Friday, November 17, 2006

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP): Havana charged Thursday that US aid to dissidents in Cuba invites corruption, pointing to a recent US congressional probe, which showed that the funds have been used to buy luxury items.

"The program, which is corrupt, breeds’ corruption," the Communist Party daily Granma said in a front-page article titled "Wasted Money."

"As Cuba has said, these payments prove the political and financial ties that the majority of the supposed 'opponents' of the island's government have with the United States," the official website Cubadebate said.

The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released Wednesday showed that poor monitoring of millions of dollars intended to support Cuban dissidents has led to the purchase of Godiva chocolates, Sony PlayStations and other luxury items at US taxpayers' expense.

Of 10 aid recipients audited, three were found to have made "questionable expenditures," said the GAO, an investigative branch of the US Congress.

It mentioned one recipient who "could not adequately justify" the use of US Agency for International Development (USAID) funds to buy such items as "a gas chain saw, computer gaming equipment and software (including Nintendo Gameboys and Sony PlayStations), a mountain bike, leather coats, cashmere sweaters, crab meat and Godiva chocolates."

The group was not identified in the report, but the Miami-based Cuban Democratic Action group admitted making such purchases with the funds, intended to provide humanitarian assistance for dissidents in Cuba.

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