What OIG Inspected
OIG inspected the executive direction, policy and program implementation, resource management, and information management operations of Embassy Singapore.

What OIG Recommends
OIG made 23 recommendations: 21 to Embassy Singapore, 1 to the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and 1 to the Bureau of Information Resource Management.

In its comments on the draft report, the Department concurred with 22 recommendations and disagreed with 1 recommendation. OIG considers all 23 recommendations resolved. The Department?s response to each recommendation, and OIG?s reply, can be found in the Recommendations section of this report. The Department?s formal responses are reprinted in their entirety in Appendix B.

What OIG Found

• The Ambassador did not model some Department of State leadership and management principles.
• The Ambassador twice committed to consulting services for the embassy without following Department acquisition guidance and processes, leading to unauthorized commitments totaling $9,900.
• The embassy had approximately $48,000 in outstanding travel vouchers, extending back to December 2021, related to the Ambassador?s travel that either had not been submitted for reimbursement or lacked sufficient supporting documentation to pay the travel claim.
• Multiple embassy sections noted that the Ambassador developed poor relationships with some Singaporean ministries and that his actions, in some cases, hurt progress on Integrated Country Strategy goals and objectives.
• The Ambassador?s many projects frequently were unattainable, diverted the embassy?s limited resources, and detracted from the staff?s ability to perform core duties. Staff also questioned the utility of some projects in promoting U.S. interests in Singapore.
• The Economic-Political Section did not consistently meet Department deadlines for mandatory reports and cable reporting.
• Information management operations had internal control shortcomings related to information security practices, management of printers and non-enterprise laptops, and emergency and evacuation radios.
• Spotlight on Success: The Public Diplomacy Section teamed with 50 alumni to develop a program to mentor underserved students from Singapore?s Institute of Technical Education to enable them to compete more effectively in the workforce.