Khartoum, Sudan

Overview: 

Sudan, once the largest and one of the most geographically diverse states in Africa, split into two countries in July 2011 after the people of the south voted for independence.  The government of Sudan gave its blessing to an independent South Sudan, where the mainly Christian and Animist people had for decades been struggling against rule by the Arab Muslim north.  However, various outstanding issues - especially the question of shared oil revenues and border demarcation - have continued to create tensions between the two successor states.  Sudan has long been beset by conflict. Two rounds of north-south civil war cost the lives of 1.5 million people, and a continuing conflict in the western region of Darfur has driven two million people from their homes and killed more than 200,000.  Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan was sworn in as chairman of Sudan's ruling Transitional Military Council on 12 April 2019, a day after the army overthrew veteran President Omar al-Bashir.

Source:  BBC Country Profile

American Embassy Khartoum:

An assault on the U.S. embassy on September 14, 2012 caused more than $2 million in damages and led to an ordered departure of many embassy personnel and all eligible family members (EFM), leaving the embassy with about half of its normal staffing of U.S. direct-hire personnel. The attack was caused by an online video allegedly offensive to Muslims which caused Sudanese demonstrators to attack the German, British, embassies as well.  Embassy defenders successfully prevented demonstrators from entering the compound secured the chancery and exterior.  Following the attack, Chris Rowan, the Deputy Chief of Mission, took immediate steps to evacuate embassy employees and family members. Many of the evacuees were sent to Athens and remained there for a month before being sent to the United States or alternate safe havens.  The ordered departure finally ended March 13, 2013. For more than 5 months, there was no U.S. direct-hire employee to provide oversight of $300 million in humanitarian relief funds for internally displaced populations of Sudan. There was limited oversight for development programs of $23 million. Embassy political and economic officers, drawn down to less than a third of their previous numbers, were unable to provide needed levels of advocacy of U.S. views on the late September 2012 series of implementing agreements to the Comprehensive Peace Accord between Sudan and South Sudan. In the absence of a full-time consular officer, the embassy scaled back consular services sharply, most notably American citizens services. A second consequence was increased uncertainty among embassy employees about their future. The Department’s decision to use Athens as a shelter in place increased the perception that there could be an early end to ordered departure. However, the Department extended the ordered departure on a monthly basis. Had the Department told evacuees to plan for an ordered departure of 180 days, morale would have been better, there would have been fewer problems with overpayment of allowances and Washington agencies could have exercised better oversight of their programs. 

Another example of running into the same people you inspected, the DCM Chris Rowan ended up as a Retired Annuitant with OIG and participates in many OIG inspections as a Consular inspector.

The Management Officer was William Steuer.  The new American FMO, Satish Nair, had not yet arrived at post so I interviewed the senior FSN Financial Specialist Raafat Moharib for the review of financial management operations.  The HRO was Steven Bopp.      

Findings:

We had a total of 35 formal and 23 informal recommendations in the OIG report. A plan needed to be developed to define which embassies, between Khartoum and Nairobi would be providing management support to embassy Juba.

There were issues with overpayments of allowances made to eligible family member employees who were incorrectly maintained on the payroll following ordered departure.  The embassy lacked written procedures to terminate post differential and danger pay when American personnel depart post on official and personal travel and to restart allowances upon return to post. A recommendation was made to collect the overpayments and to establish procedures and issue an administrative instruction and underscoring each employee’s responsibility to adhere to them.

In the area of facilities and general services management needed to implement a plan to remediate the apparent settling or structural problem related to the Khartoum chancery building.  Implement a plan to comply with Department of State guidance on completion of initial and refresher training for locally employed staff who regularly operate armored vehicles.  Implement a plan for motor vehicle operator maintenance and use responsibilities by all employees who drive government-owned vehicles.  Implement a property disposal procedure and restore U.S. Government ownership and registration to the two trucks and three three-wheeled surveillance detection vehicles that are now registered to a locally employed staff member.

Findings in Human Resources included the need to request assistance from the School of Language Studies’ Arabic division to help revamp the post language program and implement a training plan for staff.  HR also needed to ensure the timely submission of employee performance reports by supervisors.    A policy on use of overtime and an administrative instruction needed to be issued requiring supervisors to approve all overtime in advance.  An updated hotel and restaurant report should be submitted the Bureau of Administration Office of Allowances.  Up-to-date information on the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) program rules and regulations needed to be published and an EEO locally employed staff liaison needed to be appointed and trained.

