Spot Check Reveals Huge Gap in ANA Personnel Accountability

According to the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), 10 to 60 percent personnel of the Afghan army were not present at work when a personnel accountability audit was conducted in several bases.

The watchdog released a new quarterly report to the United States Congress last week.

In a part of the report which focuses on ANDSF personnel accountability, the U.S. Special Inspector General John F. Sopko said that an audit was conducted at units within the ANA’s 201^st, 203^rd, and 205^th Corps to verify whether all soldiers and officers entered into the system were present at each location.

“The ANA PAA results showed that at best 10%, and at worst 60%, of the personnel reported to exist in those ANA units were not present for duty at the time of the audit,” the report said.

SIGAR believe that “not present can mean a number of things, including absent without leave, dropped from rolls, killed in action, wounded, transferred, separated from the force, retired, out on mission, assigned temporary duty elsewhere, or on leave.”

“There are regiments with 650 personnel on roster while physically there might be less than 200 people. The brigades are vacant. Therefore, forces have retreated from checkpoints in highways. The enemy has inflicted heavy casualties that is why the personnel roster is not matching with the number of forces on duty,” Javid Kohistani, a Kabul-based military commentator told Ariana News.

Zabihullah Atiq, a lawmaker from northern Badakhshan province further claimed that the absence of senior officials at the battlefields have weakened the spirit of soldiers.

“Senior officials are not present in units. The company and regiments commanders are not present in battlefields,” MP Atiq said.

Meanwhile, presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said the report is “incorrect.”

“Less than 10 percent of the personnel are absent,” Sediqqi responded to a question in this regard.

This comes as Afghan forces are battling the Taliban insurgent group across the country to force the group’s political leaders to enter into talks with the government negotiators.