By MICHAEL SLOVANOS
SOME you’ve heard of many you haven’t, but they have all been raking in billions of the US taxpayer-backed money laundering operation called USAID.
Take the multinational outfit called Chemonics, which has nothing to do with chemicals. This is how they describe their work: “We apply and adapt solutions from around the world and translate those approaches and ideas to fit each community and context. Our global network of 6,000 teammates work to turn life-changing solutions into world-changing ones.”
In other words, we do stuff that sounds good and set up our great-sounding projects to keep our army of experts busy and consultants chasing our dollars. Others might be tempted to describe such a statement as a giant wank.
As their high-quality video production shows, these people like doing eco-friendly projects around the world, giving local park wardens from the Philippines to Columba little SMART (Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool) gadgets to record all sorts of largely useless data on “biodiversity and sustainability”.
“Oh look Carlos, some unknown predator has been eating the leaves off these coca shrubs. Let’s get it on our SMART tool! This is unsustainable!”
Boiled down, the managers running these charades are just giving themselves a warm inner glow while implementing the objectives of UN Agenda 2030 to keep these countries locked up, poor and underdeveloped – oh, but with lovely pristine national parks covering huge chunks of the country and IMF-World Bank collateral most likely.
And how much moolah has Chemonics raked in from the US Treasury? In recent times more than $USD894 million. At least that’s the amount of grant money that the big mean DOGE machine has cancelled.
And there are dozens of other organisations that have been grifting off the USAID “free money for great sounding stuff”. Another unheard-of organisation on the list is Amref Health Africa, major pushers of vaccines and condoms across Africa.
We would like to know how they planned to spend $US35,732,598 (now cancelled) to “implement integrated youth activity to advance development in Ethiopia”, taking into account that 1 US dollar was worth 125.93 Ethiopian birr when we last checked.
$35 million USD to run a bunch of “youth events” across Ethiopia? Was someone getting a pay-off somewhere?
The big picture we see is a multi-billion-dollar global business based on a US gravy train of hand-outs, all loosely based on the idea of “helping countries develop”, whatever your twist on that theme may be.
And how many of these junkets were just covers for CIA political interference operations? One global business operator you’ve likely heard of, Deloitte Consulting, was expecting a handy little $90 million to “advance health reform and recovery efforts in Ukraine’s healthcare sector”.
And that folks, is a mere glimpse into just a part of the biggest money laundering scheme in history.
The same company was also expecting:
– $40,111,604 to “Implement Southeast Asia Smart Power program to enhance energy security.”
– $36,310,210 to “Enhance private sector competitiveness to drive economic growth in Vietnam.” (how noble)
– $25,975,892 to “Strengthen Nepal’s fiscal federalism by addressing regulatory gaps subnationally.”
– $24,444,592 to “Implement green transportation and logistics solutions in Georgia’s infrastructure sector.”
– $22,965,235 to “Strengthen public financial management and transparency in Sri Lanka.”
– $20,214,040 to “Secure Georgia’s energy future by strengthening its power sector.”
– $18,749,791 to “Advance Nepal’s electricity sector to improve viability and private investment.”
Oh boo hoo hoo! We can hear the board members of the world’s largest “professional services network” sobbing into their breakfast cereal upon hearing the oh so sad news that this gravy train ain’t leaving the station any more.
The full list of cancelled USAID handouts can be read at this link. DOGE advises that the aggregate ceiling value of the canceled contracts and grants is approximately $7.5 billion. There is also at least an additional $500 million in subcontracts and $600 million in subgrants tied to these awards that will likely be impacted.
