By Moyiga Nduru
JOHANNESBURG, Dec 15 2004 (IPS)

In recent weeks, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been the subject of heated debate in the United States and Europe – this after he was accused of oversight in his handling of the Iraq oil-for-food programme between 1996 and 2003. Allegations of conflict of interest in the Annan family concerning the initiative have also been made.

Inasmuch as this matter is generating discussion in New York and London, it is also raising temperatures further south, in Africa.

Annan’s son, Kojo, worked for Cotecna – a Swiss firm that is accused of benefiting from this association to get a contract for inspecting goods under the programme. While Kojo had left Cotecna by the time the firm was awarded the contract, he continued receiving payments from it. A UN spokesman claims this formed part of a legitimate “no-compete” contract, of the type often used to prevent workers from entering into competition with their former employers.

“It’s a tiny figure,” says David Monyae, a lecturer in international relations at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, in reference to Kojo’s 2,300 dollar monthly salary. “But they got him. It’s not corruption. Kojo worked for it.”

“I think it’s a racist kind of campaign against Kofi Annan. He has to be defended. The African Union must see to it that Annan serves his term fully,” Monyae told IPS Thursday. The current term of the secretary-general – who is the first from sub-Saharan Africa – ends in December 2006.

The oil-for-food scandal extends beyond the Annan family. Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was apparently able to net billions of dollars through abuse of the programme. Annan’s critics allege that he should take responsibility for the matter, as it happened on his watch. And some, like American Senator Norman Coleman, have called for the secretary-general to resign.

But, many Africans believe Coleman and those who share his views form as much of a conspiracy as that which allegedly developed around the oil-for-food initiative.

“The plot being hatched by right-wingers in the United States to oust UN Secretary General Kofi Annan must be challenged,” wrote Farouk Araie in South Africa’s ‘Sowetan’ newspaper on Dec. 15.

“More than anyone else, (Annan) has understood the overriding significance of human rights in the work of the UN. Africa must stand up for Kofi Annan,” he added.

A group of high-profile South Africans comprising former president Nelson Mandela, his wife Graca Machel, retired Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel laureate Nadine Gordimer and renowned human rights lawyer George Bizos has also thrown its weight behind Annan. Last week, they signed an open letter condemning attempts to force his resignation.

“Those who call for his resignation betray the objectivity his position as secretary-general demands and regard the United Nations as a mouthpiece to extol and exonerate the policies of the United States of America, right or wrong,” they said in their letter.

“Kofi Annan has done a great deal to create high morale within the United Nations, devoting his life with all his energy, intellect and deep human understanding, to the enormous task of justifying the ever-increasing necessity of the United Nations in a world of continuing conflict,” the letter added.

Further north in Nigeria, the Vanguard newspaper, known for its bluntness, said Annan was being tried in “the court of racists and hypocrites”.

Monyae believes that part of the anger being directed against Annan has its roots in the failure by the United States to secure a UN mandate to wage war in Iraq.

“Kofi Annan also played a critical role at a critical time during the 2004 U.S. elections. He voiced his concern about the war in Iraq. He said, ‘The war in Iraq is illegal. It’s not in conformity with international laws’. His statement did some damage to the Bush campaign,” notes Monyae.

Bush ultimately won the poll, defeating his Democratic challenger, John Kerry. But, many believe the Republicans have not forgiven – or forgotten – Annan’s statements, and that they are seizing on the oil-for-food scandal to punish him for not giving unequivocal support to Washington.

In certain instances, it is not only Annan, but the entire UN that has become the object of anger.

A California-based group, Move America Forward, would like to see the world body’s headquarters shifted from New York to a city outside the U.S. The group also wants UN officials expelled from the United States because the UN failed to support the American-led war on Iraq.

Move America Forward says it has collected over 50,000 signatures as part of its campaign to drive the UN out of the country.

Bush’s need for international backing of efforts to rebuild Iraq will probably ensure that this initiative does not gain currency in the corridors of Washington. Nonetheless, the sentiments expressed by Move America Forward have been noted – with concern – by many outside of the U.S.’s borders.

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