BBG Watch Commentary
Voice of America (VOA) Director David Ensor announced last week that that cross-border VOA radio transmissions to Afghanistan, China, Iran and several other nations are being cut or reduced to achieve budget savings.
David Ensor also participated recently in a meeting designed to improve dismal employee morale. But as one of our anonymous VOA contributors complaints, Director Ensor continues to expand the bureaucracy while journalists see their programs eliminated and their jobs lost. Contractors, known as Purchase Order Vendors (POV) are told about cuts in the number of their already poorly-paid assignments.
Meanwhile, the number of Program Managers is growing and a new GS-13 “Program Manager” position has just been posted.
Jim Smith is encouraging other VOA staffers to politely “expose the petty corruption that is all around us.”
Corruption: THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT DESTROYS MORALE
Name: Jim Smith
Comment: I was inspired to write to you by the letter to Mr. Lobo from Jane Smith. I think her idea of communicating with the third floor by writing honest criticism (that is not nasty in tone) is excellent. More VOA employees should contribute to BBG watch in an effort to help David Ensor change the low morale.
So here is my issue:
Just one week after the announced plan to help change the atmosphere, a job posting appeared for a GS-13 “Program Manager” for the third floor. Incredibly, they continue to add more bureaucrats to their ranks! Can anyone really argue that they need another GS-13 to push papers more than one of the small services could use an FTE (a programming position)? The services are getting squeezed, but Mr. Ensor allows his executive staff to make another job for one of their cronies? Talk about the bloated bureaucracy!
And that’s the real rub in this. The job isn’t really open. Everyone knows who will get it. It was created for a specific person. Apparently the third floor thinks the rank and file are stupid (maybe they just don’t care?) and that people won’t recognize this stuff for what it is: corruption.
Mr. Ensor, in case you didn’t know, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT DESTROYS MORALE. You should be trimming the numbers on the third floor — not adding to them. You talk about the need for honestly and communication and then you let this happen. Please put a stop to it.
To my colleagues: I urge you to write to BBG Watch to expose the petty corruption that is all around us. (But do it politely). If enough of us write in, we can force reform on the third floor.
