Auditor general praises Afghan mission after visit

CBC News,   Auditor General Sheila Fraser says she is impressed with development work Canada's military has undertaken in Afghanistan, but has concerns over what will happen to projects once the soldiers pull out.

The purpose of Fraser's five-day visit to Afghanistan was not to audit the mission, but to get an understanding of the challenges of both the military and development projects.

She said she has come away impressed with the work being done and the co-operation between different branches of the mission, but says given the nature of Canada's involvement in Afghanistan, she is prepared to give some leeway.

"My sense is there is good control," she said. "But I think once the decision is made to send our people into war, we have to make sure they are equipped properly, that they are well supported and well protected. And the costs of these things becomes almost a little irrelevant in the whole scheme of things."

Fraser expressed concern, however, over how projects will be sustained once Canada pulls out of Afghanistan in 2011.

"Some of these very significant training and development projects ... aren’t going to be accomplished in a year or two years, so what is the plan for sustainability for these projects?"

"I think those are questions that need to be asked, need to be asked very soon because there’s been a very high cost, not only monetarily, to do the work that our forces have been doing here. And one would hope that those benefits would continue," she said.

Fraser said while no audit was conducted during the visit, her agency is considering future audits to some of the agencies involved in Afghanistan, including the Canadian International Development Agency.