CGD's event with Raj Shah was mentioned in a Washington Post article about USAID contractors.
From the Article
The U.S. Agency for International Development, as it cracks down on vendor impropriety, has more than doubled the number of companies and nonprofit groups it has suspended or debarred from receiving new contracts.
The development agency has halted new contracting and grants with 39 entities this year, more than twice the 18 suspended or debarred last year, records show.
USAID on Dec. 8 suspended its 10th-largest partner, the Washington-based nonprofit Academy for Educational Development (AED). The organization held about $640 million in USAID contracts and grants when it was restricted from receiving new government awards.
“We will hold all of our implementing partners to strict account, regardless of their size,” USAID administrator Rajiv Shah said of the suspension in a speech at the Center for Global Development in Washington this year. “ ‘Too big to fail’ simply does not exist in development,’’ he said.
The rise in actions follows an October 2009 audit by the USAID inspector general’s office that found the agency’s process for suspending and debarring contractors contained flaws and constraints. The audit report recommended the agency take more such actions as a matter of policy.