18 months in, key positions at USAID still vacant
Nearly six months after Rajiv Shah was confirmed and 18 months since Barack Obama was inaugurated, key positions at USAID are still vacant, and that’s worrying some development observers. Sources tell Foreign Policy’s The Cable blog that a list of candidates for several senior USAID slots has been sent to the White House, but has yet to be acted upon. The unfilled positions include the assistant administrator for the Bureau of Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Affairs (DCHA), and the director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA). The delay in staffing USAID is particularly worrisome as the administration works on the Presidential Study Directive on Global Development and the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review: “Development NGOs are worried that USAID risks losing some of its ability to influence the ongoing reviews due to its lack of political senior staffing,” says The Cable.
