On
DRC US To Designate Officials
for Electoral Corruption As UN
Banned Live-Stream and
Restricts Press
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, June 21 --
Two days after US
Ambassador Nikki
Haley cited the DR
Congo's membership
in the UN Human
Rights Council as
more evidence of the
UNHRC's corruption,
now on June 21 the
US State Department
has announced "the
designation of
several senior DRC
officials, under
Section 7031(c) of
the Department of
State Foreign
Operations and
Related Programs
Appropriations Act,
2018, due to these
officials’
involvement in
significant
corruption related
to the DRC’s
electoral
process.
Further, the
Department is taking
steps to prevent
entry into the
United States of
certain DRC
officials involved
in human rights
violations. Section
7031(c) provides
that, in cases where
the Secretary of
State has credible
information that
foreign officials
have been involved
in significant
corruption or gross
violations of human
rights, those
individuals are
ineligible for entry
into the United
States.
Credible,
transparent, and
timely elections in
December 2018, in
which the Congolese
people are free to
express their views
without fear of
violence or
intimidation, are
essential for
ensuring a more
peaceful and
prosperous future
for DRC and the
region. Today’s
actions send a
strong signal that
the U.S. government
is committed to
fighting corruption,
to supporting
credible elections
that lead to DRC’s
first peaceful and
democratic transfer
of power, and to
holding accountable
those who are
responsible for
significant
corruption or
serious violations
of human rights." At
the UN, earlier this
month Secretary
General Antonio
Guterres through his
spokesman Stephane
Dujarric banned
Inner City Press
livestreaming his
DRC photo op. Now
for live streaming
on the UN's second
floor Dujarric
providing a private
"press conference"
on Guterres'
response to Haley
dropping out of the
HRC to a trio Al
Jazeera, that media
and Dujarric are
trying to further
restrict Inner City
Press for its coverage.
The UN is in no
position to critique
- and in the case of
DRC, barely tries.
Back in late May,
posters of DR
Congo's holdover
president Joseph
Kabila as a
candidate for the
long promised
election had been
seen and commented
on by many, but not
the UN of Secretary
General Antonio
Guterres. On May 30
Inner City Press
asked Guterres'
holdover spokesman
Stephane Dujarric
about them, UN
transcript here:
Inner City
Press: I
wanted to ask you on
the DRC. In
Kinshasa, there've
gone up posters
essentially
depicting Joseph
Kabila as a
candidate, seemingly
contrary to various
agreements, the
Constitution.
The country team
there, have they
seen these
posters? And
what do they make of
them in terms of
the…?
Spokesman: I
think everybody has
seen the
posters. I
don't have any
analysis at this
point. And
your last question?"
Dujarric canceled
the May 31 UN noon
briefing, in
exchange for
Guterres taking a
few (pre-selected?)
questions at 5 pm.
The UN is
increasingly
UNtransparent. In UN
Procurement, the
lowest bidder
doesn't always win,
the UN confirmed on
March 26 in response
to Inner City Press'
March 23 question.
Rather than e-mail
the statement to
Inner City Press
which asked, UN
Secretary General
Antonio Guterres'
spoksman Farhan Haq
waited to read it
out at the March 26
noon briefing, and
then refused to
answer questions
about it. See
transcript, and
below. Today's UN is
corrupt. Now it's
even clearer: after
ousting the low
bidder PPI, UN
Procurement has let
in a company,
Aeronautics Ltd
a/k/a Aeronautics
Defense Systems,
which is under
investigation and
had a contract
canceled in Romania
in 2017, like one in
Poland in 2012, and
Mexico in 2009. On
April 27, after
publishing the
above, Inner City
Press asked
Guterres' spokesman
Stephane Dujarric,
UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: I
had asked you before
about the
procurement of
drones for MONUSCO
[United Nations
Stabilization
Mission in the
Democratic Republic
of the Congo] in the
DRC, and I think the
upshot of this
back-and-forth is
that the low bidder
doesn't necessarily
get the bid, but
it's since emerged
that a… a company
has been allowed in
as… as now, the
presumptive
front-runner,
Aeronautics Defence
Systems, which will
actually banned
from… had contracts
terminated in
Romania in 2017 and
Poland in 2012, so
many… the people
that are… that are,
you know, following
this to see how
money is being
spent… what's the…
the… it's one thing
to say, you know,
the low bidder, we
can investigate them
and not do them, but
then how can a
company be brought
in…?
