United States (US) Ambassador to Singapore Jonathan Kaplan has received a scathing review from auditors who inspected the US Embassy here.
Among other things, their report said he developed “poor relationships” with Singapore’s ministries.
Source: @usambsg on Instagram
His behaviour also affected staff morale, with employees saying he belittled them.
Mr Kaplan was the focus of a report released on Friday (1 Mar) by the Office of Inspector General (OIG), an internal auditor of the US State Department.
The inspection dated February covered the executive direction, policy and programme implementation, resource management, and information management operations of the US Embassy in Singapore.
This included Mr Kaplan’s conduct and the tone that he set at the Embassy.
Source: US Embassy in Singapore
The assessment was based on interviews, questionnaires, document reviews and OIG’s observations.
OIG found that Mr Kaplan “did not hold himself to the highest standards of conduct, performance, and ethics to model integrity”.
Specifically, he was “dismissive” of regulations and had difficulty understanding how to work within the government.
For example, he committed to consulting services without following guidance and processes. Two invoices — a furniture research project and a redesign of the Embassy’s cafeteria — were submitted despite a lack of authorisation.
The Embassy thus incurred unauthorised commitments of US$9,900 (S$13,300).
Source: Google Maps
About US$48,000 (S$64,500) of his travel claims were also not submitted or lacked supporting documents to be processed. He was said to have failed to buy flight tickets via the Embassy’s appointed travel agent and flew unauthorised airlines, routes and classes.
He also failed to “plan strategically with regards to specific initiatives by developing and promoting attainable, shared goals”.
In one incident, Mr Kaplan wanted to screen the 2022 Super Bowl for free to outdoor public audiences, despite various factors such as:
Despite these issues, he insisted on organising the event and when it couldn’t be held, he reportedly blamed staff.
Mr Kaplan was also noted to have “developed poor relationships” with some Singapore Government ministries.
This in some cases “hurt progress” on State Department goals and objectives.
For example, he was said to be “unprepared on issues” and “made statements that were counterproductive to a section’s work”.
Staff remarked that Mr Kaplan should have conducted more meetings at Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), but he had told OIG that they were “unproductive”.
Similarly, Mr Kaplan was said to have “limited contacts” with Singapore’s traditional media outlets.
It was noted that he held only two press events since arriving in Singapore in 2021. One of them was off the record.
He told OIG that there was “no need” to deal with traditional media and he preferred to post on social media.
However, staff said he seemed to be “indifferent” to the Embassy’s social media priorities. Instead, he was more interested in his personal Instagram account, which has more than 4,000 followers at the time of writing.
Source: @usambsg on Instagram
The Embassy also experienced issues with staff morale during Mr Kaplan’s tenure, which the OIG attributed to him.
He “did not offer and solicit constructive feedback” and was not always aware of staff morale, the report said.
In fact, staff were left frustrated with his last-minute schedule changes and “prolonged indecision” over taking part in events.
Coordination was so troublesome that some sections were reportedly afraid of engaging with him unless necessary.
Worse still, “numerous staff” expressed a fear of reprisal from him. Some of these threats were made directly, OIG said.
Mr Kaplan’s behaviour with staff was also described “as belittling and intimidating”, with the report adding:
He frequently spoke disparagingly about US government employees and the Department.
However, the Ambassador held a different view, saying morale had improved under him, though there had been a difficult transition when he came in.
He was also confident that he had gained the trust of his staff.
In conclusion, OIG said a review of Mr Kaplan’s conduct and performance was needed.
His compliance with the US State Department’s leadership and management principles should also be assessed, the report added. “Corrective action” should be taken if appropriate.
In a statement quoted by Channel NewsAsia (CNA), Mr Kaplan said he and his team took full responsibility for addressing the concerns and recommendations in the report.
He also stood by the OIG’s work.
Mr Kaplan arrived in Singapore in 2021 after being appointed as ambassador by US President Joe Biden.
Source: @usambsg on Instagram
It was his first time serving in the role of ambassador, having previously been an entrepreneur and philanthropist.
The US government is taking the OIG’s report seriously, reported Reuters.
A White House spokesman was quoted as saying that the President “always wants his representatives…to manage people with dignity and respect”.
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Featured image adapted from US Embassy in Singapore and @usambsg on Instagram.
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