In Financial Management we recommended that the embassy implement procedures to review funds balances in the International Cooperative Administrative Support Services allotment at least quarterly and make adjustments as necessary.    Implement a policy requiring that U.S. dollar payments for reimbursement of representation expenses, travel claims, and travel advances for American officers be made by electronic fund transfers to employee bank accounts.    Require the financial management office to assume responsibilities as the designated billing office.  

Highlights:

As shown below we did do more sightseeing in Khartoum as shown below visiting the National Museum and Khalifa's House as well as shopping at the Souk Omdurman.  Tim and I also played tennis at a local club.   

In Khartoum the team at the confluence of the White and Blue Nile Tim, Shawn, Deborah, Mike, Reno, Mark, Lavon and me

At the National Museum

Kushite Statues

Khartoum Sphinx

Mary and Child 11th Century Petros Cathedral

Khartoum Khalifa's House in Omdurman

Juba, South Sudan

Overview:

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011 as the outcome of a 2005 agreement that ended Africa's longest-running civil war.  Made up of the 10 southern-most states of Sudan, South Sudan is one of the most diverse countries in Africa. It is home to over 60 different major ethnic groups, and the majority of its people follow traditional religions.  Independence did not bring conflict in South Sudan to an end. Salva Kiir Mayardit became president of South Sudan - then still part of Sudan - and head of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in 2005, succeeding long-time rebel leader John Garang, who died in a helicopter crash.  Mr. Kiir was re-elected as president in multiparty polls in the south in April 2010. In July 2011, when South Sudan became independent, he became president of the new state.  Just two years later, however, the country was engulfed by civil war when Mr. Kiir sacked his entire cabinet and accused Vice-President Riek Machar of instigating a failed coup.  In August 2018, after five years of civil war, he signed a power-sharing agreement with rebel leader Machar and other opposition groups in a bid to end the brutal conflict. 

Source:  BBC Country Profile

South Sudan is about the size of Texas and is among the world’s poorest countries  

American Embassy Juba:

We had a very homogeneous team headed up by Ambassador Reno Harnisch.  Reno had been Ambassador to Azerbaijan and Kosovo as well as DCM in Cairo and Stockholm.  He was from San Diego, had two Master's in Economics and International Service and spoke several languages including German, Italian, Swedish and some Arabic and Azerbaijani. Our deputy was mark Mayfield, an excellent writer and editor.  Michael Hurley (PD), Deborah Klerk, POL/ECON, Lavon Sajano (DS), Shawn O'Reilly (DS) Tim Williams (IT) and Ralph Kwong, Management lead rounded out the team.  The embassy operates from a USAID office compound. Embassy employee housing is mostly on a residential compound, about 500 yards from the office compound.  The Ambassador was Susan Page and the newly arrived Management Officer, Nancy Brannaman had several administrative challenges. 

Findings:

We had quite a few formal recommendations (44) and informal recommendations (17) particularly in staffing and Human Resources, especially since the embassy was fairly new and had been without an Ambassador and Management Officer for an extended period.    needed to immediately implement plans for provision of International Cooperative and Administrative Support Services (ICASS) and disseminate management instructions and notices to staff in a timely manner.  Nancy retired and is now working as a Retired Annuitant with INL.  

Among the staffing issues it was recommended that incoming political/economic and public diplomacy officers to Embassy Juba have 2-year assignments, with the first year in either the Bureau of African Affairs or the Office of the Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan.   

In terms of facilities, we recommended that embassy complete a risk/cost/benefit on the question of constructing an interim office building pending completion of a new embassy compound.  For general services GSO needed to define its supply chain management system, including ordering, receiving, shipping, paying, and controlling, and define and enforce responsibilities, accountability, and internal controls.  Also, implement a motor vehicle policy that limits drivers to 10-hour shifts and also a safety, health, and environmental management program in accordance with Department of State regulations.

