Kazakh authorities will examine their “alignment with stated goals and actual results,” Orda.kz claims, citing the economy minister
The Kazakh government is planning to audit all programs being implemented in the Central Asian nation under the auspices of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), local media outlet Orda.kz has reported.
Washington’s primary agency for funding political projects abroad found itself in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump shortly after he assumed office in January. The new administration imposed a 90-day funding freeze on USAID pending a review, citing concerns of corruption and inefficiency.
In an article on Tuesday, Orda.kz, citing Economy Minister Serik Zhumangarin’s response to a parliamentary inquiry, claimed that a special working group was set up within Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry last year, which is tasked with scrutinizing USAID’s activities in the country.
The publication quoted the official as clarifying that a “detailed analysis of funded projects and programs will be conducted, including an assessment of their alignment with stated goals and actual results.”
Moreover, the US agency’s “relationships with other organizations, including governmental and non-governmental” as well as its financial flows will reportedly be put under the auditors’ microscope to check for “possible cover-up schemes, inconsistencies in spending, and conflicts of interest.”
According to the Kazakh Foreign Ministry, throughout 2024, USAID had 28 long-term programs running in the country, encompassing the economy, energy, healthcare, civil society, and media sectors. The activities of some of those extended beyond Kazakhstan, targeting the broader Central Asian region.
The total funding allocated for Kazakhstan in 2023–2024 stood at $26.5 million.
Last month, the Indian Express reported that USAID’s allocation of $21 million, which had been frozen by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and was presumably meant to foster “voter turnout in India,” was earmarked for neighboring Bangladesh.
Last August, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to step down following massive student-led protests.
In an interview with Tucker Carlson in February, Mike Benz, a former State Department official, alleged that USAID had funded last year’s regime change in the South Asian nation because of Hasina’s opposition to a US military base in the region. The US Department of State previously dismissed similar claims made by the deposed prime minister as “laughable.”
Amid reports of USAID’s involvement in India’s political processes, the Foreign Ministry in New Delhi stated that authorities were looking into the “deeply troubling” information.
My name is Steve Allen and I’m the publisher of ThinkAboutIt.news and ThinkAboutIt.online. Any controversial opinions in these articles are either mine alone or a guest author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. These articles may contain opinions on political matters, but are not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained herein is for general information purposes only. Commenters are solely responsible for their own viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Steve Allen or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. Follow me on social media on Facebook and X, and sharing these articles with others is a great help. Thank you, Steve
This is why farmers in places like the Netherlands, France and Italy are roaring their tractors through the town squares and into their nations’ respective capitals to throw manure at political leaders. […]
Original Article by Tamás Orbán President von der Leyen forgets that she’s supposed to be a servant of EU member states, not the supreme ruler of Europe. The EU election may have shifted the balance […]
Be the first to comment