U.S President, Trump has on Wednesday sacked the independent Inspector General for the US Agency for International Development, USAID, Paul Martin.
According reports, this is coming a day after Martin’s office issued a report critical of the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the agency.
The White House however sent a mail on Tuesday to Martin telling him that his position was terminated, effective immediately, but with no explanation of the reasons for the decision.
His office’s report had warned that more than $489 million in food assistance was at risk of spoilage or potential diversion after the Trump administration implemented an aid freeze and stop-work order.
According to the report, it had long identified significant challenges and offered recommendations to improve Agency programming to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse.
Recall that Trump had already sacked 18 inspectors general, who are independent watchdogs of the federal government, but Martin, appointed by Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden had remained in place.
Trump, who began his second term last month, has launched a crusade led by his top donor Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, to downsize or dismantle swaths of the US government.
USAID manages a budget of $42.8 billion — representing 42 percent of humanitarian aid disbursed worldwide.
