At
UN,
Kane
Dismissive of
Loss of Public
Park, van
Essche PHP
Irregularities
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 11 --
In the current
UN system,
even when
wrongdoing
by high level
officials is
documented,
there is
little to no
accountability,
no matter the
cost.
The
UN's ill-defined
"UMOJA"
program is
now
over-budget
and two years
behind,
attributable
to Paul
van Essche,
until recently
its director.
On
Tuesday Inner
City Press
asked Angela
Kane,
currently the
UN's top
management
official, if
it was true
that van
Essche merely
"declined not
to
seek renewal
his contract,"
as the UN has
described it,
or
rather was
told to leave
after irregularities
were found
even his
resume or PHP,
in UN
parlance.
Kane,
who until
recently was
the Chair of
the Steering
Committee on
Umoja,
insisted
twice that
this was
wrong, and
said she never
saw van
Essche's PHP.
Inner City
Press asked
her about, and
now
puts online, a
review of
van Essche's
PHP, here.
Where is the
accountability?
Kane,
Ban Ki-moon
& DSG
Asha-Rose
Migiro,
accountability
to UMOJA not
shown
In
other answers,
Kane said the
UN had no
knowledge
until it was
published of
the
Memorandum of
Understanding
between the
City, State
and UN
Development
Corporation to
construct an
office
building for
UN use on
what is now a
playground on
41st Street.
Inner
City Press
asked Kane for
the UN
response to
neighborhood
complaints
that a
playground and
open space
would be lost.
Kane
replied that
her
concern was to
find office
space for the
UN, which
otherwise
would
have to built
on the UN's
Lawn -- which
it should be
noted,
neighborhood
residents are
not allowed to
access or use.
And so it
goes at the
UN.
Footnote:
Kane's
budgetary
answers
referred
repeatedly to
currency
exchange
rates, for
example for
the Swiss
franc.
Also
in the news
Tuesday was
Hungary's
decision to
allow its
citizen's to
repay
mortgages to
largely
foreign banks
at a low
exchange rate,
leading to
legal
challenges.
Hungary is
standing for
election to
the Security
Council,
opposed by
Azerbaijan and
Slovenia.
Hungary's
spunky
approach might
be interesting
on the
Council. But
that's another
story - watch
this
site.
, 
