The U.S. Agency for International Development has started adding staff to its division focused on pursuing debarment, suspension and corrective actions against development partners that mismanage USAID funds, commit fraud or abuse and compromise the agency’s integrity, according to a senior agency official.
The Compliance and Oversight for Partner Performance Division was established last year under the agency’s acquisition office. Its creation is in line with the agency’s broad implementation and procurement reform initiatives, which are among the priority changes identified by USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah toward shaping USAID into a modern and effective development enterprise, Maureen Shauket, the agency’s chief acquisition officer, said in a hearing before the U.S. Commission on Wartime Contracting.
The division is expected to have up to eight acquisition, assistance and audit officers who will be supported by an attorney from the USAID Office of the General Counsel.
Shauket said the division will have five chief functions:
- Overseeing actions to suspend or debar companies and individuals found to have violated U.S. laws and regulations.- Advising on past performance trends that may require investigation for suspension or debarment. - Overseeing self-disclosure statements and coordinating corrective administrative actions for USAID contractors. - Receiving new reports of suspicious activities in USAID-funded projects.- Coordinating with the USAID general counsel, inspector general and other officials who oversee the daily performance of USAID partners.
Michael Carroll, USAID deputy inspector general, said the office of the USAID inspector general is working closely with the newly established division.
“OIG intends to capitalize on this new momentum by increasing our engagement with those who come forward with information about possible violations. We are intensifying outreach efforts and reinforcing opportunities for fraud reporting. We have increased our permanent staff presence in priority countries and are working closely with host government investigators and prosecutors to secure convictions of local law breakers affecting USAID programs,” Carrol said at a Feb. 28 hearing.
At the same hearing, the general counsel of the nonprofit group Project on Government Oversight, said that the U.S. government, in some cases, appears to be lax in demanding accountability among contractors.
>> In US Reconstruction Contracts, a Problem on Accountability?
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