Refugees: U.S. Assistance to Bulgarian Ethnic Turks in Turkey
NSIAD-92-59
Published: Dec 18, 1991. Publicly Released: Dec 18, 1991.
Skip to Highlights
Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of State's and the United Nations Development Program's (UNDP) $10-million project to assist Turkey with the resettlement and assimilation of ethnic Turkish refugees fleeing Bulgaria, focusing on: (1) project development; (2) project management and progress; and (3) the amount of project funds distributed.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of State | The Secretary of State should require the Bureau for Refugee Programs and the U.S. Embassy in Ankara to fulfill their monitoring and oversight responsibilities by actively monitoring the project's progress to ensure that remaining funds are appropriately expended. |
Monitoring of the project has been increased and UNDP is more carefully managing the project.
|
| Department of State | The Secretary of State should require the Bureau for Refugee Programs and the U.S. Embassy in Ankara to fulfill their monitoring and oversight responsibilities by ensuring that UNDP verify the correctness of all payments to the Turkish Employment Organization and that UNDP recoup erroneous payments. |
The State Department's Refugee Program Bureau and the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, strengthened oversight of the project and recouped $231,910 in funds expended on cancelled or uncompleted training courses.
|
| Department of State | The Secretary of State should require the Bureau for Refugee Programs and the U.S. Embassy in Ankara to fulfill their monitoring and oversight responsibilities by ascertaining whether the orientation classes are still relevant or if the classes can be terminated and the funds used for other purposes. |
The State Department and project managers agreed to discontinue orientation classes: $375,220 in budgeted project training funds were diverted for other training projects as a result.
|
Full Report
Public Inquiries
Topics
Aid to refugeesEmployment assistance programsForeign economic assistanceForeign governmentsFunds managementInternational cooperationPolitical refugeesProgram managementEmbassiesRefugees