THE UN IS AT IT AGAIN!

Originally posted here

The United Nations is managing Somalia without any apparent accountability mechanisms in place.



Since the collapse of the governmental structures and the ensuing civil strife centered in Mogadishu, the UN has been providing humanitarian assistance to the suffering Somali people. The UN has been doing much more than the provision of food supplies to Somalia. Through its budgetary allocations, fundraising campaigns, administering of ear-marked resources and co-managing of programs , the Un has become the dominant player of the Somali state of affairs. The Special Representative of the Secretary General, one Ahmed Ould Abdalla, has in effect become the colonial governor of the country. In some critical aspects he has been acting more than a mere colonial governor. A case in point is his audacious recent attempt to redraw the boundaries of the country. His brazen attempt was to transfer a potential rich portion of the territorial waters of the country to Kenya. The Transitional Federal Parliament has refused to ratify the agreement. However we have not heard the last on this bizarre escapade.



Be that as it may, there are more pertinent examples of damaging UN interventions and activities. International observers accused the Somali government of being the most corrupt state. The UN, or at least its officials, is part of the intricate web of the massive and blatant misuse of resources. The report of the UN monitoring committee which was set up to monitor arm shipment to the country has portrayed the extent of corruption in the distribution of the humanitarian food supplies. Somali transporters have been accused of instances of overcharging and paying protection money to some militias . Some UN officials are also blamed but the facts on the ground suggest that the UN involvement in the pervasive malpractices are massive and unconscionable. Only an assessment by an external auditor or independent commission will be able to map out the extent and scope of corruption perpetrated by UN officials.



Another example is the institutionalized misuse of Somali resources by a UN agency responsible for international civil aviation. Since the collapse of the Somali state that UN agency has been collecting fees paid by the internal airlines that use the Somali airspace. It is one of the few source of revenue for the national budget but it disappears in a UN black hole in Nairobi. The large bureaucracy which is stationed in Nairobi and which consumes shamelessly a very high percentage of the resources purportedly allocated to meet Somalia’s needs is yet another example of the misuse and blunder by the UN.



The UN in its self-serving seminars and workshops on good governance consistently preaches the virtues of transparency and accountability. The actions and behavior of UN officials are rarely in line with those valued attributes. A current case in point is a contract that has been awarded by the UNDP to educate the Somali public on a draft constitution. A lot has been expended on the drafting on the constitution. International experts were hired. Many meetings were held by UN selected groups. Discussions were held with some Somali government officials. The whole exercise has been authored and micro-managed by the UN. Now the time has come to educate the Somali people on the values of the constitution and its unique attributes. Now has come the moment of realization to contract out the educating exercise to media outlets. For that purpose the UNDP has hired a South African firm as a consultant. A couple of Somali media specialists have been recruited. Advertisements were placed in the Kenyan media specifying the nature of the educating programs. A budget of $7 million has been allocated and authorized for publicizing the draft constitution.



A joint –venture of three Somali firms has submitted a bid for the contract. The joint-venture is led by Universal TV which as far as is known is not a registered firm, has no offices, no salaried staff or equipment to be a credible outlet to deliver the required programs. Universal does not have the offices it claims , does not possess the sophisticated equipments it claims to own , has none of the qualified staff it claims it claims to have in its payroll. It appears that the contract is being awarded to an entity which does not have the requisite resources or capacity. What this appears to be is a scheme to use the allocated resources for other purposes. Contrary to UN principals and practices, there is nothing transparent about the project. Suffice it to say that the UN IS AT IT AGAIN.

Open Letter to H.E. Amb. Ahmed Ould-Abadallah

Open Letter to H.E. Amb. Ahmed Ould-Abadallah outgoing UN Special Envoy for Somalia


Copy: H.E. Amb. Augustine Mahiga, newly appointed UN Special Envoy for Somalia

By Dr. Jama Keenadid ( Bood Boode)

June 19, 2010

As a concerned Somali-African citizen that know you have served my people and my country well, I take this opportunity to thank you, on behalf of the Somali intellectual community for the extraordinary role , tireless efforts and tremendous sacrifices during your tenure as United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Somalia. The statesmanship, courage as well as determinations and indeed outstanding skills and leadership you had demonstrated in trying your very best to help establish a Somali government that is sovereign and one that should come back to the family of nations are commendable.

