Y2K puts USAID computers at risk of failure

New computer systems worth at least $92 million at the U.S. Agency for International Development have not yet been equipped to handle the Year 2000 problem, according to a General Accounting Office report released last month.

The report, which is part of a series on "Major Management Challenges and Program Risks" at federal agencies, states that USAID has not taken adequate steps to address the computer millennium problem and has not developed contingency plans to ensure the continuity of all its mission-critical business operations.

USAID continues to face a serious risk that its systems and operations could fail or be significantly degraded, according to the report. The agency is only now beginning to prepare contingency plans after being criticized for poor progress in its Year 2000 efforts, the report says.