By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer
January 15, 2008
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration, in its last so-called
Iraq "benchmark" report, used questionable financial
data to assert that the Baghdad government was making progress
in managing its budget, a new study says.
The study released Tuesday by the Government Accountability
Office focused specifically on whether Iraqis were spending
their capital budget, that is money for infrastructure needed
to boost the country's lagging economic growth and improve
poor public services.
The administration reported in its September Iraqi benchmark
assessment that Iraq's central government ministries had spent
24 percent of their 2007 capital projects budget as of July
15, 2007. "This report is not consistent with Iraq's official
expenditure reports," which show that the central ministries
had spent only 4.4 percent of their investment budget as of
August, the GAO said. It said capital projects are 90 percent
of Iraq's investment budget.
The benchmark report was ordered by Congress to measure Baghdad's
progress in 18 areas including political and economic activities.
It was aimed at judging whether Iraqis were working hard enough
at reconciliation and other issues to warrant continued American
support.
The new GAO report said the administration number in the September
assessment greatly exaggerated capital project spending partly
because it had included money from 2006 as well as money that
the Iraqis had committed themselves to spending but had not
yet spent.
"We do not believe these data should be used to draw
firm conclusions about whether the Iraqi government is making
progress in executing its capital projects budget," the
GAO said of the administration's figures.
Iraqis have been slow to execute their capital budgets partly
because violence and sectarian strife has reduced the number
of contractors willing to bid on projects. Also, their procurement
and accounting systems are weak and many professionals and
skilled workers have fled the country, the report noted.
Shown a draft of the study, U.S. Treasury Department and State
Department officials said the GAO's much lower figure had not
counted capital spending put in other parts of the Iraqi budget.
But they could not provide any documentation to verify that,
GAO said.
The GAO recommended that Treasury work to improve it's "ability
to report accurate and reliable expenditure data from the ministries
and provinces" in Iraq.
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On the Net:
GAO report http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-153
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