Ahmed Ould Augustine Mahiga

Unfortunately the forces against your efforts and the very momentum and level of advanced conspiracies and sophisticated and well orchestrated manipulation to keep Somalia and Somalis in the dark were indeed beyond your control thus the unfortunate fate of Somalia as we see and know it today. And status quo that succeeded in keeping the situation worse every day. Needless to mention, one of the most destructive institutions that had and have no interest in changing the status quo for the better is non but personalities and management of some of the United Nations organizations, primarily the leadership/management team of UNDP-Somalia in particular. The goodwill resources entrusted to many aid organizations and especially UNDP-Somalia were used to effectively destroy any hope for post 1991 Somalia as a nation. And sabotage your efforts as Special Envoy, and they will do to the next Envoy. Most of international aid’s rampant and free-hand chronic corruption, sabotaging every possible opportunity for Somalia and Somalis to recover politically, strategically and security-wise was perhaps the only determination of the UNDP-Somalia management teams sacred duty for the last 20 years and still ongoing. To do this effectively, UNDP-Somalia with endless money has been hand-picking install bogus cycles of TFG with incompetent and irresponsible Somali so called leaders. It is the international community who insist that illiterate and uneducated Somalia run the Somalia show for them. How else could a nation remain so solved for 20 years? In the worst case, imagine if no one interfered in Somalia. Whether the extremists win or not, the dust would settle. Somalis have no shortage of esteemed , seasoned and leaders of high caliber. Every one of them has been weeded out by the Nairobi based international aid community lead by UNDP-Somalia, and by Ethiopia and Kenya whose goal is obvious.

As a Somali intellectual, and one indeed whom Al-Shabab would slit his throat today if I return to Somalia, I can tell you that in fact for better or for worse they I believe that they would be better than these recycled TFG stooges. They made peace where they govern. Peace at any cost is better than no peace at any cost. The international community lead by UNDP-Somalia is investing at no peace at any cost. This must change in the new tenure of the new Envoy. Al-Shabab is already in power in Somalia, why does the international community dismiss that they have learned or will learn their lessons and indeed change course and indeed go against global Al-Qaida?. Government policies change. Why would Al-Shabab not change for the better? Al-Shabab can change if they get the opportunity to get total power. They can be partner in dealing with Al-Qaeda in Africa. The International community does business with Saudi Arabia, the epicenter of Jihadism and the mother and father of Taliban and where 90% of funds now come from for Al-Shabab and other Islamic extremists all over the world. I took arms against the early Islamists in Somalia and continue to do so to this date. But, I have realized that indeed, the international community is part and parcel indirectly responsible of the making and engineering of Islamic extremism in the Horn of Africa. The international community has approved negotiating with the Taliban. Why not with Somali Islamists? The reason is simple: Kenya and Ethiopia want Somalia in ruins for ever and have no interest in a Somalia in one piece and in peace. They have taken over the economical, political and natural resources of Somalia already. With Al-Shabab in power, they will and can never do that. Wise men said only fools don’t change their minds. Al-Shabab can, and are more reliable than the TFG who has never kept one word. Who starve their own soldiers who steal left and right and where each and every one of them has one ambition. The pocket game, in concert with UNDP.

There is ample proof that UNDP-Somalia conveniently as well as confidently being in control rejected every possible hope and projects that would have helped curb corruption, sidelined every possible project that would have significantly enhanced life in peaceful areas of Somalia (especially Somaliland) and every possible project that would have significantly contributed to the security efforts of unstable regions of Somalia. Instead, wasting millions on irrelevant projects and programs that facilitate corruption and rampant misuse of public funds entrusted to them for 20 years and counting. Spraying funds on projects that have no real , durable impact on the livelihoods of the Somali people. And worse, the UNDP team team has evolved to be one of the most dangerous pact of human beings who use money to buy off corrupt Somalis to sign off and rubber stamp for them what ever they as the team want and decide for Somalia as long as it serves the strategic and personal interest of the UNDP-Somalia management team whose focus was and remains their personal interest including being part of Somalia’s competing power system. Indeed, as you know UNDP-Somalia has been often the main force suspected of being behind the coordinated ejection of Somalia’s elite, educated and talented forcing many flee following the unexplained assassinations of many Somali engineers, scientists and high caliber professionals over the last 20 years inside Somalia and around the Horn of African region. UNDP-Somalia is also in bed with various Somali TV and radio media to avoid criticism, effectively buying them off by way of bribing them with millions of dollars on fake ‘ Somali HIV, constitution and etc awareness ’ projects. Projects that would normally be 5 minute episodes that would cost $2000.00, instead UNDP-Somalia pays these 5 minute radio and TV episodes more than $7.0 Million. Does any one believe that the money was for good purpose? No. It is a hush money to keep the media out of the UNDP-Somalia and international aid criticism. There is also proof that UNDP conspired to and engaged in the character assassination of several prominent Somali scientists, accountants and indeed development specialists. Some of whom have taken their case to the United Nations Head Office and the Office of Accountability as well as the United Nations Auditors office in South Africa.