Spokesman:
Look, I don't have
all the facts on the
top of my
head. What I
do know is that
obviously, it's
always the lowest…
it's the low bidder
with the best
possible bid.
I mean, you know,
what the process
is. All
vendors go through a
vetting
process. I
have no information
on this particular
company or know
whether or not they
are, in fact, part
of the bidding
process.
Inner City Press: Is
past… is past record
of completion or
termination of
contracts part of
the…?
Spokesman:
Everything is looked
at in the
procurement
process."
Really? Inner
City Press was
exclusively informed
that in the bidding
for the UN's
Democratic Republic
of the Congo UAS or
Unmanned Aerial
Systems (drones)
program, the low
bidder is being
displaced by more
favored companies,
unilaterally, by UN
Procurement chief
Dmitry Dovgopoly.
The
story, exclusive to
Inner City Press,
goes like this: out
to bid is a $50
million contract to
provide Unmanned
Aerial Systems
services to the UN's
MONUSCO in the DRC
for a term of five
(3 + 1 + 1) years.
The present company,
Leonardo, has a
contract which
expires in November.
PPI beat out
Leonardo, CAE,
Thales, Qintetiq,
Airbus and Trans
Capital.
But
shortly after our
award, UN
Procurement chief
Dmitry Dovgopoly
refused to approve
the agreed upon
terms and demanded
PPI perform a
demonstration flight
prior to contract
signature. Inner
City Press covered
Dovgopoly and
similar tricks back
when he was at the
“D-1” level, and
received pushback
and is currenty still
restricted to
minders in the UN
for pursuing
its anti-corruption
coverage
into the UN
Press Briefing
Room,
its work space
purportedly assigned
to a no-show
Eygptian state
corresponent Sanaa
Youssef who has not
asked a question in
ten years.
On
March 23, Inner City
Press asked Stephane
Dujarric, spokesman
for Antonio Guterres
who had Inner City
Press evicted from
the UN Press
Briefing Room then
its office, and
still restricted,
about this, UN
transcript here:
Inner City Press: on
UN Procurement, I
wanted to ask you
something. It…
it seems like
there's a… there's a
contract for the
drones, or aerial
unmanned systems?
Spokesman:
Unmanned.
Inner City Press:
And there was a
declared winner,
and… and somehow the
winner… the… the…
the low bidder is
now being told that
they're not getting
the contract, and
that Mr. [Dmitri]
Dovgopoly of UN
Procurement seeks to
do sole-source
negotiations with
people that had
higher bids. I
wonder if you can
get a statement from
them what the status
of that is?
Spokesman:
I'll see… I'll see
what I can get."
But
when Dujarric got UN
Procurement's
misleading line, he
didn't email it to
Inner City Press.
Instead, on March 26
his deputy read out
at the briefing:
"Stéphane [Dujarric]
was asked some
procurement
questions last
Friday. I can
say that the
requirement for
unmanned aerial
services was the
subject of a request
for proposals - or
“RFP”. Under
RFP exercises, the
Organization may
award a contract to
the proposer
offering the best
value for
money. This
requires an
evaluation of both
the technical and
financial offers of
each proposer.
The lowest bidder,
therefore, will not
necessarily be
successful. In
the MONUSCO [United
Nations Organization
Stabilization
Mission in the
Democratic Republic
of the Congo]
exercise, there was
no “declared
winner”. One
of the proposers,
whose financial
proposal was the
lowest, had been
issued a “notice of
consideration of
award”. The
award was subject to
successful contract
negotiations.
