At
UNDP, Ad Melkert's Political Hiring Rivals Wolfowitz's, World Bank Documents
Disclosed
Byline: Matthew Russell
Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, April 14 -- The World Bank
has released documents which show that Ad Melkert, then chairman of the World
Bank Ethics Committee and now Associate Administrator of the UN Development
Program, was, contrary to last week's claims deeply involved in the granting of
promotions and pay raises to Paul Wolfowitz' girlfriend Shaha Riza. Click
here
for the documents.
In last Saturday's edition of
the Financial Times, which has called for Wolfowitz' resignation,
Melkert's spokesman was
quoted
that it was "entirely up to management to determine the specific terms and
conditions of the placement" and that Melkert and the other members of the
ethics committee "were not aware of, nor did they approve, the details of the
agreement".
But a July 22, 2005 document since released by the World Bank
says
"The
Committee therefore decided that the best possible option to be conveyed to the
Requestor would be one in which the staff member concerned is reassigned on
external service or to a position beyond the potential supervision of the
Requestor and, at the same time, due to the potential disruption of the staff
member's concerned career, an in situ promotion should be considered.
This advice would be communicated by the Requestor to the Vice President, MNA
and the Vice President, Human Resources. The Committee believed this was an
appropriate course of action , especially since this matter could be
potentially damaging to the interests of the World Bank Group. It was agreed
that the Chairman would continue informal discussions with the Requestor with
the view to finding an appropriate solution to the matter."
Inner City Press understands that Mr.
Melkert and his spokesman, left unnamed by the FT, were last week presented with
a choice between accepting blame for the Riza raises or, in essence, throwing
Wolfowitz under the bus. Melkert not surprisingly chose the latter route,
apparently in the hopes that contrary documents would not be released, or would
emerge only after a Wolfowitz resignation. Melkert must also have hoped that no
one would consider his own unexplained human resources irregularities.
Prior to his time at the
World Bank, Ad Melkert was a
politician with the Dutch Labor Party. Having lost out to Kemal Devis to head
UNDP, Melkert took the slot as Dervis' second in command. Melkert was assigned an assistant, Georgina Fekete. This wasn't enough, so
brought into UNDP as Mr. Melkert's second assistant was Mr. Eelco Keij, who just
happens to be the New York secretary of the Dutch Labor Party. Click
here
for that, and
here for
Mr. Keij's Labor Party blog.
It was raised to Inner City Press
by UNDP staff that there are ethical issues with Mr. Melkert hiring with UNDP money, and
outside of the normal, competitive channels, the New York secretary of
the political party he used to serve. In March, Inner City Press directed an e-mail
requesting an explanation to Mr. Melkert, Mr. Keij, UNDP's spokesman David
Morrison, Administrator Kemal Dervis, and others, stating that the question was
on deadline. There was no response, even after the question was reiterated to
Mr. Melkert and Mr. Keij, and request was made at a subsequent UN noon briefing
on March 26 to
put the question to Mr. Melkert in person before or after he met with UN Deputy
Secretary General Migiro.
Ad
Melkert: living in a glass house
From the March 26 UN noon briefing
transcript:
Inner City
Press: And the other thing is: I noticed on the Deputy Secretary-General's
meeting with Ad Melkert of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) this
afternoon... I guess I want to know the purpose of that, and whether we could
speak to either or both of them before or after, given the North Korea-UNDP
situation, and we also have a question for the UNDP about some hiring by Mr.
Melkert. So, it would be very timely if you could at least put in a request for
a brief stakeout.
Deputy
Spokesperson: Sure.
Melkert declined to speak with the press that day. Two days later, Inner City
Press broke a story about UNDP senior officials being summoned to the U.S.
Attorney's Office in
UNDP's North Korea
hard currency and counterfeit scandal. Since then, including in response to
a detailed written request submitted to Melkert and others on April 12, Melkert
and his spokesman David Morrison have refused to comment not only on Melkert's
hiring of Eelco Keij of the Dutch Labor Party, and on developments in UNDP's
North Korea scandals, but also on UNDP's alleged support of controversial gold
mines in Romania and on
UNDP acceding to Gambia's president's mystification of HIV / AIDS.
