The pace of contracting for Iraqi reconstruction projects has speeded up in the past three months, but Washington has spent only a fraction of the rebuilding cash allocated by Congress, the Washington Post said on Monday, citing a new report.
Reconstruction aid promised by international lenders and other countries has only trickled into Iraq, the paper said, based on the report by the US Inspector General monitoring Iraq's rebuilding, Stuart Bowen.
It said corruption had also apparently hindered the reconstruction effort.
"Allegations have surfaced of large-scale embezzlement, robberies perpetrated by Iraqi police, even payoffs to US military personnel who aided in theft," the paper said.
"Of the $13.5 billion pledged at a donors conference last year in Madrid, contributions and firm commitments total $2.7 billion," the paper said, citing the report.
A congressional allocation of $18.4 billion, approved in October 2003, is still largely untapped.
About $1.6 billion of that has been spent, up from $400 million three months ago, according to Bowen's office.
"Demanding and frequently dangerous conditions... have challenged the pace of reconstruction," Bowen said.
Of the $24.1 billion that Congress has allocated for Iraq's reconstruction over the past two years, $13.4 billion has now been obligated to rebuilding contracts.
The paper cited one case in which Iraqi construction groups were accused of stealing construction equipment from Iraq's interim government. US military personnel allegedly helped transport the materials and accepted payment for their assistance, the paper added.
Iraq turmoil has 'slowed reconstruction'
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