In the areas of Human Resources management needed to implement a plan to align locally employed staff positions and functions, update and classify job descriptions as needed, assess workload, and establish a rational staffing pattern that meets mission requirements.  They needed to implement a plan for training the main timekeeper in Juba and installing the Windows Time and Attendance program to allow Juba to report time and attendance directly to the payroll office, eliminating the need to go through Embassy Khartoum.  Also, carry out an awards program that complies with Department of State regulations and hold awards ceremonies twice a year, as prescribed in the locally employed staff handbook.  Lastly, implement a staff training plan.    Implement an orientation program for newly arrived Americans and recently appointed locally employed staff.  Also, schedule visits from the regional medical officer and regional psychiatrist.

Several recommendations in financial management concerned cashier operations including reconciling the U.S. Agency for International Development cashier accountability and close out the account with the U.S. disbursing officer.  The need to designate an alternate cashier and issue a cash advance.  Require American supervisors of sub cashiers, to perform unannounced cash reconciliations on a monthly or quarterly basis as required and to ensure that emergency payments over $500 are approved by the DCM.  Speaking of the DCM, during the exit conference, I had quite a heated discussion with the DCM on establishing a representation plan based on promoting mission goals and objectives and allocating funds to embassy sections based on plans submitted by sections.  He did not see the need for a plan or issuing a management notice describing procedures for submitting representation claims and establishing per capita limits for various types of entertainment

Highlights:

It's amazing but in the Foreign Service there are always occasions where you run into officers that you had worked with at other embassies.  Meeting Tom Miller at the embassy in Juba was a surprise.  Tom and I served together in Athens (1994-97) where he was DCM and one of my tennis and poker partners.   He went on to become the Ambassador in Greece and Bosnia-Herzegovina.  From 2010-18 Tom was President/CEO of the International Executive Service Corps, a non-profit that provides expertise to developing countries to train in best business practices.  Anyway, I ran into Tom while he was working out in the gym on the compound.  It just so happened that another friend, USAID colleague, Jerry Render, who I served with in Rabat (1990-94), was TDY in Juba at the time.  In fact, we did manage to get a poker group together and had a great time with Tom continuing to play and winning at his favorite game 7/27.          

There wasn't much to do in Juba town but we did get a chance to visit the SAB Miller brewery for a tour and tasting.  The brewery actually got their water direct by pipeline from the Nile River.  We were impressed with the facility and quality of the beer.  It happened to be located near a potential site that the embassy and OBO were considering building a new embassy.  I read later that the brewery was forced to close in 2016 due to a lack of foreign exchange.  Ambassador Page was catholic and Reno, Shawn and I would go to church with her on Sunday at St. Joseph Church.        

Along the River Blue Nile

Mike, Shawn, Mark, Lavon, Reno, Tim, Deborah and me taking a meal at the UN compound.  Ralph must have taken the photo.

Modular housing on USAID Compound

                       

American Club with pool and snack bar for social gatherings and where I stayed up all night to watch the Super Bowl and my 49ers lost to the Baltimore Ravens. 

 

                                                                                                                                  

Restaurant on the housing compound.  Mike, Deborah, me, Ralph, Shawn, Reno, Lavon, Mark and Tim

                      

We were given a tour of the SAB Miller brewery and sample some of their finest Nile Special and White Bull (My Nickname or El Toro Blanco) brews.

Sampling beer after the tour Shawn O'Reilly and Mark Mayfield 

With my good buddy Ralph Kwong

               

St. Joseph Church

 

Proposed Property for New Embassy

   

                            
    

                                                           

2012 Year in Review

 

Highlights

Continued TDY assignment to Riyadh Saudi Arabia with OMP/MOI until May.  Weekly lunches with Prince Nayif. Joint Government project of Saudi Arabia/Ministry of Interior/Office of Program Management and United States agencies including DOD, FBI, DEA, FAA, Treasury and other agencies providing training and mentoring for the country's infrastructure support.    

For more photos and narrative see:  Doris and Bill Traveladventures.blogspot Riyadh

 

Weekly 10 mile Wadi Walks on Friday morning with Project Director Ken Bowra, (Ret. 2-Star General and Citadel Grad) and team.

Shopping in the local souk for jewelry, rugs and souvenirs.

Splurging at Four Seasons and The Globe, Al Faisaliah Tower.

Super Bowl at the club. Weekly Steak night.  Tennis on the roof.

Sweetheart Ball and monthly dances.

 

Church “Meetings” outside the compound.

Purchase booze and return bottles to the Tea Rom.

Trips to the Camel Souk, “Edge of the World”, Pinnacles, Riding an ATV in the Desert.