Prior to this 2007 stonewalling from Melkert, he had previously tried to
position himself as a force for transparency within UNDP. In a December 15,
2006, press conference at the UN, Melkert answered Inner City Press that "I'd
like to bring our transparency in line with the UN procedure." This answer came
after UNDP had refused to provide copies or even summaries of audits of its
admittedly
troubled Russian Federation office,
and after Inner City Press
pointed out
that the UN Secretariat at least provides full copies to any of the 192 member
states which make a request. Mr. Melkert added, "That should be normal...
Talking about transparency, the best criteria for me is my own transparency..
I'm looking into that right now." Video
here,
from Minute 45:46.
Inner City Press inquired into a meeting Mr. Melkert held on December 1 with the
staff of UNDP's Poverty Group, concerning steps taken to bend or break UNDP
hiring rules. Having just referred to transparency, Mr. Melkert nevertheless
began with the "hope you are not going to ask me about all the meeting that I've
had." He continued that "for this exception case, yes, this First December
meeting, I was... It was a managerial decision to merge, it's my responsibility,
everybody can and should work with that. With respect to staff rules, we have
tried to make the best out of that."
UNDP's
hiring of Eelco Keij of the Dutch Labor Party is another example of Melkert
"making the best" of the UNDP rules -- that is, bending or breaking them, as is
alleged of Wolfowitz at the World Bank. While on December 15 confirming much of
what Inner City Press
sources have said
about the December 1 meeting, Melkert denied that he has told staff not to speak
to the press. Now he himself avoids the press, while dissembling through a
spokesman about his role in human resources irregularities at his previous
employer. Will it work? Time will tell.
Again, because a number of Inner City Press'
UN and World Bank
sources go out of their way to express commitment to serving the poor, and while
it should be unnecessary, Inner City Press is compelled to conclude this
installment in a necessarily-ongoing series by saluting the stated goals of the
UN system agencies and many of their staff. Keep those cards, letters and emails coming, and phone
calls too, we apologize for any phone tag, but please continue trying, and keep
the information flowing.
Feedback: Editorial
[at] innercitypress.com
UN Office: S-453A,
UN, NY 10017 USA Tel: 212-963-1439
Reporter's mobile
(and weekends): 718-716-3540
At UNDP, Hiring from Melkert's Dutch Labor Party,
Sudden Retirements and Consultancies
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at
the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, March 26 -- The UN
Development Program, which procures over $2.3 billion a year in goods and
services, is widely described as being run and managed by Ad Melkert, formerly a
politician with the Dutch Labor Party. As Assistant Administrator of UNDP, Mr.
Melkert was assigned an assistant, Georgina Fekete. This wasn't enough, so
brought into UNDP as Mr. Melkert's second assistant was Mr. Eelco Keij, who just
happens to be the New York secretary of the Dutch Labor Party. Click
here
for that, and
here for
Mr. Keij's Labor Party blog.
It was raised to Inner City Press that
there might be some issue, with Mr. Melkert hiring with UNDP money, and
seemingly outside of the normal, competitive channels, the New York secretary of
the political party he used to serve. And so Inner City Press directed an e-mail
requesting an explanation to Mr. Melkert, Mr. Keij, UNDP's spokesman David
Morrison, Administrator Kemal Dervis, and others, stating that the question was
on deadline. Still no response, even after the question was reiterated to
Mr. Melkert and Mr. Keij, and request was made at Monday's UN noon briefing to
put the question to Mr. Melkert in person before or after he met with Deputy
Secretary General Migiro on Monday afternoon.
Ad
Melkert: he's hiring
From Monday's noon briefing
transcript:
Inner City
Press: And the other thing is: I noticed on the Deputy Secretary-General's
meeting with Ad Melkert of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) this
afternoon... I guess I want to know the purpose of that, and whether we could
speak to either or both of them before or after, given the North Korea-UNDP
situation, and we also have a question for the UNDP about some hiring by Mr.
Melkert. So, it would be very timely if you could at least put in a request for
a brief stakeout.
