My Travels: February 2010

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.

Staying at Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, then the Holiday Inn and the Hyatt Regency in Dubai.

Relaxing and reading on the weekend at Starbucks at the Shangri-La Souq in Abu Dhabi

Visiting the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi

Playing tennis with an Iranian I met in Dubai at the Hyatt Regency hotel.

Viewing the old dhow boats used by pearl merchants along the downtown and shopping with Bill Wanlund in the market Abu Dhabi.

Burg Khalifa

Dubai Skyline

Emirates Palace

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi

Traditional Dhow

Shangri la souk in Abu Dhabi

Overview:

Despite its ancient roots as the crossroads of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, the modern Republic of Yemen is a relatively new state. It was created after communist South Yemen merged with North Yemen in 1990, following years of strife, but tensions have never been far below the surface. A fresh wave of protests in 2011, inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, forced President Ali Abdallah Saleh to resign. In the ensuing turmoil, the Houthis seized much of the north and west of the country, while Saudi-led forces intervened to support the internationally-recognised government based in the south. By 2015 Yemen had plunged into civil war and a grave humanitarian crisis, exacerbated by the presence of the al-Qaeda and Islamic State jihadist groups. Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi came to power in 2012, after Ali Abdallah Saleh stepped down in a bid to end protests at his long period of authoritarian rule. Mr Hadi briefly resigned in January 2015 and fled to Saudi Arabia when Houthi Shia rebels took over the capital, Sanaa. He returned to set up a temporary capital in the main city of the south, Aden, with the support of loyalist forces and Saudi-led troops. The Houthis claim that their revolutionary council in Sanaa, headed by Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, is the legitimate government, but the international community backs Mr Hadi.

Source: BBC Country Profile

American Embassy Sanaa:

We were authorized business class travel from Dulles through Frankfurt to Sanaa because the total flight was over 14 hours, we did not take a rest stop, and we reported to work upon arrival. The inspection took place in Sanaa between January 29 and February 11, 2010. We had a very cohesive team headed up by Ambassador Brian E. Carlson (team leader) previously Ambassador to Latvia and the principal liaison between the Department of State Department Public Diplomacy and Defense Department. Peter G. Kaestner (deputy team leader) was an avid, world-renowned bird watcher who even defied security and made a road trip out of Sanaa to view birds one weekend. The lead management inspector was David Newell an experienced, retired FSO from Alabama whose goals were to retire to Florida, buy a $200,000 house and join the Century club after visiting 100 countries. I even let him listen to my “Beach Music” tunes on the bus from Abu Dhabi to Dubai. Other team members I worked with before were young Patrick Whelan, security who I worked with on the Banjul and Angola inspection. Patrick decided to leave OIG because he got tired of the travel and wanted to spend more time at home with his wife and young children. I also worked before with Craig Cheney (IT) and Roman Zawada, Security who I kiddingly called Ramon. I got to know the PD inspector Bill Wanlund and Molly Williamson but didn’t have an opportunity to work with them again. Because of the security situation we were confined to the Sheraton hotel and only got out once to visit the old city with a security escort. Each day we would take an armored SUV with a follow car and security detail to the embassy.

Needless to say, the embassy grounds were heavily fortified with bollards, fencing and embassy guards. The Management Officer was Shelton “Barry” Haynie who was actually an FMO specialist. The FMO, Mark Herrup, was on his first tour and there was no American HRO, so not a lot of experience. Barry went on to become the FMO in Riyadh and is now in Abuja, Nigeria.

Bill, Patrick, Molly, Ambassador Carlson, Greg, Peter and Roman in the old city.

Findings:

We made 34 formal and 55 informal recommendations mostly in management. In terms of property they needed to amend the office annex construction plan for the consular section, to include space for a new unit of the Department of Homeland Security and require all service and construction contracts over $2,500 comply with include Federal Acquisitions Regulations. A strategic review of staffing is required to include the numbers of positions, grade levels, assignment incentives, timing of officer rotations, and the requirement that spouses find employment. In finance, a recommendation to cease accepting deposits to the suspense deposit abroad account from employees for unauthorized uses. They also needed to establish procedures for termination of post differential and danger pay when employees are away from post and for reinstatement after their return to avoid overpayments of allowances. They also needed to implement an overtime policy consistent with regulations requiring approval in advance except for emergencies. We also got a ruling on the embassy's use of business class for R&R regardless of the cost for restricted or non-restricted fare.

Favorite Memories:

Touring the old market downtown.
Taking in the unique architecture of the buildings.
Watching the super bowl with the Saints defeating the Colts at the hotel.
Going to the embassy for a cookout hosted by the Marines with David showing off his dance steps.