Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock
()
or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Department of State
U.S. Agency for Global Media
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs review the remaining eight expired grants from the March 1, 2012, OIG sample and (a) reconcile the approximately $9.6 million in the Payment Management System (PMS) to the approximately $3.3 million recorded in the Global Financial Management System to appropriately deobligate and potentially use available funds for other designated purposes and (b) subsequently close those grants in PMS to avoid unnecessary administrative fees.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (a) review the remaining 393 expired grants, totaling approximately $18.8 million, in the Payment Management System (PMS) as of March 1, 2012, to determine whether the funds associated with those grants can be deobligated in the Global Financial Management System and used for other purposes and (b) subsequently close those grants in PMS to avoid unnecessary administrative fees.
OIG recommends that the Educational and Cultural Affairs close the remaining 359 zero balance grants that have expired in the Payment Management System as of March 1, 2012, to avoid unnecessary administrative fees.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration review the remaining six expired grants from the March 1, 2012, OIG sample and (a) reconcile the approximately $8.4 million in the Payment Management System (PMS) to the approximately $6.1 million recorded in the Global Financial Management System to appropriately deobligate and potentially use available funds for other designated purposes and (b) subsequently close those grants in PMS to avoid unnecessary administrative fees.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (a) review the remaining 202 expired grants, totaling approximately $8.2 million, in the Payment Management System (PMS) as of March 1, 2012, to determine whether the funds associated with those grants can be deobligated in the Global Financial Management System and used for other purposes and (b) subsequently close those grants in PMS to avoid unnecessary administrative fees.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration close the remaining 433 zero balance grants that have expired in the Payment Management System as of March 1, 2012, to avoid unnecessary administrative fees.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, review the remaining two expired grants from the March 1, 2012, OIG sample and (a) reconcile the approximately $2.4 million in the Payment Management System (PMS) to the zero balances recorded in the Global Financial Management System and (b) subsequently close those grants in PMS to avoid unnecessary administrative fees.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, (a) review the remaining 248 expired grants, totaling approximately $13.8 million, in the Payment Management System (PMS) as of March 1, 2012, to determine whether the funds associated with those grants can be deobligated in the Global Financial Management System and used for other purposes and (b) subsequently close those grants in PMS to avoid unnecessary administrative fees.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, close the remaining 347 zero balance grants as of March 1, 2012, that have expired in the Payment Management System to avoid unnecessary administrative fees.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs; the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration; and the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, in coordination with the Office of the Procurement Executive, establish specific procedures that require grants officers and grants officer representatives to periodically report to their respective bureau on the progress of completing timely closeout of expired grants.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs; the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration; and the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, in coordination with the Office of the Procurement Executive, develop performance metrics for bureau grants officers and grants officer representatives that will provide for timely grant closeout of expired grants while reducing the current backlog.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs; the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration; and the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, each develop procedures to periodically review respective official grant files to determine bureau compliance with Grants Policy Directive (GPD) 23, Revision 2, "Federal Assistance File Folder - Form DS-4012," March 2008, and GPD 41, Revision 2, "Close-Out of Federal Assistance Awards," January 2, 2013, to ensure that timely, complete, and accurate grant closeout procedures can be applied as required.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs; the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration; and the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, in coordination with the Office of the Procurement Executive, establish specific procedures that require grants officers and grants officer representatives to periodically report to their respective bureau on the progress of completing timely closeout of expired grants.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs; the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration; and the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, in coordination with the Office of the Procurement Executive, develop performance metrics for bureau grants officers and grants officer representatives that will provide for timely grant closeout of expired grants while reducing the current backlog.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs; the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration; and the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, each develop procedures to periodically review respective official grant files to determine bureau compliance with Grants Policy Directive (GPD) 23, Revision 2, "Federal Assistance File Folder - Form DS-4012," March 2008, and GPD 41, Revision 2, "Close-Out of Federal Assistance Awards," January 2, 2013, to ensure that timely, complete, and accurate grant closeout procedures can be applied as required.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs; the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration; and the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, in coordination with the Office of the Procurement Executive, establish specific procedures that require grants officers and grants officer representatives to periodically report to their respective bureau on the progress of completing timely closeout of expired grants.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs; the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration; and the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, in coordination with the Office of the Procurement Executive, develop performance metrics for bureau grants officers and grants officer representatives that will provide for timely grant closeout of expired grants while reducing the current backlog.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs; the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration; and the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, each develop procedures to periodically review respective official grant files to determine bureau compliance with Grants Policy Directive (GPD) 23, Revision 2, "Federal Assistance File Folder - Form DS-4012," March 2008, and GPD 41, Revision 2, "Close-Out of Federal Assistance Awards," January 2, 2013, to ensure that timely, complete, and accurate grant closeout procedures can be applied as required.
The Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs should discontinue Regional Support Center Frankfurt’s post assistance and review visits.
The Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, in coordination with the Bureau of Human Resources, should eliminate financial management officer position 57- 500000010, human resources officer position 57-507000 020, and general services officer position 52- 010124 010.
The Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs should eliminate two locally employed financial management analyst positions and one human resources specialist position.
The Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs should require Regional Support Center Frankfurt to bring its software development activities into compliance with Department of State regulations.
The Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs should implement a policy requiring its posts to use the Contact Management Database software.
The Bureau of Information Resource Management should conduct a cost benefit analysis of using Regional Support Center Frankfurt as a test bed for software development and, if feasible, take appropriate action.
The Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, in coordination with the Office of Management Policy, Rightsizing, and Innovation, should identify a staff member at the Regional Support Center Frankfurt to coordinate the center’s management initiatives.
The Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs should require Regional Support Center Frankfurt to increase its use of adjunct faculty to expand training held outside Frankfurt.
The Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs should review the Regional Support Center Frankfurt mission and implement an appropriate staffing plan.
The Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs should require Regional Support Center Frankfurt to update recruitment materials for U.S. direct-hire and locally employed staff.
The Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs should require Regional Support Center Frankfurt to implement an orientation program for new employees.
The Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs should require Regional Support Center Frankfurt to incorporate the timely submission of locally employed staff performance evaluations into all supervisors’ work requirements statements and note failure to meet this requirement in their performance evaluations.
The Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, in coordination with Embassy Rabat, the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, and the Under Secretary for Management, should close Consulate General Casablanca
The Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, in coordination with Embassy Rabat and the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, should identify and procure suitable property adjacent to the new embassy compound for the construction of a consular annex.
Embassy Rabat should establish an interagency working group on commercial advocacy and export promotion.
Embassy Rabat, in coordination with the Office of Management Policy, Rightsizing and Innovation, should use the rightsizing exercise and report to prepare a plan for adjusting International Cooperative Administrative Support Services positions, with the goal of consolidating information technology and human resources services with those of the U.S. Agency for International Development when the embassy relocates to the new embassy compound.
Embassy Rabat should establish first- and second-tour professional development and mentoring programs for Rabat and for Casablanca.
Embassy Rabat, in coordination with the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and the Bureau of Human Resources, should request the transfer of the economic officer, position number 02-980001, from Consulate General Casablanca to Embassy Rabat upon the departure of the incumbent.
Embassy Rabat should redefine the responsibilities of the embassy’s economic section as they relate to commercial work to align them with the Department of State economic statecraft guidelines.
Embassy Rabat should require public affairs staff members on the board of the Moroccan-American Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange to submit to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs an evaluation of the performance of the commission’s executive director.
Embassy Rabat should require all locally employed staff members in the public affairs section who act as grants officer representatives to complete appropriate online grants training courses offered by the Foreign Service Institute by the deadline.
Embassy Rabat should eliminate two locally employed staff positions in the information unit of the public affairs section.
Embassy Rabat, in coordination with the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, should eliminate the eligible family member program manager assistant position number (88- 94037002) in the public affairs section.
Embassy Rabat should require the consular section to implement a formal training program, including cross-training for locally employed staff in the consular section.
Embassy Rabat should reissue the worldwide visa referral policy and enforce the Department of State requirement that the visa referral mechanism is the only appropriate method for mission staff to advocate on behalf of visa applicants or to request appointments for visa applicants.
Embassy Rabat should provide the deputy chief of mission a monthly report on all Class A and Class B visa referrals and on all communications outside the referral system.