Deputy
Spokesperson: Sure.
It was later explained to Inner City
Press that Ad Melkert's meeting with Deputy Secretary General Migiro concerned
the Millennium Development Goals, and not irregularities in hiring or the North
Korea audit. But as usual with UNDP, the silence was and is deafening: no Q&A
opportunity was provided, nor any response to the request for one, nor any
comment from the agency's spokesman.
Also
unanswered are questions about the March 23 retirement party of Luis Gomez-Echeverri,
which was announced to staff only two hours before it occurred, and a simple yes
or no question whether Nora Lustig, who abruptly left UNDP's Poverty Group, has
now got a UNDP consultant's contract. By seven p.m. deadline, there was no
response. All we can do is ask. This was sent:
Subj: Questions
on deadline re Eelco Keij, Luis Gomez-Echerverri, Nora Lustig, retaliation
Date: 3/25/2007
From: Inner
City Press
To:
david.morrison, ad.melkert, kemal.dervis [at] undp.org
CC: Eelco.Keij,
luis.gomez-echeverri [at] undp.org
Hello. Even
with numerous questions outstanding, these are a few, on deadline:
Please describe
the process and legitimacy of UNDP's hiring of Eelco Keij, NY secretary of the
Dutch Labor Party of which Mr. Melkert was leader, as second assistant to Mr.
Melkert at UNDP;
Please explain
the sudden retirement (party) for Luis Gomez-Echerverri;
Please confirm
or deny that Nora Lustig is now in line for a consulting contract with UNDP...
There were and are more questions. We
will have more on UNDP immanently.
On 4th Day of N. Korea Audit, UNDP Spins From Leaked
Minutes
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at
the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, March 22 -- As the delayed "urgent
audit" of the UN Development Program's operations in North Korea went into its
fourth day, UNDP spokesman David Morrison dismissed the leaked minutes of a
meeting of UN Operation Management Team in North Korea, which specifically asked
that cash payments in hard currency stop.
"We are clear on the record that we don't deal in cash," Mr. Morrison said.
Minutes of a December 8, 2005
meeting in Pyongyang involving local officials of UNDP and five other UN
agencies clearly stated that "CASH payments should be eliminated." Click
here to
view. While in the online version of the minutes, the names of meeting
participants were whited-out, Inner City Press today in this article, below,
publishes the names of operations managers. All of these individuals, each of
whom, unlike spokesman David Morrison, has direct knowledge of UN practices in
North Korea, has yet to be interviewed by the UN Board of Auditors.
Meanwhile, for two weeks after UNDP ostensibly ordered the suspension of its
operations in North Korea, staff members seconded by the Kim Jong Il government
were still allowed access to the computer files and ATLAS financial records
needed for the audit. As acknowledged Thursday by UNDP's Morrison, four such
seconded staff still have access to UNDP's computer system. These include
ostensible drivers, who according to published reporters cash checks into hard
currency, so such access may be hard to defend. Concerns about destruction of
and tampering with evidence have been raised to the agencies and to the
auditors. The response has been retaliation.
Dervis:
1st of 2 press conferences in 19 months
Since UNDP sent its spokesman
David Morrison to the UN's televised noon briefing on Thursday, Inner City Press
asked that he take questions on camera. From the
transcript:
Inner City
Press: I noticed the Spokesman for UNDP is here and I'm assuming this is about
these memos that have surfaced showing that requests were made earlier than
previously recorded about cash payments and seconded staff. Is he going to come
to the podium?
Spokesperson:
I understand that we do have Dave Morrison here and he is willing to take
questions. I actually don't know whether he is coming to the podium but we do
have a guest first. So, maybe you can talk to him immediately after the
briefing....
...Inner City
Press: I guess I just want to say on the UNDP thing, it will work much better
that Morrison come to the podium, whatever we're calling it, just because on
procurement, I know that you did... by Friday, they came, but they did it in the
hall and today they’re coming back. So it just seems it’s just more efficient
to just do it on the record or whatever.
Spokesperson:
Okay, well let's ask him after we finish.
