USAID Finds $160,000 in Discrepancies at One NGO

  • Kong Sothanarith
    VOA Khmer

The US Agency for International Development has found more than $160,000 in irregular expenditures in a local health NGO it supports.

The US Agency for International Development has found more than $160,000 in irregular expenditures in a local health NGO it supports.

According to a Nov. 21 report obtained by VOA Khmer Wednesday, USAID found that irregular expenses at the organization RACHA included staff benefits, inflated prices for medical equipment, car rental and maintenance of vehicles, starting from 2009.

USAID has provided about $5 million to the organization in five different provinces.

Chan Theary, executive director of the organization, said she has already explained the cost discrepancies to USAID.

“We recognize that we have some weaknesses, which have been modified,” she said. “Once a problem is found, we always respond and always correct it.”

US Embassy spokesman Sean McIntosh said the findings were part of a routine review process and that the financial activities at the organization had not been deemed acts of corruption.