 

 

                                               

Trips from Riyadh to Jordan and Muscat, Oman.

For more photos and narrative see: Doris and Bill Traveladventures.blogspot - Jordan; and,
Doris and Bill Travel Adventures.blogspot - Muscat

         

 

August Meehan family reunion in County Sligo, Ireland with travels to Cork, Killarney, Ring of Kerry, Dingle Peninsula, Galway, Belfast and Dublin.

For more photos and narrative see: Doris and Bill Travel Adventures blog - Ireland Family Reunion;
Doris and Bill Travel adventures blog - Travel in Ireland; Doris and Bill Travel Adventures blog - Belfast; Doris and Bill Travel Adventures blog - Dublin


 

  

• October 7 attended a tribute concert in honor of Jack McCray, who passed away in 2011, at the Meminger Auditorium featuring the Charleston Jazz Orchestra, which he founded, and Jazz vocalist Rene Marie.

• October 10-21Visit to Athens and northern Greece village of Variko with friends Costas Ambatzidis and his wife Marie.  Side trips to Kastoria, Edessa, Bitola in Macedonia and Meteora. 

For more photos and narrative see:  Doris and Bill Travel Adventures Blog - Athens and Northern Greece

 

 

   

Mediterranean Cruise from Athens to Istanbul on the Oceania Marina October 22 – November 1 to Patmos, Rhodes, and the Holy Land.

For more photos and narrative see:  Doris and Bill Travel Adventures Blog - Holy Land (Bethlehem and Jerusalem); Doris and Bill Travel Adventures Blog - Nazareth and Sea of Galilee; Doris and Bill Travel Adventures Blog - Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jaffa; Doris and Bill Travel Adventures Blog - Patmos and Rhodes; 

  

 
        

• September 23 took Patrick and Jayden to the Washington Nationals game and saw the Nationals lose ot the Brewers 6-2.  After the game game Jayden participated in "Kids Run the Bases".

• In November we toured the Hunley Submarine with the Low Country Explorers at the old naval base at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center.  It is a high-tech lab specifically designed to conserve the vessel and unlock the mysteries of her disappearance.    

On February 17th, 1864, the H. L. Hunley became the first successful combat submarine in world history with the sinking of the USS Housatonic. After completing her mission, she mysteriously vanished and remained lost at sea for over a century.  For decades, adventurers searched for the legendary submarine.  Over a century later, the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA), led by New York Times-bestselling author Clive Cussler, finally found the Hunley in 1995.   After over a century lost at sea, the eight-man crew received a proper burial alongside others who lost their lives on the Hunley during earlier test missions.

• November 26 we visited Beaufort and went kayaking on hunting island.

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News of the Nation

• Aug. 5: Wade Michael Page, age 40, opens fire in a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six people and wounding three others. Police shoot and kill Page, an Army veteran who had ties to the white supremacist movement.
• Oct. 29: Hurricane Sandy makes landfall in Atlantic City, N.J., and is re-classified as a post-tropical cyclone. New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut are hardest hit by Sandy. Eight million people lose power as a result of the storm. Sandy has caused at least 132 deaths and an estimated 82 billion in damages, making it the second costliest hurricane in the United States, behind Katrina.
• Nov. 6: President Obama is re-elected, narrowly defeating Republican nominee Mitt Romney. Obama prevails in both the electoral college, by taking several crucial battle states, including Colorado, Iowa, Ohio, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Wisconsin and the popular vote.
• Nov. 9: Former four-star general David Petraeus resigns as CIA director after the FBI uncovers evidence that he had an extramarital affair. Paula Broadwell is the woman with whom Petraeus had the affair. Broadwell is the author of "All In: The Education of General David Petraeus", a biography published in 2012.

