Report Contents
What OIG Inspected
OIG inspected the executive direction, program and policy implementation, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief program, and resource management operations of Embassy Pretoria. The inspection included Consulates General Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg.
What OIG Recommended
OIG made 21 recommendations: 20 to Embassy Pretoria and 1 to the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Health Diplomacy. In its comments on the draft report, the Department concurred with 20 recommendations and neither agreed nor disagreed with 1 recommendation. OIG considers all 21 recommendations resolved. The Department’s response to each recommendation, and OIG’s reply, can be found in the Recommendations section of this report. The Department’s formal written responses are reprinted in their entirety in Appendix B.
What OIG Found
- The Chargé d’Affaires and acting Deputy Chief of Mission led Mission South Africa in a professional and collaborative manner, promoting unity of effort and enlisting the three Consuls General to advance U.S. interests.
- The mission’s $730 million program to implement the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief was hindered by interagency conflicts and implementation challenges, putting the success of the program at risk.
- The Front Office supported Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) principles and implemented all EEO program requirements, but OIG found several pockets in the mission where employees reported behavior that did not meet Department of State standards for EEO and civility in the workplace.
- The mission developed its Integrated Country Strategy through a logical and inclusive process but did not track its implementation.
- Although the Front Office conducted the required Statement of Assurance on internal controls, OIG found many long-standing deficiencies that needed attention.
- The Political and Economic Sections provided valuable reporting but could better link their work to the Integrated Country Strategy.
- Consular operations across the mission did not adhere to several basic consular management controls, and one consulate general did not perform any of its consular crisis preparedness duties.
- The mission did not meet Department standards for managing furniture, other property, supplies, and motor pool operations.
- Basic information technology needs were being met by the information management staff, but staff did not complete key security duties, which increased the risk of data loss or breaches.
Report Terms
Report Recommendations
Embassy Pretoria should implement a process to track activities and progress against Mission South Africa’s Integrated Country Strategy.
Embassy Pretoria should conduct end-use monitoring checks of defense, dual-use, or sensitive equipment in accordance with Department standards.
Embassy Pretoria should conduct Leahy vetting in accordance with Department guidance.
Embassy Pretoria, in coordination with the Bureaus of African Affairs and Educational and Cultural Affairs, should repurpose the former Information Resource Centers in Consulates General Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban.
Embassy Pretoria should comply with Department standards for the use of public diplomacy resources.
The Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Health Diplomacy, in coordination with Embassy Pretoria, should identify uniform use of performance metrics for President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief treatment program activities in South Africa.
Embassy Pretoria should implement a plan to improve coordination on diplomatic engagement at the national and provincial levels for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
Embassy Pretoria should comply with the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator and Health Diplomacy’s guidance to conduct quarterly reviews to prevent expenditures in excess of approved funding levels for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
Embassy Pretoria should create and maintain disaster assistance kits and prepare for potential disasters in Durban by completing the Consular Crisis Preparedness Scorecard and the Consular Risk Assessment Tool in accordance with Department standards.
Embassy Pretoria, in coordination with the Bureaus of Overseas Buildings Operations and Consular Affairs, should provide a wheelchair-accessible bathroom and interview window for consular customers in Consulate General Durban.
Embassy Pretoria should manage its furniture and appliance pool in accordance with Department standards.
Embassy Pretoria should bring its nonexpendable property inventory records into compliance with Department standards.
Embassy Pretoria should implement any Property Survey Board recommendations related to the 2018 expendable supply inventory shortages in Pretoria and Johannesburg.
Embassy Pretoria should correct all residential safety deficiencies.
Embassy Pretoria should cease moving employees into residences that do not meet the Department’s safety standards.
Embassy Pretoria should comply with the Department’s Motor Vehicle Safety Management Program.
Embassy Pretoria should establish procedures to minimize the use of petty cash to pay for routine purchases in accordance with Department guidelines.
Embassy Pretoria should require the Information Systems Security Officers to perform their duties in accordance with Department standards.
Embassy Pretoria should complete and annually test the information technology contingency plans for the unclassified and classified networks in Consulates General Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg in accordance with Department standards.
Embassy Pretoria should conduct initial and annual refresher information technology contingency training for staff with information technology contingency planning responsibilities in Consulates General Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg.
Embassy Pretoria should assign responsibility for supervision of information management programs at Consulates General Cape Town and Durban to the Information Management Officer.