Inspection of Embassy Panama City, Panama

Embassy Panama City, in coordination with the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, should implement a plan to improve administrative support for grants management.

Embassy Panama City should request support visits from the U.S. Agency for International Development’s regional office to cover the semiannual meetings of the Ecological Trust Fund, the Chagres National Park Fund, and the Darien National Park Fund.

Embassy Panama City should submit Mission Activity Tracker reports for all its information and media activities.

The Bureau of Consular Affairs should remove Embassy Panama City from the regional consular officer program.

Embassy Panama City should request authorization from the Bureau of Consular Affairs to initiate a program for passport renewal by mail.

Embassy Panama City should implement a nonimmigrant interview waiver program for qualified citizens of Panama and appropriate permanent residents.

Embassy Panama City should assign the fraud prevention manager portfolio to the visa chief on the arrival of the assistant regional security officer for investigations.

Embassy Panama City should establish a mechanism to identify long-term temporary personnel stationed at the mission and, where appropriate, seek formal approval for them through the National Security Decision Directive 38 process.

Embassy Panama City should prepare a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether outsourcing voucher processing to the Post Support Unit would result in cost savings and share the results with the International Cooperative Administrative Support Services council.

Embassy Panama City, in coordination with the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, should compare its vouchering procedures to those of more efficient vouchering units and revise its procedures accordingly.

Embassy Panama City should reconcile outstanding travel advances, determine uncollectible amounts, and write off uncollectable amounts.

Embassy Panama City should establish an appropriate level of staffing to improve residential maintenance services.

Embassy Panama City should submit to the International Cooperative Administrative Support Services’ Service Center an updated furniture and appliance pool policy that complies with Department of State guidance.

Embassy Panama City should require all contracting officer’s representatives receive mandatory contracting officer’s representatives training.

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Embassy Panama City, in coordination with the Bureau of Administration, should obtain an advisory opinion on whether the American Employee Recreation Association’s employment policies comply with local labor laws.