Embassy Rabat should charge appropriate fees for diplomatic visas and correct misinformation posted on its Web site.
Embassy Rabat should require supervisory officers to complete reviews of visa issuances and refusals.
Embassy Rabat should complete and submit the results of validation studies on student visas and visa referral cases to the Bureau of Consular Affairs, Office of Fraud Prevention Programs.
Embassy Rabat should require the assistant regional security officer-investigations in Casablanca to spend 80 percent of his work hours on visa and passport fraud.
Embassy Rabat should establish missionwide motor vehicle and housing policies consistent with relevant Foreign Affairs Manual guidelines.
Embassy Rabat should require Consulate General Casablanca to collect fees for school transport.
Embassy Rabat should reduce the deputy chief of mission’s official residence expense staff to authorized levels.
Embassy Rabat should review official residence expense staff levels and provide the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs with a response on reducing the official residence expense staff levels at the chief of mission residence.
Embassy Rabat should develop a hiring and employment policy for official residence expense staff and require that all employment contracts for official residence expense staff members conform to Department of State regulations, local law, and prevailing practice.
Consulate General Casablanca should complete and submit its post hardship differential survey report.
Embassy Rabat should establish an International Cooperative Administrative Support Services budget committee.
Embassy Rabat, in coordination with the Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, should rebid the current banking services contract.
Embassy Rabat should request a Bureau of Human Resources review of its withholding of Moroccan taxes and take appropriate steps consistent with Moroccan law.
Embassy Rabat should convene a survey board to determine the status of missing property and take corrective actions as necessary.
Embassy Rabat should establish a preventive maintenance plan for U.S. Government-owned and long-term leased properties in Rabat and Casablanca.
The Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, in coordination with Embassy Rabat, should provide funds and project management oversight to repair the structural damage to the pavilion building at the Tangier American Legation.
The Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, in coordination with Embassy Rabat, should replace the extra fiber optic cable that runs to each workstation in the new embassy compound with category 6 cables with Ethernet connectors.
Embassy Rabat, in coordination with the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, should either sell the temporary duty quarters currently maintained by Embassy Rabat’s employee association or include it in a property swap for a consular annex site.
Embassy Rabat should restrict community liaison office involvement and funding to activities that benefit the entire embassy community, such as newcomers’ orientation and morale and recreation events and programs.
Embassy Rabat should suspend the honorary chairmanship of the Ambassador’s spouse for the American International Women’s Association until it obtains the required authorizations from the Office of the Legal Adviser.
Embassy Rabat should cease all fundraising activities by the Ambassador’s spouse until it has obtained the required authorization from the Office of the Legal Adviser and the deputy assistant secretary of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.
Embassy Rabat should cease all fundraising activities for private organizations by mission employees, spouses, and family members until the Ambassador determines that the activities are in the foreign policy interest of the United States and that there is very little or no appearance of preference or use of public office for private gain.
Embassy Rabat should cease the sale to unauthorized personnel of duty-free packaged goods imported by the Embassy Cooperative Association.
The Office of Medical Services should conduct a staffing review of Embassy Rabat’s health unit to determine the appropriate number and mix of health unit professionals required to provide adequate medical care to the mission.
Embassy Rabat should conduct a risk assessment of all management functions in preparation for the 2013 chief of mission management controls statement of assurance.
Embassy Rabat should issue a cash advance to the two backup consular cashiers.
Embassy Rabat should issue a cash drawer to the second backup consular cashier.
Embassy Rabat should require the Class B cashier in Casablanca to return a copy of the general receipt, Optional Form 158, to the accountable consular officer within 24 hours of receipt of funds from the consular cashier.
Embassy Juba, in coordination with the Office of the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan and the Bureau of African Affairs, should develop clear policy goals and objectives to guide policy engagement.
The Bureau of African Affairs should fold the Sudan and South Sudan desks back into the bureau, once the conditions in the March 15, 2012, memo are met.
The Office of the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, in coordination with Embassy Juba, should implement procedures for obtaining embassy concurrence on planned foreign assistance projects.
The Bureau of Human Resources, in coordination with the Bureau of African Affairs, should assign at least some incoming political/economic and public diplomacy officers to Embassy Juba to 2-year assignments, with the first year in either the Bureau of African Affairs or the Office of the Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan.
