The UN's envoy to Afghanistan is set to outline a new plan on spending foreign aid, amid concerns that millions of dollars have been wasted.

The envoy, Kai Eide, wants international aid money to be spent through the Afghan government, in return for British death toll in Afghanistan reaches 100 ...
EU's Solana visits Afghanistan ... a crackdown on corruption.

Mr Eide says that too much aid money is spent on salaries and goods in the countries that provide it.

Last month, 80 countries pledged a further $22bn (£11bn) for Afghanistan.

Now the donors and the Afghan government are being told to deliver - to get schools, clinics, agriculture and electricity to the people who need it.

'Weak institutions'

Millions in development money has notoriously gone to waste in the seven years since the fall of the Taleban.

Many countries spend a chunk of their aid through the government, or on a trust fund set aside to fund National Solidarity Programmes in more than 22,000 districts in Afghanistan.

But Mr Eide, the UN special representative to Afghanistan, believes more should be spent this way.

In Kabul on Sunday, he will outline to the government and donors that they have got to be more co-ordinated and to deliver development more effectively and efficiently.

"I think first of all that we spend too much of our money in our home countries instead of spending it in Afghanistan," he said.

"We also have to see how we can spend our money in a way that builds Afghan capacity. We see how weak the institutions are - that we have to make sure we correct."

Corruption is a major issue and the words auditing and accountability will be buzzing around the room at the first monitoring board meeting since the Paris conference.

The promises have been made and the UN head here is now trying to take control of an aid effort that many think has been missing the mark, when winning people over to the government, and keeping the Taleban at bay, is so vital for the future.

(BBC)

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