WASHINGTON, June 25 (UPI) -- The chief procurement officer for Homeland Security lacks needed authority over the U.S. department's many component divisions and agencies, say auditors.
A recent report from the Government Accountability Office says that lack of authority is slowing efforts to improve Homeland Security's dismal acquisition record.
Chief Procurement Officer Elaine Duke has hired extra staff to help her oversee the nine separate acquisition operations in the department's various agencies, and had begun reviewing them, the GAO report earlier this month found. But most of those nine acquisition offices did not conduct their annual reviews last year as required, and Duke did not check on them to see if they had done so or if the reviews were up to standard, the report said.
Moreover, the auditors observed that she had no authority to make sure any problems she identified were fixed.
"The (chief procurement officer), who is held accountable for department-wide management and oversight of the acquisition function, lacks sufficient authority to ensure components take corrective actions based on oversight review recommendations," GAO concluded.
