Millions of dollars in fraud and embezzlement on a global scale. The UN-DESA's DPADM, formed to “save public administration and good governance around the world,” has instead become more like a movie that is too graphic to show our children.
In the last 5 years, the reputation of the UN-DESA has been shredded by allegations of kickbacks, hundreds of thousand of dollars in graft in the Bertucci scandal, the miss-management and corruption in Associated Expert Programme, and a total lack of accountability.
We hope Mr. Sha that you know that it’s time for serious reform, for serious change.
The OIOS and Procurement Task Force report on Guido Bertucci scandal, which was finally released at the end of June 2008, is still being kept by USG-DESA office without any proper feedback to the Greek Government and OIOS. Criticizing the UN-DESA and specifically DPADM from top to bottom, the language of the report was crystal clear: “The inescapable conclusion from the OIOS’s work” is that the UN-DESA “needs thorough reform—and it needs it urgently.” We will see exactly how serious the lapses in judgment were at every level.
We question ourselves how did things go so terribly askew? What’s wrong with the UN-DESA?
Guido Bertucci Scandal: - As the OIOS investigated Greek Project, it uncovered another, related scandal.
Guido Bertucci, was miss-managing and abusing UN-DESA funds and projects to pay friends and family relatives.
This fourth OIOS report into DESA/DPAM operations, ended up fingerpointing Guido Bertucci, Jose Manuel Sucre and John Mary Kauzya on miss-management, and gross-negligence. The report asked the Secretary General to have Guido Bertucci reimburse at least 35,000 USD from his Pension/Salary to the UN.
But if Guido Bertucci and Jose Manuel Sucre, with the collaboration of Catherine Pelluso and Furio De Tomassi, are responsible for 35,000 USD in one single project, how much would they be responsble towards 281 projects that Guido Bertucci's shop managed during the past years?
Guido Bertucci didn't pay himslef his friends or family relatives. He was better than that. All payments and contracts were generated from the Techincal Cooperation Division headed from Marie Oveissi ( a former G - who became a P and than a D), and all contracts were cleared from Catherine Pelluso (another former G - who became a P and a D) of the Executive Office prior to execution and disbursement.
The biggest problem with this scandal is its scope: The Technical Cooepration department touches every program at the UN-DESA (it is through procurement contracts of services and goods that the UN-DESA spends the billions of dollars its members contribute). These men and woman specifically wielded a lot of influence. Line items in the UN-DESA budget were judged by Patrizio Civili and signed from Catherine Pelluso. Guido Bertucci worked in the UN for over over 30 years and dealt with contractors in Africa, Asia and the Middle East—all over the world.
This report is only the beginning of series of OIOS reviews that have initiated. But what's more important, Member states are now worried of what's really going on inside UN-DESA, and the current management ability to promote substantial and qualitative change.
In the report, which was based on more than 12000 document/emails, the OIOS speak about the UN-DESA’s reputation and the connection with its ability to function effectively: “At stake is the United Nations’ ability to respond promptly and effectively to the responsibilities thrust upon it by the member states. In the last analysis, that ability rests upon the organization’s credibility—on maintaining a widely held perception among member states of its competence, honesty and accountability".
“It is precisely those qualities that too often were absent in the administration of the DPADM and ultimately at the 23rd floor.”
This scandal happened under USG Ocampo’s watch. But most importantly was micromanaged by Patrizio Civili who had a direct interest vetted inside DPADM, and why not he was following the directives from a specific country to undermine another.
The scandals discussed here are the UN-DESA at its worst; but any honest analysis shows that the United Nations's Department of Economic and Social Affairs was a failure even without the “Guido Bertucci” scandal or the Associate Expert scandal from Technical Cooperation Division.
What went wrong ?
Men acted according to their own human nature. Patrizio Civili acted according to his interests; Catherine Pelluso acted according to her interests, Guido Bertucci acted according to his interests, Furio De Tomassi acted according to his interests, Elia Armstrong acted according to her interests; and friends and family members were looking for profit. Rather than following God’s way of love—of out-flowing concern—these men/woman were looking out for number one—themselves!
Jeremiah 17:9 tells us the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Greed affects every level of society. Even when we see an organization that should embody ethics, morality, and the highest standard of human virtue as an example to the entire world, we see instead a perfect depiction of human nature at its worst. Instead of a godly, righteous institution, we see a carnal one.
Rather than effective management at the top, the UN-DESA has had no true leadership (so far). DESA's USG (Desai/Ocampo) have proven both that they were not up to the task and that they were unwilling to step down—or even to replace those beneath them when they fail.
YES the answer is YES, Mr. Sha.......We need change NOW !!!!!
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Mr. Sha Zukang, the new USG of DESA is a very cable Chinese diplomat, but true to his background and training has remained a diplomat and a Chinese. His style of governance involves mixing statements with jokes, mostly made-in-China jokes and therefore, it is hard to know when he is serious and when he is not; when he is telling the truth, when he is not. It is not easy to trust him.
He is also overly bureaucratic and overlly obseesed with protocols etc. Even though he heads one of the most important think tanks of the UN, Mr. Sha often boasts in public saying, "I do not read books". Not a great preamble to raise the credibilty of an organization that is expected to provide guidance to global economic and social problems.
Some of the names or positions your report has mentioned as sources of problem are the very same people Mr. Sha has now turned to for running and "reforming" UNDESA. It is therefore highly unlikely that much will come of these efforts initiated by him.
Mr. Sha is a very intelligent person, but he is hardly visionary nor has he demonstrated much acumen (so far) in the area of management.
The clean up must start with immediate removal of all the three heads of the Executive Office - Zaitsev, Peluso and Oveissi who have been in these positions for last several years. These three have systematically scuttled all reform initiatives of the past, especially those that risked their respective monopolies. Another person that Mr. Sha's relies a lot on, is Mr. Jomo, the Assistant Secretary General who is an activist economist with zero background in management - he comes from an NGO background.
Starting from Mr. Desai's time alomost all consultant reports on DESA management observed serious management shortcomings, especially with its Executive Office, but these reports have either been suppressed or no action has been taken.
In a recent evaluation report on UNCRD, a Tsseloniki type centre based in Nagoya and funded by the Japanese government, has reported serious management lacunae in the tehnical cooperation office. The head of this office has so far refused to respond to these findings. Instead this person is making every effort to punish the people who reported these lapses.
UNDESA is rotting from within, though there is little doubt that UN needs a think tank organization such as this. But has to ponder whether the way it is currently structured and the way it is run, or the persons who are running it, is the best way to handle this task.
No one should be looking at Mr. Sha and his top management team to answer this question - they are the source and not the solution of the problem.
Efforts in DESA reform must not be initiated from within, but from outside.
A special team made up highly qualified and with persons of unimpeachable background should be set up to undertake the important task of DESA reform. A more wholistic assessment of the organization, linking its substantive requirements with its management setting is indeed the need of the hour.
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