A day ahead of the inauguration of Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai, yet another organisation has added to the chorus of complaints about government corruption. A report published today by the international aid agency Oxfam finds most Afghans think poverty and unemployment are fuelling the ongoing conflict. They say aid donated by foreign governments is not ending up in the right people’s hands.

Oxfam's Ashley Jackson explains the report's findings

Oxfam’s study, entitled The Cost of War paints a depressing picture of a country that has been ravaged by war for the past 30 years. Researchers spoke to 704 people from across Afghanistan and found that one in five has been tortured since 1979 and three quarters of them have been forced to leave their homes.

Shocking and surprising
Ashley Jackson in Kabul, who led the research, said this was the first time the people of Afghanistan had been asked for their views on the situation there and that the results are shocking as well as surprising.

“I think it’s common knowledge to anyone who’s read up on history that  this is one of the most brutal series of conflicts that we’ve ever seen. But to have the numbers that say three out of four people have been displaced; more than half lost land; close to 75 percent had property damage or were robbed… Just trying to imagine that a country and a group of people have managed to survive that – it’s almost too much to imagine.”

The Afghans who took part in the survey were asked to make suggestions to politicians and military forces as well as the insurgents fighting them.

Aid not reaching right people
One of the biggest criticisms they made was that foreign aid does not reach the people who need it most, and that not enough priority is being given to guaranteeing their safety.

Ashley Jackson says corruption is a major issue when it comes to the distribution of foreign donations. More than 30 billion dollars has been sent to Afghanistan since 2002 but it hasn’t made the difference Oxfam had hoped.

“Of that 30 billion, we’ve estimated that  40 percent returns to donor countries in the form of profits or remunerations. This is often because of subcontracting and highly paid contractors that a lot of these agencies rely on. We’re asking for both more and better aid but the emphasis is on better aid.”

The report highlights the challenges ahead for President Hamid Karzai, who takes office tomorrow for a second five year term after winning an election that was marred by fraud. A run-off was announced when he failed to secure 50 percent of the vote but was cancelled after his main opponent, Dr Abdullah Abdullah, pulled out of the race.

Afghanistan’s foreign ministry says 300 foreign dignitaries will travel to the capital Kabul for an oath-signing ceremony, including British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.

More US troops?
US President Barack Obama, who is expected to announce whether he will send more troops to the war-torn country, told CNN:

“I think President Karzai has served his country in important ways. If you think about when he first came in, there may not have been another figure who could have held that country together.

"He has some strengths, but he’s got some weaknesses. And I’m less concerned about any individual than I am with a government as a whole that is having difficulty providing basic services to its people in a way that confers legitimacy on them.”