Unfortunately, no
contract was
concluded because
the UN technical
experts rescinded
the original
technical evaluation
of this vendor after
learning of
information which
rendered the
technical proposal
non-compliant.
Any suggestion of an
intention to enter
into 'sole source'
negotiations is not
correct."
Then after more
read-outs and
questions about the
expulsion of Russian
diplomats (Inner
City Press story
here), Haq called on
Inner City Press.
Video here. Here's
how the UN transcribed
it, intentionally
chopped -up,: Inner
City Press: I
have other stuff,
but I wanted… on the
answer that you're
reading to what I
asked on Friday, my
question, I guess,
is this. Is…
is… the… the… number
one, the low bidder
says that… that they
were subjected after
they were deemed to
be the low bidder,
if not awarded the
contract, to
additional checks
that the previous
winners had not been
subjected to,
namely, Leonardo and
Thales. The
main question… you
seem… maybe sole
source is the wrong
word. I've
been informed that
Mr. [Dmitri]
Dovgopoly has sought
permission from
Mr. Christian
Sau… Mr.… excuse…
Mr. Saunders to
inform the… the
losing bidders or
the higher bidders
of exactly how much
money the UN has to
pay for this
service, basically
instructing them on
how to submit a
winning bid so there
can be done by… by
November. And
it seems… that seems
wasteful.
Beyond whatever the
rights of the… of
the initially low
bidder was, it
doesn't seem to… way
to… to conduct
procurement is if
you're holding a
bidding one to say
here's how much
money we have; tell
us how you can spend
it. So, I
guess I… I don't
know if you're…
maybe you're reading
a statement, and I
wish it could have
been sent to me so I
could have… could
have narrowed down
the issue. But
it… there seems to
be irregularities in
the procurement of
these drones and…
and the main
question being, why
is the low bidder in
this case being
subjected to tests
that others weren't
submitted to?
Deputy
Spokesman:
Regarding what you
said, like I said,
the offer had been
rescinded after we
learned of
information which
rendered the
technical proposal
noncompliant.
And, regarding the
process, this is a
process that
involves procurement
and our Office for
Legal Affairs, who
have both reviewed
this matter.
Inner City
Press: And are
they informing the
bidders of how much
money there is for
them to bid for the
full amount, then?
Deputy
Spokesman:
This is as much as
I'll say about that
procurement process
at this stage."
Today's UN is
corrupt.
In this
case, Dovgopoly is
said to be lobbied
by European
interests, see the
list of bidders
above. As Inner City
Press
reported, the
UN drone program was
pushed by Herve
Ladsous, the fourth
of now five
Frenchmen in a row
to run UN
Peacekeeping.
Dovgopoly's
“ditch the winner”
campaign has
included two site
inspections and the
demand for a
demonstration flight
prior to deployment,
none of which was
performed with
Leonardo or Thales.
PPI tells Inner City
Press it agreed to
all demands and
began manufacturing
of aircraft with its
contractors.
Dovgopoly canceled
the demonstration
flight a month
later. The
manufacturing of
aircraft has been
suspended as a
result.
Dovgopoly
has
reportedly since
alleged that PPI
misrepresented a
relationship with
one of its proposed
vendors, which PPI
denies. Dovgopoly
has sent PPI notice
rescinding the
notice of
consideration for
award and requested
permission to
directly negotiate
with competitors due
to the urgent need
to provide MONUSCO
with airborne ISR
capability as soon
as possible. He has
requested permission
to inform vendors of
the allocated
budget, and allow
vendors to revise
their technical
proposals to
“accommodate the
financial
constraint.”
Inner
City Press
understands that the
UN's Headquarters
Committee on
Contracts has ruled
the losing
competitors' bids no
longer valid since
the Request For
Proposals was from
October 2016. It
seems Dovgopoly
wishes to discloses
how much money is
available and allow
vendors to inform
the UN services they
can perform and
dictate the price.
Paying more for
less! But it has
happened before, as
Inner City Press.
And now, under
Antonio Guterres.
We'll have more on
this.
***
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