Godec has performed well, US monitors say
What you need to know:
The four-month review involved 372 interviews with staff at the embassy in Nairobi and with government workers in Washington.
That positive appraisal contrasts sharply with condemnations of partisanship on Mr Godec’s part levelled against him by opposition figures during the long electioneering period.
US ambassador to Kenya Robert Godec is given a generally positive job evaluation in a review carried out by state monitors.
"Most of the 380 US citizens working at the embassy found the ambassador to be well-informed, engaged, forward-looking and able to communicate his strategic vision,” says the 61-page assessment conducted by the State Department’s Office of Inspector-General.
QUESTIONNAIRES
The four-month review involved 372 interviews with staff at the embassy in Nairobi and with government workers in Washington. Hundreds more completed questionnaires.
“Embassy staff credited the ambassador with using his contacts with all elements of Kenyan society to help shape and facilitate the relatively free and fair electoral process in 2017, which had less violence than during previous elections,” the review says.
RAPPROCHEMENT
“They also commended him for using his credibility with the ruling and opposition parties to facilitate the rapprochement between President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga.”
Mr Godec is credited with leading a group of diplomats from other embassies in order to “shape international messaging on the conduct of Kenya’s elections”.
This approach is judged to have contributed to lowering the level of election tension.
DISMISSIVE
That positive appraisal contrasts sharply with condemnations of partisanship on Mr Godec’s part levelled against him by opposition figures during the long electioneering period.
The review finds that staff members’ opinions of Mr Godec’s performance are not uniformly positive.
Some US citizens working at the embassy told inspectors that they found him to be dismissive or unappreciative of their work and contributions.
VIEWPOINTS
The State Department performance-monitoring unit advised the envoy to be willing to listen to all viewpoints.
Mr Godec gets high marks for his efforts to ease tensions between the US direct-hire staff members and the 1,004 Kenyans and other Africans hired by the embassy.
"The ambassador recognised that open dialogue about race was needed at the embassy,” the monitors say.
DEFICIENCIES
"His office launched a cultural dialogues forum, in which US direct-hire and locally employed staff addressed common cultural miscommunications and misperceptions.”
Mr Godec responded favourably to requests by local employees to address tribal-based tensions.
Mr Godec is criticised for deficiencies in the management of embassy property.
In his response, Mr Godec accepts the recommendations. He also concurs with a recommendation by the team for correcting cyber-security deficiencies that left ICT systems vulnerable to interference.
