My Travels: Barbados

Overview:

Barbados is one of the more populous and prosperous Caribbean islands. Political, economic and social stability have given it a relatively high standard of living. Known for its beaches and cricket - its national sport - the former British colony has a dual heritage: English - evident in its stone-built Anglican churches and Saturday race meetings - and African, reflected in its music and dance. Barbados was in the past heavily dependent on the export of sugar as its main revenue earner, but in recent decades the economy has diversified into tourism and finance. It also has offshore reserves of oil and natural gas. Outgoing Governor-General Sandra Mason, the last representative of the British Crown, became the first president of Barbados in November 2021. She was chosen by parliament the previous month. Despite deciding to become a republic in 2020, Barbados will remain a member of the
Commonwealth.
Source: BBC Country Profile

American Embassy Bridgetown:

The inspection took place May 31 – June 18, 2001. Management Officer, Paul Carpenter, was an experienced FSO. The FMO was Susan Page, a management generalist, but finance was not her strength. The GSO was Constance Dierman who became the Consul General at Hamilton, Bermuda and in 2020 ended up being inspected by OIG. There were 33 formal recommendations made in this inspection. Like other inspections to date, myself as a management type was saddled with making logistical arrangements for the team. This meant making sure everybody applied for visas, schedule flights, made hotel reservations and was the main liaison with the embassy for administrative support for the team. Well on this inspection my colleagues were not pleased that we had to back through Miami to get to our next stop, Nassau instead of flying direct from Bridgetown. Anyway, the Fly America policy required us to use an American carrier and, if I remember correctly, we were able to connect direst instead of having to overnight in Miami.

Findings:

The priority for the embassy was to identify a suitable property for a new embassy. OIG recommended that the Office of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) finalize the decision memorandum to continue to start the construction or to look for a new office building site. The department finally identified a 3.2 acre site, renovated an existing five-story building as well as an addition of similar scale that was completed in 2006. OIG also recommended Office of Office Buildings Operations should assess the regional assignments of facilities maintenance specialist positions in the Caribbean to provide adequate support to Bridgetown.

There were issues with other agencies not using the embassy contracting officer to commit the embassy to the purchase of goods or services. OIG emphasized that the Department of State will not ratify the unauthorized commitments of other agencies. The embassy needed to prepare a written comprehensive vehicle usage policy in accordance with Foreign Affairs Manual.

In financial management prior year unliquidated obligations needed to be reviewed to verified and de-obligate funds if obligations are no longer valid. Also, review prior year outstanding travel advance accounts and proceed with collection action for those that are still not cleared. The OIG also cited the Cashier for not reconciling the outstanding deposits from 1998-99 and differences in local currency and U.S. dollars to balance her accountability. We ended up suggesting that FSC/Charleston establish a new separate cashier code for Barbados. OIG also reminded the Cashier to review and verify the daily accounting sheets for Consular collections.

In terms of Human Resources OIG recommended that the responsibility for paying the employer contributions to the National Insurance Scheme and the American Life Insurance Company should be transferred to the Charleston Financial Service Center. HR should establish procedures to terminate post differential payments when employees travel to the U.S. Also, HR should publish and disseminate its policy on hiring American citizens and eligible family members. In the area of refunds made to employees for sick leave from the government of Barbados National Insurance Scheme procedures were needed to record reimbursements through an automated accounts receivable system. OIG recommended that a policy be established on overtime and issue an administrative instruction stressing that regulations require all overtime to be approved in advance.

With respect to the other embassies accredited to Barbados (Grenada, Dominica, St. Lucia, Antigua/Barbuda, St. Kitts/Nevis, and St. Vincent/Grenadines) OIG recommended that a mechanism be established to charge the administrative support costs for Embassy Grenada directly through International Cooperative Administrative Support Services. The Bureau of Financial Management and Policy should consider Embassy Bridgetown’s request to change the designation of the sub cashier at Embassy Grenada to principal cashier the accountable consular officer each month.

Highlights: