As part of our ongoing evaluation of USAID’s locally employed staff terminated in 2025, we found that financial records for approximately $10 million in severance payments the Agency made directly to the staff in Mozambique and the Philippines were incomplete, and supporting documentation for certain payments made to those staff was missing.
Given USAID’s operating status and the transition of its responsibilities to the Department of State (State), it is unclear to us whether financial records and supporting documentation do not exist or are not accessible to USAID and State officials. Without such records and statements, the U.S. government cannot verify that severance payments made to locally employed staff were authorized and disbursed appropriately.
On March 28, 2025, State formally notified Congress that USAID would cease operating as an independent agency, and it would assume responsibility for many of the Agency’s functions and its ongoing programming by July 1, 2025. As part of this transition, nearly all non-statutory positions at USAID were eliminated, and all missions closed. On April 9, USAID announced that all locally employed staff would be separated from the Agency no later than August 15, 2025.
We are making one recommendation to USAID to find and preserve financial records and supporting documentation for terminated locally employed staff.