Despite a second request, David Morrison
declined to speak on camera, but rather waited in the hall. At 1 p.m., Inner
City Press asked him if UNDP fires or suspends staff for providing documents to
the press. Mr. Morrison responded, "I don't know, I don't know enough about the
intricacies of UNDP's human resources policy.... I can look into it." Ten hours
later, no information had been provided.
During
those ten hours, UNDP management continued on what staff describe as a "witch
hunt," demanding to know who has spoken to the media, to Inner City Press, by
name. Ban Ki-moon has spoken of transparency and of rooting out corruption.
Suspending and threatening to retaliate against those who blow the whistle on
irregularities is inconsistent with this -- it is "criminal," in the words of
one UNDP staff member.
The local UN staff in North
Korea raised their concerns about cash payments and seconded staff to the UN's
Resident Coordinator Timo Pakkala in
January 2006.
Thursday Inner City Press asked David Morrison how and when
this information
was conveyed further up inside UNDP. "I don't know what is our standard
procedure with minutes of country team meetings," he said. "Can we find out?"
There was no answer. Meanwhile, the practice is that minutes of country team
meetings go to Regional Directors of each UN Country Team member -- in the case
of UNDP, to Hafiz Pasha.
Inner City Press is told that the warning
was conveyed to officials including UNDP Director of Finance Darshak Shah, to
Treasurer Julie Anne Mejia and to Jan Mattsson, the head then of UNDP's Bureau
of Management and now the Executive Director of UNOPS. Thursday, Inner City
Press asked again that UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis take questions. Morrison
said that he is the spokesman, and that "Kemal Dervis, as I think is
established, meets with the press on a very regular basis."
At UN
headquarters, Dervis last took questions in December 2006, before this North
Korea scandal broke, and before that not for sixteen months. Even to the UNDP
Executive Board session about the North Korea issues, Dervis did not appear.
Sources say that Dervis will not last long on the job. But the scandal will not
go away.
The attendees of the December 8, 2005 meeting in
Pyongyang, calling for reform:
Wannee
Piyabongkarm (WFP);
Lorraine Lamtey (WFP); Tony Shkurtaj (UNDP), Charles Lolika (UNICEF); Toe oung (WFP);
Umesh Gupta (WHO); Withers U (UNFPA).
Developing...
As Audit Starts in NY, UNDP Management Official
Leaves Town, Sale-of-Jobs Questions Left Unanswered
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at
the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, March 19 -- As the
delayed
"urgent audit" of North Korea programs
called for by Ban Ki-moon on January 19
begins today at the UN Development Program, the director of UNDP's Bureau of
Management Akiko Yuge has conveniently left town, internal UNDP e-mails obtained
by Inner City Press show.
Sources say that UNDP's legal chief James
Provenzano and finance director Darshak Shah may also have left. (Since UNDP no
longer answers even basic questions, this cannot be confirmed. As to Ms. Yuge,
see the intra-UNDP email below.)
Mr. Shah and Ms. Yuge were among the six UNDP officials to whom the Executive
Secretary of the UN Board of Auditors, Swatantra Goolsarran, sent his
March 1 memo scoping out the audit
including requested interviews, their absence from headquarters during the audit
has raised questions about staff. So has the fact that the scope of audit memo
was not sent to UNDP's Asia chief, Hafiz Pasha, but only to his ostensible
deputy, David Lockwood. The credibility of the audit is increasingly doubted by
knowledgeable sources inside UNDP.
UNDP's large but recently
lethargic (at least on this issue) communications office has not helped dispel
the doubts. A series of questions about the audit and UNDP's North Korea program
have done unanswered. Even two non-North Korea questions asked on camera then in
writing last week, regarding UNDP's reported support of a gold mine in Romania
and the selling of jobs and promotions alleged by UNDP staffers, have been
entirely ignored. UNDP's David Morrison was asked these questions at the March
13 noon briefing filmed by UN TV, click
here
for video, from minute 40:30 to 42:39.
