Report Contents
What OIG Inspected
OIG inspected the executive direction, program and policy implementation, resource management, and information management operations of Embassy Kigali.
What OIG Recommends
OIG made 10 recommendations to Embassy Kigali: 1 to bring the residential safety program into compliance with Department standards; 2 to improve the public diplomacy grants program; 3 to improve the oversight of the American Corners; 1 to improve consular crisis preparedness; and 3 to improve the information management program.
In its comments on the draft report, the embassy concurred with 9 recommendations and disagreed with 1 recommendation. OIG considers all 10 recommendations resolved. The embassy’s response to each recommendation, and OIG’s reply, can be found in the Recommendations section of this report. The embassy’s formal written response is reprinted in its entirety in Appendix B.
What OIG Found
- The Ambassador and the Deputy Chief of Mission led Embassy Kigali in a professional, positive, and inclusive manner. The Ambassador’s public outreach was enhanced by his study and use of Kinyarwanda, the principal language of Rwandans.
- The embassy identified a major deficiency in the residential safety program with multiple hazardous electrical incidents at staff residences.
- The embassy did not manage the public diplomacy grants program in accordance with Department of State standards.
- The embassy did not ensure the American Corner at the Adventist University of Central Africa conformed to Department standards. The embassy also did not properly document property transferred to the two American Corners in Rwanda.
- The embassy’s consular crisis preparedness program had deficiencies, including inadequate disaster assistance kits and a backlog in enrolling U.S. citizens in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program.
- Spotlight on Success: The embassy’s Coordination Office for the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief successfully promoted cooperation among interagency stakeholders.
- Spotlight on Success: The embassy responded quickly and comprehensively to an Ebola outbreak in neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Report Terms
Report Recommendations
Embassy Kigali should bring the public diplomacy grants program into compliance with Department standards.
Embassy Kigali should verify and document that grant recipient American Corner at the Adventist University of Central Africa in Kigali was eligible to receive $79,295 in public diplomacy funds and that the funds were used for the intended purpose. If the recipient is deemed ineligible or funds were not used for the intended purpose, Embassy Kigali should recover the funds in accordance with the grant agreement.
Embassy Kigali should stop paying the salary of the American Corner coordinator at the Adventist University of Central Africa in Kigali, seek reimbursement from the grantee, and put funds of up to $36,000 to better use.
Embassy Kigali should comply with Department standards for management of the American Corner at the Adventist University of Central Africa in Kigali.
Embassy Kigali should use property grants to document all property transferred by the Public Diplomacy Section to the American Corners in Kigali and Rubavu.
Embassy Kigali should implement a consular crisis preparedness program in accordance with Department standards.
Embassy Kigali, in coordination with the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, should implement a corrective action plan to bring the residential safety program into compliance with Department standards.
Embassy Kigali should implement standard operating procedures to archive or dispose of documentary materials in accordance with Department standards.
Embassy Kigali should require that Information Systems Security Officers perform information systems security duties in accordance with Department standards.
Embassy Kigali, in coordination with the Bureau of Information Resource Management, should review high-frequency radio coverage at the embassy’s alternate command center and remedy reception coverage problems.