Government Does Business Like It's Nobody's Money: $500/Gallon For A $5 Gallon Of Diesel Fuel
Jonathan Turley blogs about a report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR):
Among huge examples of waste and delay is this little ditty: USAid paid a $300,000 charge for 600 gallons of diesel fuel. That is $500/gallon to a contractor.International Organization for Migration paid the contractor the $500 per gallon at a time when the market price in Afghanistan for diesel fuel was less than $5.00 per gallon. The invoice should have demanded $3,000 instead of $300,000. No one was prosecuted for the payment. Likewise, the IOM paid $220,000 for an automatic temperature control device that should have cost between $2,000 and $10,000. Again, no prosecution and no record of any discipline against those signing off on the payment.
We put people in jail for snatching a purse, but a contractor can charge $500 per gallon of gas and neither the contractor nor the government official responsible face any reported sanctions. It appears all "self-serve" at the U.S. Treasury based on the honor system.
They only like to investigate the taxpayers.
That was problably biodiesel. The DoD is legally mandated to purchase a certain percentage of "alternate technology" fuels, and it pretty much has to pay whatever the source charges -- most of it is exempt from competitive bid. Can you say "corruption"?
Cousin Dave at October 24, 2013 6:37 AM
Quite agreed.
But can you say "What the fuck?"
Jim P. at October 24, 2013 8:19 PM
"The inspector general found one case where IOM paid the contractor, Sayed Bilal Sadath Construction Company, $300,000 for 600 gallons of diesel fuel – a cost of $500 per gallon."
Yeah, them liberal Afghanis construction workers are big on the biodiesel, Cousin Dave. Stupid hippies!
http://sbscc.blogspot.com/
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at October 24, 2013 9:03 PM
As someone who has supervised contractors for the government once, someone didn't review the receipts properly, which cheeses me, because I reviewed my receipts down to the nitty-gritty to identify alcohol payments and travel receipts that don't line up, and on my own travel, adjust my per diems to account for the fact that my food costs were way under the per diem (I happen to like Sonic).
Janie4 at October 25, 2013 8:33 AM
This might be the regulatory tangle again.
We have tied up 43 people to replace light bulbs before.
Radwaste at October 26, 2013 5:26 AM
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