The Bureau of Human Resources, in coordination with the Bureau of African Affairs, should approve Embassy Juba’s FY 2014 Mission Resource Request for three eligible family member positions.
Embassy Juba should contact the Office of Civil Rights to gain official appointment of an Equal Employment Opportunity counselor.
The Bureau of African Affairs, in coordination with Embassy Juba, should install and provide training on information-sharing systems, including SharePoint, contact management, and records management systems, at Embassy Juba.
Embassy Juba, in coordination with the Office of the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, should develop a missionwide reporting plan.
Embassy Juba should create a central biographic file that is accessible to Department of State personnel.
Embassy Juba should review the amount of in-country travel embassy staff has performed since the embassy changed its practice on chartering planes, identify reasons for the decrease, and adjust procedures as necessary.
Embassy Juba, in coordination with the Bureau of Human Resources and the Bureau of African Affairs, should add one mid-level political/economic officer position to increase reporting on refugee and other humanitarian issues by either creating a new position or transferring a position from Embassy Khartoum.
The Bureau of African Affairs, in coordination with Embassy Juba and the Bureau of Consular Affairs, should upgrade position 10-004075 to FS-01, make FS-04 position number 10-004077 economic/consular, make FS-02 position number 14-121002 economic, and remove FS-02 position 10-125006 from the staffing pattern.
Embassy Juba should draft a public affairs plan to address mission priorities.
Embassy Juba should draft a mission media plan for informing the South Sudanese public of the extent of U.S. Government assistance and of the efforts of the embassy.
Embassy Juba should update the registration of its grants to comply with Federal law.
Embassy Juba should close all grants files with accurate and complete documentation.
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in coordination with Embassy Juba, should assess whether to establish a Fulbright program in South Sudan and, if feasible, take such action.
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs should fund a visit to Juba by the regional English language officer for South Sudan to do a needs analysis of English language programs.
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs should fund an initial regional educational advising coordinator visit to South Sudan to conduct a needs analysis for establishing an educational adviser position.
The Bureau of Consular Affairs should send a temporary duty consular officer to Embassy Juba to set up internal control systems and help prepare the consular package.
The Bureau of Consular Affairs, in coordination with the Bureau of Human Resources, should implement a policy requiring that any sole consular officer assigned to Embassy Juba complete the Consular Section Chief Basics Course (PC 550) prior to beginning the assignment.
Embassy Juba should fill the consular locally employed staff position without delay.
The Bureau of Consular Affairs should provide funding for any new consular local employee to travel to a post neighboring Juba for training.
Embassy Juba, in coordination with the Bureau of Consular Affairs, should order and install a microphone system for the consular interview window.
The Bureau of Consular Affairs should provide Embassy Juba and other posts in the region with front-channel guidance on processing visa applications from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army and update the South Sudan reciprocity schedule with this guidance.
The Bureau of Consular Affairs should provide funding for an annual trip to Juba by the Nairobi consul general or other consular manager.
The Bureau of African Affairs, in coordination with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, should complete a risk/cost/benefit analysis that yields a decision on the question of constructing an interim office building pending completion of a new embassy compound in Juba.
The Bureau of African Affairs, in coordination with Embassy Juba, should implement immediate and transitional plans for provision of International Cooperative and Administrative Support Services to Embassy Juba.
Embassy Juba should implement procedures to disseminate management information to staff in a timely manner.
Embassy Juba, in coordination with the Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services and Embassy Khartoum, should reconcile the U.S. Agency for International Development cashier accountability and close out the account with the U.S. disbursing officer.
Embassy Juba should implement a plan to align locally employed staff positions and functions, update and classify job descriptions as needed, assess workload, and establish a rational staffing pattern that meets mission requirements.
Embassy Juba, in coordination with the Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services and Embassy Khartoum, should implement a plan for training the main timekeeper in Juba and installing the Windows Time and Attendance program to allow Juba to report time and attendance directly to the payroll office, eliminating the need to go through Embassy Khartoum.
Embassy Juba should carry out an awards program that complies with Department of State regulations and hold awards ceremonies twice a year, as prescribed in the locally employed staff handbook.
Embassy Juba should implement a staff training plan.
