UNITED NATIONS: EU Seeks Transparency in U.N. procurement

By Thalif Deen Reprint | | Print |

Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 8 1996 (IPS) - The system used by the United Nations to procure goods and services lacks transparency and badly needs reform, the European Union (EU) has charged.

“The organisation rarely uses open advertising,” Lorenzo Ferrarin of Italy told U.N. delegates as he spoke on behalf of the 15-member EU. “Too often, bids are obtained through limited invitations from short-listed vendors.”

The United Nations is viewed as a huge, multi-billion-dollar market ripe for picking. The U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) last year purchased more goods and services than the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), one of the world’s largest military alliances.

The goods, both military and civilian products, range from helicopters and military vehicles to computers and cellular phones.

The New York-based U.N. Association of USA (UNA-USA) says that in 1994 the entire U.N. system spent about 3.8 billion dollars, buying food rations, vaccines, relief supplies, office equipment and military vehicles for U.N. operations worldwide. In 1993, the world body spent about 3.5 billion dollars on goods and services, 43 percent was spent on peacekeeping alone.

Ferrarin is urging U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to review all procurement activities in order to unify them under the Department of Administration and Management, with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations retaining only operational responsibility.

“There should be stricter coordination between the procurement units in the Secretariat and those of other U.N. offices and agencies,” he added, noting that the United Nations should use all means of communications to facilitate access to procurement information in a wider geographical area.

In a report released last week, Boutros-Ghali says he is fully committed to the reform of the U.N. procurement system. He expresses determination to establish an efficient and responsive process that ensures expeditious and cost-effective procurement of goods and services and a policy for a competitive and transparent process.

Boutros-Ghali also points out that he already has instituted a training programme for procurement officers, updated and enhanced the supplier roster, and publicised contract activities and awards.

Noting that staff costs in his procurement division represent only about one percent of the funds spent on good and services, Boutros-Ghali has asked countries to provide him with the necessary finances to ensure an appropriate level of highly qualified staff with procurement expertise.

Ammar Amari of Tunisia told delegates that in spite of the financial crisis facing the United Nations, the world body still remained a very competitive market which attracted many countries.

“Procurement procedure must be made public for all member states to be able to bid for contracts,” he said. “Equitable geographical representation of suppliers was essential.”

Benon Sevan, Assistant-Secretary-General for Conference Services, said the U.N. secretariat was committed to reforms and was implementing them as speedily as possible.

But he said it was easier to identify shortcomings and to make recommendations than it was to implement them, particularly in “a house as complex as the United Nations.”

Sevan said “the reform… is nothing less than a complete overhaul of the entire system, and as urgent as it is, it cannot be brought about overnight.”

The United States is currently the biggest single supplier of goods and services to the United Nations, accounting for 14 percent of the market. The United States is followed by Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.

In 1994, the UN-USA released a 372-page guide to U.N. procurement, titled, ‘How to do Business with the United nations’. The procurement guide warned potential suppliers to be cautious about selling to the United Nations.

“It is not easy to do business, and it is no secret that the U.N. procurement process needs a complete overhaul,” it said. As a result of the “explosion” in U.N. peacekeeping activities, there is an “ad hoc approach to billions of dollars’ worth of business,”it added. “On a practical level, this translates into a very high frustration level among corporate executives who venture into the U.N. system.”