Criticised for incompetence and mismanagement, the US official assigned to combat corruption in the multibillion-dollar effort to rebuild Afghanistan on Tuesday announced the firing of two top deputies and pledged to focus on financial fraud and waste.
The moves come a few months after key members of Congress urged President Barack Obama to dismiss Arnold Fields, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction. Senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat who chairs the Senate contracting oversight subcommittee, and other senators have said that Fields' office has failed to aggressively oversee the $56 billion the US has committed since 2002 to improving schools, roads, electricity and medical facilities in Afghanistan.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Fields said that the organisation's upper ranks needed "new blood," and he rejected the idea that the changes were made to keep him from being fired. "This is not about saving Arnie Fields' job. This is about making SIGAR a better organisation," he said, using the shorthand name for his office.
Fields said he removed John Brummet, the assistant inspector general for audits, and Raymond DiNunzio, the assistant inspector general for investigations. Their deputies will serve in acting capacities while Fields searches for replacements. DiNunzio will remain with the organisation for 60 to 90 days as an adviser, Fields said. Brummet may also stay on for a limited period in a different capacity, he said.
Brummet joined the office in January 2009. Prior to that, he spent 35 years at the Government Accountability Office. DiNunzio, a former FBI special agent, was hired in September 2009. Brummet and DiNunzio did not immediately respond to telephone calls and e-mails seeking comment. McCaskill said Tuesday that she is glad Fields is acknowledging improvements are needed in his office, but she said she still wants Obama to dismiss him.
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