The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General found that the agency lacked proper oversight of its low-value contracts, resulting in missing documentation and lost payments, Federal Times reported Wednesday. Low-value contracts are those with a maximum amount of $300 million.
DHS issued a total of $2.4 billion low-value contracts in 2016. The report cited cases where DHS issued low-value contracts that didn’t have authorizing signatures and was “unable to address contractor performance issues”.
“This occurred because components lacked a comprehensive contract management process for maintaining contract files, and reviews conducted by procurement personnel did not ensure that contract personnel performed the required procurement processes,†according to the report.
The IG recommends the DHS chief procurement officer direct the establishment of contract management policies to prevent lost files and failure in monitoring contractor performance.
