WORLD BRIDGE BLOG

The Department of State's Inspector General recently released an inspection report on the Bureau of African Affairs. The report highlights resource shortcomings, policy failures and is a damning indictment of the past few years' leadership in the bureau. It is also a testimony to the dedication and competence of the foreign and civil service officials within the bureau. (Full disclosure, I served in the bureau for several years as a Foreign Service Officer.)

The inspectors cited "an undercurrent of dissatisfaction" and "uneven quality of leadership" leftover from the previous regime but noted that the team that took over on January 21 enjoyed "almost universal respect." "Morale," the inspectors noted, "is on the upswing."  That's good because there remain huge problems for the new team and the staff to overcome.

In Washington, the report notes, "[t]he country desks are not staffed with enough officers possessing relevant overseas experience." Country desks are where policy is formulated, so this really does matter. There simply aren't enough Foreign Service Officers. As of July there were under 6,800 FSOs at State and slightly over 1,400 at USAID.

The shortage of FSOs has consequence in the field, too. "Embassy platforms are collapsing under the weight of new programs and staffing without corresponding resources to provide the services required by new tenants and requirements," the report claims. It's absolutely true. Some embassies in Africa are understaffed by 30%.

So how does the work get done? Well, in some cases it doesn't. Traveling in Central Africa this year, embassy staff told me they simply can't get to some of the work. In some cases, according to the IG report, "[t]he U.S. Military is stepping into a void created by a lack of resources for traditional development and public diplomacy." The Pentagon has been forced to fill 650 civilian positions in Iraq and Afghanistan alone. In West Africa, soldiers are conducting development and public diplomacy missions in the stead of the Foreign Service. (Editor's note: Refugees International will publish a major report on this practice in September.)  

The Bush administration spent billions on slowing the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa through its PEPFAR program (President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief), and on humanitarian aid to war-ravaged Darfur. Sadly, the report notes, in the current economic climate, these huge investment numbers probably aren't sustainable. The U.S. government also spends billions training peacekeepers and assisting peacekeeping missions. That program, the report claims, "lacks the resources for adequate management controls."

So what's to do? Most of the issues raised in the report point to a lack of human capital. There aren't enough people and many of the ones in place aren't sufficiently trained or experienced. Congress and the Administration need to invest in what Secretary of Defense Gates calls "the full strength of the American people." Current plans are to hire about 700 FSOs this year. This is insufficient. State and USAID need about 5, 000 new FSOs and they need them as quickly as possible.

Anyone who has been around the Africa bureau recently can confirm what the Inspectors General noted: that things are turning around under the leadership of Assistant Secretary Johnnie Carson. President Obama made comforting noises during the campaign about how much Africa matters. His and Secretary Clinton's recent visits have highlighted some of the problems facing the millions of people living on the continent. Let's hope the Administration and Congress can provide the Department of State and USAID with the people and the funding these two beleaguered organizations need to carry out U.S. foreign policy. Millions of lives depend on it.