Recommendation Dashboard

USAID/Kenya coordinate with the Government of Kenya and issue an implementation letter under its development assistance grant agreement to (1) define the minimum standards acceptable for the treatment of and accounting for commodities funded by the President's Malaria Initiative and distributed through Kenyan systems, (2) confirm and record the Government of Kenya's commitment as a partner in strengthening those systems, and (3) specify the rights and responsibilities of the parties if minimum standards are not adhered to.

USAID/Kenya, in conjunction with USAID/East Africa, remind mission staff members, in writing, of their responsibility to document the removal of any official award files from their designated storage location and to return those files when no longer needed.

USAID/Kenya update its mission order on performance monitoring to give specific guidance on monitoring programs outside of one's technical program team.

USAID/Kenya remind agreement officer's representatives, in writing, of their responsibility to review and approve programs' annual work plans in accordance with the terms of each agreement.

USAID/Kenya remind agreement officer's representatives, in writing, of their responsibility to monitor recipients' performance reports in accordance with the terms of the agreement.

USAID/Kenya remind agreement officers and agreement officer's representatives, in writing, of their responsibility to monitor recipients' financial reports to ensure that each recipient makes progress toward meeting the cost-sharing requirement.

USAID/Kenya determine the allowability of $293,000 in ineligible questioned costs stemming from Population Services International's reallocation of cost savings from net distribution activities, and recover from Population Services International any amounts determined to be unallowable.

USAID/Kenya, in conjunction with USAID/Washington, obtain a cost estimate for the additional marking of artemisinin-based combination therapies and determine, in conjunction with the Division of Malaria Control and the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency, whether marking these commodities would seriously deplete funding for or otherwise interfere with the effective treatment of malaria.

USAID/Kenya, if the Division of Malaria Control and the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency agree, mark artemisinin-based combination therapies to deter theft.

USAID/Kenya notify the Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources, in writing, of the misreported results for malaria-related commodity indicators in fiscal years 2010 and 2011.

USAID/Kenya update the Office of Population and Health's performance management plan to include the same indicators reported to the Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources for the President's Malaria Initiative, and add the appropriate data sources.

USAID/Kenya determine and document its objectives for identifying goods and services provided under Kenya's President's Malaria Initiative as American aid and update its communication strategies, including current branding and marking plans, if they do not currently achieve those objectives.

USAID/Afghanistan develop, implement, and document controls to help confirm that the involuntary separate maintenance allowance applications that it approves for personal service contractors are properly authorized and
comply with Section 260 of the Department of State Standardized Regulations. Such controls may include application of USAID's "A Guide to Authorizing Separate Maintenance Allowance" and the Separate Maintenance Allowance Checklist.

USAID/Afghanistan, Office of Human Resources develop, implement, and document controls to assess the legitimacy of spouse or domestic
partner signatures on involuntary separate maintenance allowance applications.

USAID/Afghanistan the Office of Human Resources review the incidents in which employees acknowledged signing their spouse's signature on
involuntary separate maintenance allowance applications, take appropriate administrative action against those employees found to have signed their spouse's signature, and document the action taken.

USAID/Afghanistan reassess its controls
over ISMA payments and make any adjustments necessary to strengthen the effectiveness of those controls in preventing improper payments.

USAID/Afghanistan review the $3,833 in separate maintenance allowance paid for children that had
turned 21 years of age, determine whether those children were either incapable of self-support or in secondary school, and recover any amounts
improperly paid.

USAID/Afghanistan review the involuntary
separate maintenance allowance payments made in fiscal years 2010, 2011, and 2012; identify any payments made for children who had turned 21; determine whether those children were either incapable of self-support or in secondary school; and recover any amounts improperly paid.

USAID/Afghanistan pay the $636 balance of the separate maintenance allowance to the employee who was underpaid.

USAID/Afghanistan calculate and recover the home leave travel costs paid for dependent family members of the two US direct hire employees that already had involuntary separate maintenance
allowance authorized for those dependents.

USAID/Afghanistan develop, implement, and document controls to help prevent the authorization of Foreign Service benefits that are incompatible with involuntary separate maintenance allowance for mission employees' family members. Such controls may include inhouse
training for mission staff.

USAID/Afghanistan review all employees receiving involuntary separate maintenance allowance in fiscal years 2010, 2011, and 2012 to determine whether those employees or their dependent
family members received incompatible Foreign Service benefits and recover any incompatible benefits paid.

USAID/Pakistan establish and implement a procedure to more accurately estimate obligations for shipping and storage of goods and reduce the standard obligation from $25,000 to $15,000, resulting in an estimated $480,000 annually and $2.4 million over 5 years that could be put to better use.

USAID/Pakistan review unliquidated obligations of an estimated $860,000 for fiscal years 2008-2010 and deobligate funds no longer needed.

We recommend that the Millennium Challenge Corporation's Vice President, Department of Compact Operations, direct the Millennium Challenge Account-Morocco to develop and implement a written plan for mitigating the risk that certain trees may be adversely affected if they receive less maintenance than intended, either from contractors or farmers.

We recommend that the Millennium Challenge Corporation's Vice President, Department of Compact Operations, direct the Millennium Challenge Account-Morocco to develop and implement a written plan for strengthening oversight of the contractor responsible for providing training to farmers and youth in the rain-fed rehabilitation activity.

We recommend that the Millennium Challenge Corporation's Vice President, Department of Compact Operations, direct the Millennium Challenge AccountMorocco to clarify in writing the contract for training in the rain-fed rehabilitation activity to specify 15 as the minimum age for training partici pants.

We recommend that the Millennium Challenge Corporation's Vice President, Department of Compact Operations, direct the Millennium Challenge AccountMorocco to clarify in writing the contract for training in the rain-fed rehabilitation activity to specify 15 as the minimum age for training partici pants.

We recommend that the Millennium Challenge Corporation's Vice President, Department of Compact Operations, verify that the data reported for the farmers trained indicator in the rain-fed rehabilitation activity is accurate and document the verification

We recommend that the Millennium Challenge Corporation's Vice President, Department of Compact Operations, direct the Millennium Challenge AccountMorocco to comply or justify its noncompliance with the Millennium Challenge Corporation's branding guidance regarding the marking of material visible to a significant portion of the population.

USAID/South Sudan determine whether the fixed fee in Task Order Two of the Sudan Infrastructure Services Project can be reduced based on the reduction in the scope of work, document this determination, and recover the excess amount from Louis Berger Group.

USAID/South Sudan develop and implement a policy to have a second-level review by a contracting official of task orders worth more than a certain dollar amount to confirm they are structured to encourage contractors to fulfill their end of the agreement on time and within budget.

USAID/South Sudan develop and implement a plan to provide consistent contracting support for agreements managed by the mission.

USAID/South Sudan determine the final amount for the contract between Eyat and Louis Berger Group, and recover from Louis Berger Group any excess due to USAID.

USAID/South Sudan arrange for staff members to represent USAID's interest during any negotiation, arbitration, or litigation.

USAID/South Sudan define and document the roles and responsibilities of officials that oversee the Louis Berger Group contract, as well as the specific information that the Louis Berger Group needs to share with USAID, and provide this information to the Louis Berger Group.

USAID/South Sudan prepare all overdue contractor evaluations for Louis Berger Group under the Sudan Infrastructure Services Project.

USAID/South Sudan designate an official in writing to confirm that contractor performance evaluations are completed as required.

USAID/South Sudan train all mission personnel on their roles and responsibilities related to contractor performance evaluations.

USAID/South Sudan identify and document the most significant threats to the maintenance of the Juba-Nimule road and engage the Government of South Sudan to address these threats.

USAID/South Sudan include in its next portfolio review a discussion on whether any of its planned activities could or should address the obstacles that prevent the Juba-Nimule road from achieving its full potential.

We recommend that MCC/El Salvador require BANDESAL and FOMILENIO to amend all loan agreements to include language indicating that the contract would be subject to cancellation upon conviction of a narcotics offense or to engaging in drug trafficking

We recommend that MCC/El Salvador complete an independent review of approved applicants to determine if financial irregularities have been overlooked, terminate loans if applicable, and report to the appropriate local agency the results.

We recommend that MCC/El Salvador require BANDESAL and FOMILENIO to perform criminal background checks (which includes reviewing police records and excluded parties lists) on existing loan applicants.

