Nassau 2011

 Overview:

An archipelago of 700 islands and islets, the Bahamas attracts millions of tourists each year.  The visitors come to enjoy its mild climate, fine beaches and beautiful forests.  A former British colony and now a Commonwealth member, the country is a major center for offshore finance and has one of the world's largest open-registry shipping fleets. The Bahamas enjoys a high per capita income.  The huge growth in the services sector of the economy has prompted people to leave fishing and farming villages for the commercial centers in New Providence Island, Grand Bahama and Great Abaco.  As with other Caribbean countries, The Bahamas faces the challenge of tackling drugs trafficking and illegal immigration.  It has taken steps to clean up its offshore banking system.  Dr Hubert Minnis was elected prime minister on 10 May 2017, when his Free National Movement (FNM) soundly defeated the ruling Progressive Liberal Party (PLP).  He assumed leadership of the FNM in 2012. In December 2016, he was ousted as leader of the opposition in parliament by seven of his party's MPs. A medical doctor trained in the US, UK and Caribbean, he was elected in 2007 to the House of Assembly and served as minister of health for five years. 

Source:  BBC Country Profile

American Embassy Nassau:

The inspection took place in Nassau between September 29 and October 12, 2011.  The OIG team consisted of team leader Ambassador Douglas Hartwick.  Doug was Ambassador to Laos and DCM in Bangui.   Following retirement, he was the CEO of Lockeed Martin in India.  He lives in Scottsdale and is an adjunct professor at ASU.  Peter Kaestner was our DTL Peter was CG in Cairo and MC in New Delhi, an avid bird watcher and coincidentally a PCV in Zaire.  Peter and I were on the Yemen/UAE inspection in 2010.  This was Alison Barkley’s, my management colleague, first inspection so I sort of mentored her.  Alison's husband, Robert Ford, was the Ambassador to Syria at the time.  She has since retired and moved to Baltimore.  Eric Chavera (IT) and I go way back to Rabat, Morocco where his father and my good friend, Roy, served and Eric was probably 12 years old.  Anyway, Eric came on with the OIG in 2008.  Darren Felsburg (DS), Alcy Frelick (CONS), Robyn Hinson-Jones (POL/ECON), and Robert Howes (PD) completed the group.  I went out with Darren on several more inspections over the years.  It is also memorable to note that I was not originally scheduled to be on this inspection.  I was supposed to be on the Beirut and Algiers inspection with my boss Ralph Kwong.  However, the other management inspector that was assigned for Nassau/Caracas had a problem with his passport or visa and I was asked to change.  In retrospect I wish I had gone on the other inspection because Caracas was so demanding.   

Findings:

The Embassy was recovering from a period of dysfunctional leadership, management and poor morale. The Ambassador was absent from post far beyond those allowed in guidelines issued by the Department and the embassy did not follow procedures for vetting these absences. We learned after the inspection that the Ambassador had resigned after release of the OIG inspection report. The newly assigned DCM, John Dinkelman was working to improve communications and morale in the mission including those stationed at Freeport, Grand Bahama Island.  John was a management-cone officer that ended up being the Chief of Staff of the Bureau of Administration.  The new Management Officer, Cheryl Moore, was working to improve internal coordination among management sections and provide better service to employees.  The FMO was David Hamiel, who I had met in 2007, and as an Eligible Family Member, was working as a Voucher Examiner at the embassy in Beijing.   I was there doing training in vouchering.  Dave had converted to the Foreign Service and was on his first tour.  Again, small world the Foreign Service.  I also had contact with Dare Morgan, Regional HRO, based in Ft. Lauderdale who covered Nassau and briefed me on issues concerning Locally Employed (LE) Staff.  Dare and I ended up serving together in Bangkok when she was at the embassy and I was at FSC/Bangkok.      

There were some major issues with management support for the office in Freeport that required quarterly visits by the management officer and the supervisory general services officer to implement and maintain a comprehensive housing program.   The International Cooperative Administrative Support Services (ICASS) council and budget committee needed to be reconstituted and a customer service representative to help process work orders and advocate for and manage client interests.  The Bureau of Human Resources, in coordination with the Office of the Legal Adviser, needed to complete its review of the locally employed staff supplemental pension plan. Lastly, the embassy needed to bring the duty officer program into compliance with Department of State guidance and update the duty officer guide with readily accessible information relevant to all mission elements.

Highlights:

The chancery is a poorly designed building with few common areas and little setback. The Department originally scheduled it for replacement in 2016 but the groundbreaking ceremony for the new embassy was held in October 2019 and is scheduled to be completed in 2023. It will be located just south of the cruise terminal near major tourist sites.

Holiday Inn downtown where we stayed

Cruise port

Downtown Nassau

Straw market

Atlantis hotel Paradise Island