Inner City Press followed this up with an email:
Subj: Follow-up
to today's UN noon briefing, & some long-outstanding questions, thanks
Date: 3/13/2007
2:05:40 PM Eastern Standard Time
To:
david.morrison [at] undp.org, ad.melkert [at] undp.org, kemal.dervis [at]
undp.org
CC: [cc's
deleted in this format]
From: Inner
City Press
Hello -- This
follows up on questions asked at today's UN noon briefing. On deadline, need a
yes or no answer on whether the previous head of the Department of Management
ever imposed conditions appointments or promotion (or in cases of demotion /
re-classification downward). We are told that this was sometimes explained as
being akin to a "headhunter's fee."
Because we
are on deadline, we are also cc-ing some of the individuals, who we have been
told may on this question have knowledge. [Ed.'s note: cc's deleted in
this format.]
I am attaching
for your comment and explanation three documents concerning the controversy
regarding UNDP's position on, and involvement in, gold mining project in
Romania. Also, a breakdown of the $10.88 million you cited today, and your
response to Ben's question about the $151 million figure in OCHA's consolidated
appeal. I am pasting below yesterday's reminder email, and note that a long-ago
asked question -- how many people work for UNDP? -- message, which included
other still-unanswered questions, pasted below -- has yet to be answered. Ad
Melkert is cc-ed because he indicated such answers would become faster.
And again, we
believe that Mr. Dervis as Administrator should come and give a briefing in
226, given the issues that have been raised.
Still, no response whatsoever. Therefore, for now,
here is an edited version of one of the UNDP staff complaints that has been
directed to Inner City Press, despite David Morrison's counter-story that
procedures and whistle-blower protections exist in UNDP such that no one should
go to the press:
Subject: Re:
Attn: Mr. Matthew Russell Lee
Date: 3/2007 [Date and time omitted due to last line of 2d email, below]
From: [Name withheld, entitled to all whistle-blower protections]
To: Inner City Press
...on jobs for
favors first. I know some people to whom Brian Gleeson offered promotions or
appointments in exchange of the cash equivalent of the first salary. He
mentioned this option to me as well when my post was re-classified downwards. I
pretended it was a joke, but afterwards the relations became very strained. For
quite some time I was kind of sidelined...
Then --
Subject: Re:
Attn: Mr. Matthew Russell Lee - many thanks, some [follow-up] questions
Date: 3/2007 [Date and time omitted due to last line of this email]
From: [Name withheld, entitled to all whistle-blower protections]
To: Inner City Press
...Usually
$10,000 or first salary. Brian was quoted to say that as UNDP was becoming
corporate-like, it would be normal to charge as head hunter agency would charge.
...Our I.T.
manager said that the management could track what we do on the Internet at any
instant. So much for our rights, which could be another topic for you to
explore.
Yes, that will be another topic. And on the
Romania gold mine controversy, we have tried another route, which we hope will
soon bear fruit, at least a response of some sort. But why would UNDP made no
response at all for six days to questions about these sale of jobs and
promotions allegations, questions raised in a formal UN-televised press briefing
and then also in writing, with additional names provided?
This was sent out, Friday after close of business:
From:
Bernadette Jones
Sent: Mar 16,
2007 18:10
Subject: O-I-C
of BOM
Dear All,
This is to
advise that Ms. Akiko Yuge will be away from Headquarters from 18 to 31 March
2007, inclusive. During her absence Ms. Jocelline Bazile-Finley will be the
Officer-in-Charge of the Bureau of Management. Please also note that Ms. Bazile-Finley
is the Acting Chief Procurement Officer for this period.
Thank you
Bernadette
Jones , Executive Assistant to the Assistant Administrator and Director, Bureau
of Management
We will have more about UNDP's
procurement. But why would UNDP send its new director of Management, Brian
Gleeson's successor, away from headquarters precisely during the two week New
York period of the "urgent audit" of UNDP's management of its North Korea
program? Questions, questions...
Other, earlier Inner
City Press are listed here, and
some are available in the ProQuest service.
Copyright 2006 Inner City Press, Inc. To request
reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com -
UN Office: S-453A,
UN, NY 10017 USA Tel: 212-963-1439
Reporter's mobile
(and weekends): 718-716-3540