We recommend that MCC/El Salvador require BANDESAL to develop a process, including training, for members of the organizations, loan recipients, and others to report fraud, irregularities, and questionable acts and detailed policies and procedures to investigate any allegations.

We recommend that MCC/El Salvador require BANDESAL to (a) further investigate the inconsistencies and irregularities noted in this review with regards to the loan application and loan recipients of the animal factory; (b) terminate the agreement if applicable, and (c) refer the case, if appropriate, to tax officials for investigation.

We recommend that the Millennium Challenge Corporation Vice President, Compact Operations, prepare a letter to the Government of Benin expressing MCC's concerns regarding management continuity at the port of Cotonou.

We recommend that the Millennium Challenge Corporation Vice President, Compact Operations, ensure that the port of Cotonou complete a formal port security management plan that addresses the need to fund port security adequately.

We recommend that the Millennium Challenge Corporation Vice President, Compact Operations, and the Vice President, Administration and Finance, ensure that the estimated $5.4 million in unused Benin compact funding is deobligated.

USAID/Sudan develop and implement a plan to improve management of projects, programs, and activities that span both Sudan and South Sudan, with particular attention to any that involve multiple technical offices (page 11).

USAID/South Sudan develop and implement procedures to ensure that recipients' annual work plans are submitted, reviewed, and approved in a timely manner (page 11).

USAID determine the allowability of $1,125,000 in ineligible questioned costs (spent on substandard construction of the Mabaan County vocational training center and initiated without getting approval from the agreement officer first as required), and recover from Mercy Corps any amounts determined to be unallowable (page 14).

USAID determine the allowability of $112,404 in ineligible questioned costs (spent on restricted goods and without getting USAID's approval first as required), and recover from Mercy Corps any amounts determined to be unallowable (page 14).

USAID develop and implement a plan to ensure that all water points constructed or refurbished for human consumption under MC-BRIDGE be tested as required by Agency regulations, and resolve and document any issues identified (page 14).

USAID develop and implement procedures to require that water points constructed or refurbished in South Sudan with USAID funds be tested as required by Agency regulations (page 14).

USAID develop and implement procedures for timely review and approval of recipients' submissions to USAID for construction projects, waivers for procurement of restricted goods, and environmental assessments and testing (page 14).

USAID determine the allowability of $201,604 in unsupported questioned costs (pertaining to the employment costs of a former Mercy Corps country director), and recover from Mercy Corps any mounts determined to be unallowable (page 15).

USAID determine the allowability of $137,411 in ineligible questioned costs (arising from inconsistent treatment of capital expenditures in its indirect cost rate calculations), and recover from Mercy Corps any amounts determined to be unallowable (page 16).

USAID require Mercy Corps to compensate USAID for any office compounds funded by the LINCS program that Mercy Corps intends to retain title to, in accordance with 22 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 226.32, and document the results of its determination (page 16).

USAID develop and implement a plan for future agreements to require USAID approval of employees who perform duties described in key personnel position descriptions (page 19).

USAID designate in writing a branding and marking subject matter expert, and develop and implement a plan to educate implementing partners on devising effective branding strategies (page 21).

USAID develop and implement procedures for monitoring the implementation and effectiveness of approved branding strategies and marking plans during site visits, including alternative monitoring procedures if security or logistical constraints preclude actual visits (page 21).

USAID develop a mission order regarding its policy on traditional birth attendant training and disseminate the policy to staff and implementing partners, as appropriate (page 23).

USAID/Philippines, in accordance with Automated Directives System 203, evaluate Phase Four of the Microenterprise Access to Banking Services Program and document best practices.

USAID/Philippines complete contractor performance reviews on Chemonics International Inc. under Phase Four of the Microenterprise Access to Banking Services Program as required.

USAID/Pakistan establish a policy of directing document requests pertaining to Agreement No. 391-012-01 to Pakistan's Economic Affairs Division, requesting the prompt submission of all information required for the release of the $75 million for the program.

USAID/Pakistan establish a plan for periodic follow-up with the Government of Pakistan's Economic Affairs Division and the Benazir Income Support Program to obtain the required financial reports and bank statements.

USAID/Pakistan develop a plan to confirm on a sample basis that recipients had qualifying scores under the poverty scorecard system for the second tranche of $75 million.