If the accusations made by the US Congressman, Scott Perry, against the activities of the United States Agency for International Development,USAID, is anything to go by, the freezing of the aid agency’s activities by the US Donald Trump may be justified.
Daily Intel reported that the Trump’s administration had in a post on his Truth Social platform called for the closure of USAID, accusing the agency of corruption, among others.
The development follows the recommendation by the newly created US Department of Government Efficiency, otherwise known as DOGE- headed billionaire Elon Musk.
Musk had called USAID “a viper’s nest of radical-left Marxists who hate America” and has vowed to shut it down.
Musk further claimed that USAID does “rogue CIA work” and even “funded bioweapon research, including COVID-19, that killed millions of people.”
Boko Haram is a terrorist organisation active in the northern part of Nigeria
Speaking at the first congressional hearing on the future of USAID since President Trump abruptly froze foreign assistance last month, Perry, a Republican representing Pennsylvania, said on Thursday that USAID actively funded terrorism, adding that shipments of cash were made to terrorist groups, including Boko Haram.
“Who gets some of that money? Does that name ring a bell to anybody in the room? Because your money, your money, $697 million annually, plus the shipments of cash funds in Madrasas, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, ISIS Khorasan, terrorist training camps. That’s what it’s funding,” Perry said.
Perry further cited USAID’s reported funding of $136 million for building 120 schools in Pakistan, alleging that there was “zero evidence” of the schools’ construction.
Perry added, ” If you think that the programme under Operation Enduring Sentinel entitled Women’s Scholarship Endowment, which receives $60 million annually, or the Young Women Lead, which gets about $5 million annually, is going to women who, by the way, if you read the Inspector General’s report, is telling you that the Taliban does not
allow women to speak in public, yet somehow you’re believing, and American people are supposed to believe, that this money is going for the betterment of the women in Afghanistan. It is not.
“You are funding terrorism, and it’s coming through USAID. And it’s not just Afghanistan, because Pakistan’s right next door.
“USAID spent $840 million in the last year, the last 20 years, on Pakistan’s education-related programme. It includes $136 million to build 120 schools, of which there is zero evidence that any of them were built. Why would there be any evidence? The Inspector General can’t get in to see them.
“But you know what? We doubled down and spent $20 million from USAID to create educational television programs for children unable to attend the physical school. Yeah, they can’t attend it, because it doesn’t exist. You paid for it.
“Somebody else got the money. You are paying for terrorism. This has got to end.”
