July 13, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
Six months into his administration, President Obama has yet to name people to senior positions at the U.S. Agency for International Development.
In The Washington Post, Al Kamen, a columnist, wonders why the vacancies persist despite Mr. Obama’s pledge to make foreign aid a priority.
“There was much talk by the Obama team during the campaign about how international development was so important to national security and how it needed to be a priority,” he writes. “But six months into the Obama administration, the Agency for International Development, though deeply troubled and adrift, now finds itself without a single top job filled by an Obama appointee.”
He writes that even if the White House were to name someone immediately, he or she would not take office until the fall.
The names of several prominent charity leaders, like Paul Farmer of Partners in Health, have been floated for the agency’s top spot.
While the Agency for International Development awaits new leadership, the U.S. State Department, which oversees the aid agency, has picked a nonprofit executive for a high-level job. In May María Otero, chief executive of Accion International, a microfinance group, was appointed to be an under secretary of global affairs.
What do you think? Do the vacancies have an effect on international aid groups that work with the government?
