U.S. Department of State Fiscal Year 2020 Agency Financial Report

desired program results. 15 For example, an audit of oversight of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) examined, in part, whether the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Health Diplomacy had overseen selected missions’ performance toward achieving PEPFAR goals. OIG found that across the missions examined, PEPFAR teams expressed concerns regarding performance targets and the Country Operational Plan development process. PEPFAR teams consistently expressed the belief that their input was not considered during the Country Operational Plan development process, especially regarding the attainability of performance targets. OIG noted that the lack of effective communication may affect PEPFAR program implementation efforts. 16 One report found that the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Office of the Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to Europe and Eurasia, could not perform evidence-based analysis of U.S. Government foreign assistance being provided to the region and effectively coordinate funding for policies and programs among all U.S. Government agencies. This could not be done because the Office of the Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to Europe and Eurasia did not have a tool to analyze and maintain the monitoring and evaluation data from its implementing partners to determine whether U.S. policy goals in the region were being achieved. 17 In another example, OIG reported that deficient performance work statements as a result of inadequate Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) technical knowledge led the Bureau of African Affairs (AF) to fund several poorly designed projects that ultimately resulted in wasted funds. For example, one project in Cameroon called for the construction of a barrier wall, but the performance work statement did not require the contractor to conduct a site 15 OIG, Follow-Up Audit of Department of State Efforts To Measure, Evaluate, and Sustain Antiterrorism Assistance Objectives in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (AUD-MERO-20-32, May 2020); OIG, Management Assistance Report: The Bureau of African Affairs Should Improve Performance Work Statements and Increase Subject Matter Expertise for Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership Projects (AUD-MERO-20-29, April 2020); OIG, Audit of the Office of the Coordinator for Assistance to Europe and Eurasia’s Oversight of Foreign Assistance Funds Transferred to Implementing Partners (AUD-CGI-20-12, March 2020); OIG, Audit of the Department of State’s Coordination and Oversight of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (AUD-SI-20-17, February 2020). 16 AUD-SI-20-17, February 2020. 17 AUD-CGI-20-12, March 2020. 18 AUD-MERO-20-29, April 2020. 19 OIG, Compliance Follow-Up Review: Bureau of African Affairs’ Foreign Assistance Program Management (ISP-C-20-23, May 2020). 20 ISP-I-20-04, November 2019. survey prior to submitting a proposal, which, in part, led to a section of the wall collapsing as a result of excessive rain. AF had to expend an additional $3.3 million for modifications and repairs. Another project in Niger resulted in the construction of an aircraft hangar that was not large enough for the relevant aircraft. Several costly contract modifications were required to address the deficiency, which we found was attributable to inadequacies in the performance work statement. 18 In addressing previous challenges, AF successfully updated its Federal assistance risk assessments to better measure terrorist financing risk. As a result of prior OIG recommendations, the bureau also took steps to reduce duplicative and fragmented functions and developed some of the guidance and procedural documents necessary to manage and administer its foreign assistance programs. 19 Furthermore, in Mauritania, we reported that the embassy promoted a “whole of government” approach to foreign assistance programming that maximized the effect of foreign assistance resources, minimized redundancies, and ensured consistency with the mission’s priorities. 20 Monitoring and Documenting Contractor and Grantee Performance The Department continues to face challenges in properly overseeing contractor performance. Personnel responsible for contractor oversight must monitor and document performance, confirm that work has been conducted in accordance with the terms of a contract, hold contractors accountable for nonperformance, and ensure that costs are effectively contained. Our FY 2020 work found several examples of deficiencies in the performance of these duties. 120 | U ni ted S tates D epartment of S tate 2020 A gency F inanci al R eport OTHER INFORMATION | INSPECTOR GENERAL’S STATEMENT ON THE DEPARTMENT’S MAJOR MANAGEMENT AND PERFORMANCE CHALLENGES