Embassy Juba, in coordination with the Bureau of African Affairs, should define its supply chain management system, including ordering, receiving, shipping, paying, and controlling, and define and enforce responsibilities, accountability, and internal controls.
Embassy Juba should implement a motor vehicle policy in accordance with Department of State regulations.
Embassy Juba should implement a plan that limits drivers to 10-hour shifts, in compliance with Department of State regulations.
The Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations should repair the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system in the Embassy Juba controlled access area.
Embassy Juba should implement a safety, health, and environmental management program in accordance with Department of State regulations.
Embassy Juba, in coordination with Bureau of Information Resource Management, should document specific network inadequacies and work with systems specialists to improve the embassy’s capacity for quick, secure, and reliable communications on both the unclassified and classified systems.
Embassy Juba, in coordination with the Bureau of African Affairs, should obtain valid licenses for all embassy computer software.
The Bureau of Consular Affairs, in coordination with Embassy Juba, should arrange the visit of a technician to Juba to resolve outstanding consular system problems.
Embassy Juba, in coordination with the Bureau of African Affairs, should implement a medical claims reimbursement process for local staff.
Embassy Juba should require the deputy chief of mission to carry out required adjudication reviews for nonimmigrant visa cases.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Bureau of Budget and Planning, create a separate point limitation within the Working Capital Fund for the Procurement Shared Services service center.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, develop and implement a plan for how it will use its portion of the available Working Capital Fund carryover to either implement its Business Plan goals or to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of contract monitoring.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration develop and document a methodology for calculating the procurement-service fee, including a process to consider future program costs and the timeframe for periodically reassessing the fee.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration reassess the amount of the fee to ensure that it is sufficient and supportable. The results of the reassessment should be made available to customers.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, develop and implement a formal process to obtain feedback from customers that would include providing customers information on the results of the effort including specific plans on how concerns would be addressed.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, develop and implement a plan of action to inform customers of the services that it provides, and the benefits of using these services, including enhancing its Intranet Web site.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management (A/LM/AQM), develop a formal methodology to identify customers who want and whom A/LM/AQM determines would benefit from on-site procurement staff.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management (A/LM/AQM), take action to provide on-site procurement staff to bureaus and offices that A/LM/AQM determines would benefit from this practice.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, develop a 3-year staffing plan that identifies the number of staff needed and the required mix of staff, based on expectations of contracting needs, including contract oversight responsibilities.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management (A/LM/AQM), revise the performance standards of its employees to include additional standards related to customer service. A/LM/AQM should consult with customers on their needs and develop these additional standards accordingly.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, develop a mandatory customer service training curriculum for its employees.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, develop and implement a plan to ensure that customers are aware of the Customer Advocate position.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, implement a process to track attrition rates and regularly determine employee satisfaction, which would include tracking concerns identified by departing employees.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, develop a succession plan.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, develop a plan to improve its communication of its intern program to employees, such as including information in its Welcome Package.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, develop guidelines on training provided to contracting professionals, including annual goals for providing training to employees, such as the number of employees receiving courses each year.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, identify additional internal reviews that it would perform to assess procurement activity, internal processes, and performance and develop a plan to implement the reviews that it considers beneficial.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, identify significant procurement processes to map and develop standard operating procedures that currently are not included in available procedures.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management (A/LM/AQM), develop a process to formally measure and report on its accomplishment of the Business Plan goals. A/LM/AQM should refine or update the goals as needed.
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, institute procedures to ensure that a needs-based analysis is conducted and documented prior to establishing all Worldwide Protective Services task order staffing requirements and prior to exercising task order options.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and the Regional Security Office in Baghdad establish a process to ensure that the contractor's daily movement detail reports and muster sheets are reviewed by the onsite contracting officer's representative to monitor actual staff usage against the number of staff paid.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, in coordination with the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, establish a process to ensure that Worldwide Protective Services contract staffing requirements are adjusted when needs change during the contract performance period.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, direct the contracting officer to ensure that invoices are sent to contracting officer's representatives or government technical monitors at Embassy Baghdad for review to verify that the contractor is invoicing only for goods received and services delivered.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security perform a comprehensive review of its existing payment management standard operating procedure as it relates to invoice review to ensure sufficient review of all invoices and supporting documentation, including onsite review of invoices, and to ensure that the Department of State has received goods prior to payment.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, recover the $133,190 paid to the contractor for unallowable and erroneously approved costs.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, direct the contracting officer to conduct a comprehensive review of all contractor invoices and supporting documentation to determine whether the contractor submitted adequate supporting documentation for all reimbursable costs, including the $1,642,537 identified in this report. If the documentation was not submitted, the contracting officer should request supporting documentation from the contractor and determine whether the costs were allowable under the contract terms. If the reimbursable costs cannot be supported or are not allowable under the terms of the contract, the Department of State should recover these funds from the contractor.
The Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, in coordination with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, should provide compound emergency sanctuaries for employees who work in buildings that do not have an approved safe haven or safe area.
The Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations should request an increase in funding for the Compound Security Upgrade Program to reflect the additional requirement for compound emergency sanctuaries.
Embassy Berlin, in coordination with the Office of Civil Rights, should outline procedures for channeling complaints that involve Equal Employment Opportunity-defined discrimination and complaints regarding simple workplace conflict issues. The procedures should be included in the updated locally employed staff handbook.
The Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, in coordination with Embassy Berlin, should sell the U.S. Government-owned consulate general compound in Hamburg and lease commercial office space suitable for the downsized consulate staff.
Embassy Berlin, in coordination with the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, should conduct a cost-benefit analysis of leased office space, building maintenance, and local guard costs at Consulate General Leipzig versus leasing smaller commercial office space to determine whether a move of the facility would be cost effective.
Embassy Berlin should prepare and disseminate, as soon as practicable, a written plan outlining how it will provide reporting and public diplomacy support for the downsized Consulates General Dusseldorf, Hamburg, and Leipzig.
The Bureau of Consular Affairs, in coordination with Embassy Berlin, should make the pilot passport program in Germany permanent.
The Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, in coordination with the Bureau of Consular Affairs and Embassy Berlin, should fund and renovate the consular workspace at Consulate General Munich to provide additional interview capacity.
Sensitive Information Redacted
Embassy Berlin should require its human resources office to provide a monthly memorandum listing late performance evaluations and the raters, reviewers, or employees responsible for the late report to the appropriate agency head, deputy chief of mission, or ambassador.
The Bureau of Human Resources should issue policy guidance and standard operating procedures to Embassy Berlin for performance management of eligible family members.
Embassy Berlin should review and revise, as appropriate, all staff position descriptions for locally employed staff in the human resources office.
Embassy Berlin should fully implement the Department of State Motor Vehicle Safety Management Program, including Smith System driver training and monitoring of qualifications for all incidental drivers, and notify all incidental drivers of the limits of U.S. Government liability coverage.
Embassy Berlin should complete and issue the locally employed staff handbook.
The Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, in coordination with Embassy Berlin, should provide the embassy with a set of complete and accurate as-built drawings of the chancery building.
Embassy Berlin should finalize service-level agreements on information technology support services provided by Consulate General Frankfurt to Consulates General Dusseldorf, Hamburg, and Leipzig.
The Bureau of Information Resource Management, in coordination with Embassy Berlin and Consulate General Frankfurt, should implement service-level agreements for the ClassNet regionalization project that outlines expected services, staffing models, costs, performance metrics, and the responsibilities of each involved entity.
Embassy Berlin should issue a management notice to explain the residential telephone policy.
Embassy Berlin should consolidate Consulate General Frankfurt’s multiple telephone rooms based on developed designs and fulfill the climate control requirements for those remaining telephone rooms.
The Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, in coordination with Embassy Berlin, should implement plans to convert a portion of the Clayallee building into the Marine security guard detachment quarters.
Embassy Berlin, in coordination with the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, should relocate the Marine security guard detachment residence to a new short-term leased residence with adequate facilities for the time period between the end of the current lease and the completion of the Clayallee annex renovation.
Sensitive Information Redacted
Sensitive Information Redacted
Last Updated:
Note: The information includes all open recommendations from reports that were issued October 1, 2014. Potential Monetary Benefits values are as stated in reports—subsequent Department and USAGM management decisions and actions may result in different values.
