Spare_change
Gold Member
- Jun 27, 2011
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A $25 million U.S.-funded project to help Guatemala combat global warming is being slammed as another taxpayer-backed boondoggle after a new audit highlighted a series of problems -- including numerous inaccuracies in the group's work and a failure to produce a required long-term plan.
Without the plan, the government audit warned, "the funds ... could be wasted."
The grant for the Climate, Nature and Communities in Guatemala Program was awarded to the nonprofit Rainforest Alliance in February 2013 by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of a broader effort to fight climate change abroad.
USAID’s Office of Inspector General, which issued the audit last month, said the program was set up to help organizations and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Guatemala improve climate-change strategies and strengthen local NGOs so the country’s environment could be conserved without future U.S. assistance. The report noted that as of February 2015, $10.5 million had been disbursed so far.
The audit acknowledged the program was making “some progress,” but it also alleged a laundry list of violations -- including that the reported results were not accurate.
The watchdog reported that data-testing revealed 22 errors in the accounting of whether the program was on track.
Without the plan, the government audit warned, "the funds ... could be wasted."
The grant for the Climate, Nature and Communities in Guatemala Program was awarded to the nonprofit Rainforest Alliance in February 2013 by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of a broader effort to fight climate change abroad.
USAID’s Office of Inspector General, which issued the audit last month, said the program was set up to help organizations and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Guatemala improve climate-change strategies and strengthen local NGOs so the country’s environment could be conserved without future U.S. assistance. The report noted that as of February 2015, $10.5 million had been disbursed so far.
The audit acknowledged the program was making “some progress,” but it also alleged a laundry list of violations -- including that the reported results were not accurate.
The watchdog reported that data-testing revealed 22 errors in the accounting of whether the program was on track.