My Travels: Dubai and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Overview:

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven states that has grown from a quiet backwater to one of the Middle East's most important economic centers. Although traditionally conservative and authoritarian in government, the UAE is one of the most liberal countries in the Gulf, with other cultures and beliefs generally tolerated. In 2020 it became the first Gulf state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. Relations with neighboring Iran have been tense because of an ongoing territorial dispute over Gulf islands. The UAE was one of only three countries to recognize Taliban rule in Afghanistan. Before oil was discovered in the 1950s the UAE's economy was dependent on fishing and a declining pearl industry. But since oil exports began in 1962, the country's society and economy have been transformed. The UAE has diversified and has become a regional trading and tourism hub. UAE firms have invested heavily abroad. Abu Dhabi President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, who has a reputation as a pro-Western modernizer, was named as president by the UAE Federal Council in November 2004, shortly after the death of his father, Sheikh Zayed Bin-Sultan Al Nahyan.

Source: BBC Country Profile

American Embassy Abu Dhabi:

We were happy to leave Sanaa where security was so tight and we were basically confined to the Sheraton hotel. I remember submitting the requests for Danger Pay for each team member to Sandy Lewis, Assistant Inspector General for Inspections. This was during a blockbuster storm February 5-6, 2010 that dumped 17.8" of snow in D.C. and 32" at Dulles that was referred to as 'Snowmageddon'. Sandy was not still back to work yet. As an aside, we used to enjoy reading the "News from Home" emails from the Deputy Inspector General for Inspections, Charlie Silver. Charlie had a great sense of humor and not only shared news from the Department and D.C. but also happenings from the other teams (sometimes four or five) travelling overseas. Charlie would give nicknames to teams and share photos and news about their travels. He also would remind us of changes to policies, for budget reasons, like not authorizing business class on return flights or encouraging inspectors to take a rest stop in route to posts.

We were scheduled to inspect embassy Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and the Consulate in Dubai between February 11 and March 11, 2010. Embassy Abu Dhabi moved into a spacious new facility in 2004. However, the Consulate General in Dubai was working in cramped quarters in a 1979 office building, awaiting the completion of a new consulate general complex in 2011 with space in the new building already oversubscribed.

After spending a few days in Abu Dhabi at the Emirates Palace and completing the introductions to the embassy we relocated to Dubai to start the inspection there and stay at the Grand Hyatt. I only had to stay a week in Dubai and then returned to Abi Dhabi to start inspecting FMO and HRO at the embassy. I was able to venture out and visit the Sheikh Zayed mosque and the suburbs. The staff at the Holiday Inn couldn't do enough to welcome us and provide good service.

The FMO, Robert Hommowun, was fairly experienced and had some oversight issues as noted below. Our management inspector lead, David Newell, was not impressed with the Management Officer (MO) Kristi Hogan-Lahmar, who seemed to resent him and didn't appreciate his advice and recommendations. Robert went on become a Management Officer in EUR. Kristi is now a management Inspector with OIG/ISP. Again, small world.

Findings:

I interviewed the DCM, Douglas Greene and the MO about management controls and there were may issues with respect to coordination between the embassy and consulate in Dubai. There was no memorandum of agreement between the embassy and Consulate outlining responsibilities for all management functions. There were no scheduled meetings between the embassy's management staff and Consulate General Dubai's management staff. There were no ICASS standards establish for service providers. The DCM was aware of problems in Dubai with delays in receiving Consular fees, too many cash disbursements, unauthorized commitments and no separation duties between property inventory and receiving. He was also very concerned because the FSO GSO was curtailing. Dubai was the first experience I had with a Consulate and I learned a lot especially in coordination with our Consular inspector and Consular fee collections.

The HRO was Carolyn Richardson who became a PMO in EUR. There were Human Resource issues in terms of concern about grading positions. There was no bilateral work agreement with the Government of the United Arab Emirates. The results of the latest salary and benefit survey to ascertain the appropriate level of any justifiable increases for locally employed staff had not been reviewed. Performance evaluations for locally employed staff of the embassy were not completed in a timely manner. There was no mission-wide post orientation program for all newly hired locally employed staff. The Consulate General Dubai needed to document a request for a new human resources assistant.

In terms of General Services the embassy needed to establish blanket purchase agreements and implement bulk funding and use of the purchase card. The travel management center in Dubai was operating without a contract since 2005 so the Consulate needed to submit request to ratify the unauthorized commitment to the Office of the Procurement Executive. The OIG questioned the Dubai lease document for compliance with the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations and the Office of the Legal Adviser guidelines. There were issues with the Motor Pool operations in terms of tracking the amount of fuel used against the kilometers driven and completing the Daily Vehicle Use Record, including completing the entry for odometer readings, to enable the embassy to monitor whether official gas cards are being used correctly.

As for financial management the FMO needed to implement procedures to review prior-year accounts and de-obligate funds when obligations are no longer valid. There was a need to begin the process of documenting collection notices and referring outstanding debts from the embassy and Consulate General Dubai to Global Financial Services in Charleston for collection action. They needed to establish a principal class B cashier position at the Consulate in Dubai to handle Consular Fee collections. The Consulate also needed to clear all outstanding interim advances that are more than thirty days old.

Highlights:

I did happen to meet my former boss from FSC/Paris Rob McAnneny in Abu Dhabi. He was retired and on an assignment from NEA/EX to review GSO operations at a number of embassies. It was great to see him and we did manage to get together for lunch. I heard recently the Rob has the beginning stages of dementia.

The Burg Khalifa was just completed while we were there but the elevator was not operational due to electrical problems. We did visit the Dubai Mall, the world's largest.