News of the World 

• Jan. 4: The European Union imposes an oil embargo on Iran in an attempt to get Iran to halt uranium enrichment and end its nuclear weapons efforts. 
• March 4: Vladimir Putin wins the presidential election in Russia, claiming 64% of the vote. It will be his third full term as president of Russia.
• March 10: A U.S. soldier goes on a door-to-door rampage in Afghanistan, brutally killing 17 civilians, including nine children. March 23: The U.S. military announces that Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder in the attacks.
• March 21: Syrian president Bashar al-Assad agrees to a cease-fire. The UN-brokered plan calls on the Syrian government to stop killing civilians, engage in talks with the opposition, withdraw forces from the streets, and begin a transition to a democratic, political system.
• April 1: Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who in October 2010 was released after spending nearly 20 years under house arrest, wins a seat in parliament.
• May 1: On the first anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden, President Barack Obama makes a surprise visit to Afghanistan. During his visit, Obama signs an agreement with Afghan president Hamid Karzai that says the U.S. will provide Afghanistan development assistance for 10 years after troops withdraw in 2013.
• May 6: Francois Hollande defeats Nicolas Sarkozy to become president of France. With the victory, Hollande becomes the first Socialist president since Francois Mitterrand left office in 1995.
• June 11: Hosni Mubarak, former president of Egypt, is sentenced to life in prison for being an accomplice in the killing of unarmed protestors during the January 2011 demonstrations.
• June 17: The Center-right New Democracy party prevails in parliamentary elections in Greece. June 20: New Democracy quickly forms a coalition with Pasok and the Democratic Left, and Antonis Samaras, the leader of New Democracy, is sworn in as prime minister.
• June 24: Egyptian election officials declare Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, the winner of presidential election. Nov. 22: Morsi announces a brazen power grab when he declares authority over the courts, thereby removing any check on his actions by the courts.

·     July 7: For the first time since Col. Muammar Qaddafi was ousted, Libyans vote in a national election. The National Forces Alliance, a secular party led by Mahmoud Jibril, a Western-educated political scientist, prevailed over Islamist parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood, in the election to form a national congress.

• July 27: The 2012 Summer Olympics open in London. More than 10,000 athletes from 205 countries participate in the Games.July 31: Michael Phelps wins his 19th Olympic medal, becoming the winningest Olympic athlete of all time. He surpassed the record held by Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina.
• Aug. 22: After 19 years of negotiations, Russia joins the newest member of the World Trade Organization.
• Sep. 11: Armed gunmen storm the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and shoot and kill U.S. ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other embassy officials.
• Oct. 7 Hugo Chávez is elected to a third term as president of Venezuela.
• Oct. 9 In Pakistan, Taliban members shoot 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai in the head and neck. The shooting occurs while Yousafzai is on her way home on a school bus filled with children. She was targeted for her outspokenness against the Taliban and her determination to get an education.
• Nov. 29: The UN General Assembly upgrades the status of the Palestinian Authority from current observer to non-member state.
• Dec. 12: North Korea successfully launches a rocket into orbit. The launch indicates that the country is inching closer toward developing the expertise to build an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Movies:

"The Artist" won the Oscar for best picture at the 85th Academy Awards.  Jean Dujardin won the lead actor award for "The Artist," and the lead actress Oscar went to Meryl Streep for "Iron Lady." Octavia Spencer, "The Help"  and Christopher Plummer, "Beginners" won for supporting actress and supporting actor. 

 

Super Bowl

Super Bowl XLVI (46) The Giants defeated the Patriots the score of 21–17. The game was played on February 5, 2012 for the first time in Indianapolis. In addition to winning their fourth Super Bowl in team history, the Giants set a new record for the lowest regular season record (9–7, win percentage of 56.3%) by a Super Bowl champion. Eli Manning who completed 30 of 40 passes for 296 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions, was named Super Bowl MVP the second time in his career.

 

World Series
 

The 2012 World Series was between  San Francisco Giants and the Detroit Tigers; the Giants won in a four-game sweep. This marked the Giants' seventh World Series title in franchise history, (they won five in New York), and their second in a three-year period (2010–2012). The Giants' Pablo Sandoval, who in Game 1 tied a record by hitting three home runs in one World Series game, two off Tigers' ace pitcher Justin Verlander, was named MVP.                                                                             

 

Recap of 2012 Grand Slam Tennis Tournament Winners

·         Australian Open Men's Singles. Winner – Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal

     Ladies Singles. Winner – Victoria Azarenka Maria Sharapova

·         French Open Men's Singles. Winner– Rafael Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic

    Ladies Singles. Winner– Maria Sharapova defeated Sara Errani

·         Wimbledon Men's Singles. Winner – Roger Federer defeated Andy Murray

          Ladies Singles. Winner – Serena Williams defeated Agnieszka Radwanska

·         US Open Men's Singles. Winner – Andy Murray defeated Novak Djokovic

         Ladies Singles. Winner – Serena Williams defeated Victoria Azarenka