Embassy New Delhi, India and Constituent Posts - OIG - US ...

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maintain control over premium air travel, and assist travelers with the E2 Solutions travel
system. HMG Sita is the travel contractor for the embassy and all consulates general except
Chennai, which has a separate contract with a local company. USAID in New Delhi has a
separate agreement with HMG Sita, which maintains a travel office in the USAID building.
Procurement
Of all the subfunctions within the GSO operation, contracting and procurement is the
most complex, requiring a thorough understanding of applicable laws and regulations.
Procurement operations are vulnerable to error and malfeasance, and there have been recent
examples of both within the mission. There have also been some incidents of unauthorized
commitments at New Delhi and Hyderabad. In fact, the extent of the problem in Hyderabad
required special mention as a material weakness in the 2010 Chief of Mission Annual
Management Control Statement of Assurance. Management has focused on improving the
performance and internal controls in procurement operations, and the recent ICASS and OIG
survey results indicate a relatively positive degree of customer satisfaction with procurement
service at all locations except Kolkata and Hyderabad. However, the need remains for constant
GSO oversight, as well as for upgrading the capabilities of LE procurement staff.
The OIG team also discovered errors in several procurement files at Consulate General
Kolkata. A purchase order for services charged at over $13,000 had not been competed based on
verbal guidance from the ordering office that the vendor’s prior performance did not warrant
competition. Contract files did not contain documentation that showed how the contracting
officer determined award. The contracting officer did not properly designate contracting officer
representatives. Contract files were disorganized. The procurement unit also was using, at the
behest of the budget and fiscal unit, a form of purchase order for goods and services that clearly
would best be acquired using a blanket purchase agreement.
Recommendation 50: Embassy New Delhi should direct Consulate General Kolkata to
implement a plan to review procurements for proper competition, bid evaluation, and contract
administration. (Action: Embassy New Delhi)
The OIG team also noted that Consulate General Kolkata had only one purchase card
holder, which placed the burden of all of the acquisitions using that method on the procurement
unit. The consulate general should expand the purchase card program to other sections, such as
the public diplomacy section. This expansion would reduce the workload of the procurement
section, empower other sections to make their own purchases, and speed up the procurement
process.
Informal Recommendation 26: Embassy New Delhi should direct Consulate General
Kolkata to expand its purchase card program to other sections.
Property Management
Mission customers were generally pleased with overall quality of supply and property
management. On the OIG survey, the embassy and all consulates general were at or above
average for both the adequacy of expendable supplies; only Hyderabad ranked below average for
suitability of household furnishings. The FY 2011 ICASS customer satisfaction survey scores for
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