren't properly insulated, raising the possibility of contamination. They're also concerned about whether the roof and septic system are designed to hold the weight imposed on them, and that officials cannot assure that the structure “will not collapse at some point in time.†USAID disagreed that the building is structurally unsound. The Army Corps of Engineers which built the school, has “rigorous procedures and requirements for the design and construction of its building projects.†The aid agency did agree that work on the school is incomplete, and said they will fix any remaining problems with the building. The school has yet to be approved for use, but classes were held in the building in 2013. In response, USAID secured the facility to make sure no one used it, but SIGAR noted that Afghan authorities are not pleased about the ongoing delays. The original contract to build the school was just under $3 million, part of a $17.1 million program to build a system of educational facilities across Afghanistan.
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Access point to septic tank at the Balkh Education Facility in Afghanistan. In the latest aid problem in Afghanistan, investigators found that a school built for the Balkh province is still unfinished, with structural issues that could pose a danger to students and teachers. “Nearly 5 years after construction began, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is unable to transfer the facility to Afghan authorities,†said the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. The school needs repairs to “a leaking roof, defective electrical wiring, and an improperly sloped terrace roof,†inspectors said, adding that sewer pipes near water sources aren't properly insulated, raising the possibility of contamination. They're also concerned about whether the roof and septic system are designed to hold the weight imposed on them, and that officials cannot assure that the structure “will not collapse at some point in time.†USAID disagreed that the building is structurally unsound. The Army Corps of Engineers which built the school, has “rigorous procedures and requirements for the design and construction of its building projects.†The aid agency did agree that work on the school is incomplete, and said they will fix any remaining problems with the building. The school has yet to be approved for use, but classes were held in the building in 2013. In response, USAID secured the facility to make sure no one used it, but SIGAR noted that Afghan authorities are not pleased about the ongoing delays. The original contract to build the school was just under $3 million, part of a $17.1 million program to build a system of educational facilities across Afghanistan.
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Balkh Education Facility in Afghanistan. In the latest aid problem in Afghanistan, investigators found that a school built for the Balkh province is still unfinished, with structural issues that could pose a danger to students and teachers. “Nearly 5 years after construction began, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is unable to transfer the facility to Afghan authorities,†said the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. The school needs repairs to “a leaking roof, defective electrical wiring, and an improperly sloped terrace roof,†inspectors said, adding that sewer pipes near water sources aren't properly insulated, raising the possibility of contamination. They're also concerned about whether the roof and septic system are designed to hold the weight imposed on them, and that officials cannot assure that the structure “will not collapse at some point in time.†USAID disagreed that the building is structurally unsound. The Army Corps of Engineers which built the school, has “rigorous procedures and requirements for the design and construction of its building projects.†The aid agency did agree that work on the school is incomplete, and said they will fix any remaining problems with the building. The school has yet to be approved for use, but classes were held in the building in 2013. In response, USAID secured the facility to make sure no one used it, but SIGAR noted that Afghan authorities are not pleased about the ongoing delays. The original contract to build the school was just under $3 million, part of a $17.1 million program to build a system of educational facilities across Afghanistan.
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Balkh Education Facility classroom in Afghanistan. In the latest aid problem in Afghanistan, investigators found that a school built for the Balkh province is still unfinished, with structural issues that could pose a danger to students and teachers. “Nearly 5 years after construction began, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is unable to transfer the facility to Afghan authorities,†said the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. The school needs repairs to “a leaking roof, defective electrical wiring, and an improperly sloped terrace roof,†inspectors said, adding that sewer pipes near water sources aren't properly insulated, raising the possibility of contamination. They're also concerned about whether the roof and septic system are designed to hold the weight imposed on them, and that officials cannot assure that the structure “will not collapse at some point in time.†USAID disagreed that the building is structurally unsound. The Army Corps of Engineers which built the school, has “rigorous procedures and requirements for the design and construction of its building projects.†The aid agency did agree that work on the school is incomplete, and said they will fix any remaining problems with the building. The school has yet to be approved for use, but classes were held in the building in 2013. In response, USAID secured the facility to make sure no one used it, but SIGAR noted that Afghan authorities are not pleased about the ongoing delays. The original contract to build the school was just under $3 million, part of a $17.1 million program to build a system of educational facilities across Afghanistan.
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Paint peeling off classroom ceiling of the Balkh Education Facility in Afghanistan. In the latest aid problem in Afghanistan, investigators found that a school built for the Balkh province is still unfinished, with structural issues that could pose a danger to students and teachers. “Nearly 5 years after construction began, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is unable to transfer the facility to Afghan authorities,†said the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. The school needs repairs to “a leaking roof, defective electrical wiring, and an improperly sloped terrace roof,†inspectors said, adding that sewer pipes near water sources aren't properly insulated, raising the possibility of contamination. They're also concerned about whether the roof and septic system are designed to hold the weight imposed on them, and that officials cannot assure that the structure “will not collapse at some point in time.†USAID disagreed that the building is structurally unsound. The Army Corps of Engineers which built the school, has “rigorous procedures and requirements for the design and construction of its building projects.†The aid agency did agree that work on the school is incomplete, and said they will fix any remaining problems with the building. The school has yet to be approved for use, but classes were held in the building in 2013. In response, USAID secured the facility to make sure no one used it, but SIGAR noted that Afghan authorities are not pleased about the ongoing delays. The original contract to build the school was just under $3 million, part of a $17.1 million program to build a system of educational facilities across Afghanistan.