The second counter-current force in the Somali problem was the Somali leaders themselves. Sarcastically and derisively cruel, seemingly in effective most of them as rampant hallucinating Qat chewers who have least clue of governance and the fundamental statues of statesmanship. In all cases, the UNDP-Somalia had major hand in shaping Somalia’s leadership by way of managing funding many sterile conferences and many believe most of the incompetent and corrupt Somali leaders were drafted and put into high positions with the help of UNDP-Somalia’s guidance and who remained under UNDP-Somalia’s financial dependence and therefore direct control , could not lead a sovereign nation and had no hope of building a Somalia that will stand on it’s feet. They neither had/have the capacity nor intent to change the situation. Somalia is under the seage of coordinated international community and that of it’s neighbors. In fact, Somalis alone if left alone can even defeat Al-Shabab. If the international community stops supporting this fake TFG and if AMISOM is removed, there will be a big wind of dust but the dust will settle for sure.

The third element is a mixed bag: The Somali business community has been, undoubtedly the lifeline of ordinary Somalis at large. However, what is debatable is indeed whether they contributed to the sustained lawlessness and lack of regulations, legislations and dissolution of state organizations existence. And worse, as you know some of these were the hands and legs of corruption industry that was fueled by UNDP-Somalia as has been reported many times including some of the United Nations investigators at large. The business sector of Somalia thrived at the expense of whole sale liquidation of the nation. Lack of consumer protection bodies resulted in the sales of expired and contaminated foods, medicines and indeed many dangerous supplies unfit for human consumption as well as the business of human parts trafficking and arms sales as well as WFP food aid misuse. Telecommunications, while very helpful, also remained the backbone of conflict sustenance and as one of the most destructive infrastructure utilized by warring factions. Similarly, money transferring facilities while the lifeline of ordinary Somalis, had the side effect of becoming the lifeline for the warring factions as well without which war could not have been sustained for so long . UNDP did everything it could to support effective central banking in Somalia and other regions including Puntland and Somaliland. Indeed as recently as the last Somalia’s UN summit in Istanbul, the most prominent Somali business community representatives were the very ones that rendered Somalia beyond repair, those who were benefiting from WFP and UNDP’s Somalia remains and who indeed facilitated the sophisticated and organized criminal looting of Somalia’s sovereignty at the hands of WFP, UNDP and other international aid organizations in Kenya. What remains not a mystery is how these business tycoons who were proxy to Somalia’s demise were selected to represent Somali business community. The only explanation is the fact that they represented UNDP and WFP as shadow men and women.

Unfortunately the last but not least heavyweight players of Somalia’s demise remains the countries of Kenya , Uganda and Ethiopia who remain the lion’s share beneficiaries of Somalia’s hopeless disintegration. No intelligent Somali doubts Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda’s irresponsible interference and exploitation of the disintegration of Somalia.

At the backdrop of these words of mine, by copy of this email, it is my intention to impress on the newly appointed United Nations Special Envoy to Somalia, Ambassador Augustine Mahiga to take serious note of these facts and take great heed in correcting these contributing factors to the demise of Somalia. One of the key priority steps for you tenure and efforts for Somalia’s reconstitution and resurrection as a nation , kindly find the following suggested notes, comments and issues discussed below.

1.Decentralization of Somalia’s international aid groups. This by way of moving 90% of the aid agencies to other regions in Somalia where peace is prevalent. This is Somaliland and Puntland. Indeed, if these agencies generate fictitious excuses that they will not move out of Nairobi, the next alternative should be that they move and dispersed to Djibouti, Ethiopia and Yemen which are closer to the majority of geographic proximity to Somalia than Kenya. Kenya’s laws are not effective against corruption and that was and remains the only reason why 100% of Somalia’s aid machinery drivers in particular the UNDP-Somalia finds it a convenient corruption safe-haven in Kenya. These agencies should therefore be distributed between Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya where corruption laws are tougher and Ethiopian being the toughest, that is where UNDP-Somalia should move with an office close to Somaliland-Ethiopia border area and new management appointed. In the event these Nairobi based aid agencies refuse to move to these safe countries and safe regions of Somalia, - Your Excellency, it is time to dissolve the Somalia Aid mafia in Kenya and delegate the existing aid organizations in Ethiopia, Djibouti and Yemen and all Somalia funds transferred to the UN bodies in these three countries. The current management of UNDP-Somalia should be formally put under serious criminal investigation.

2.All projects that are not related to durable infrastructures, direct health and education projects and production of food should be cancelled at once and immediately. In particular funds earmarked for reconciliations, travels for the TFG and the recent $7-10.0 Million dollars earmarked for the fake and corrupt UNDP-Somalia’s constitutional awareness project costs should be scraped. It is pointless to waste money on a constitution whose government cannot and will not control a few blocks. The rebels have already banned the application of the so called constitution awareness media projects, and Al-Shabab has already banned the so called “Constitutional awareness” project that UNDP-Somalia has earmarked more the above mentioned $7-10.0 Million dollars. Since Al-Shabab has banned listening of radio programs about the constitution, is this not an outright robbery of public funds? . Unless the media who were contracted to run the $7-10.0 million dollar for 5 minute radio programs can prove that Al-Shabab and others have not banned radio stations from broadcasting constitutional awareness programs, this project must be suspended and the money used to buy badly needed medicines and food for Somalia’s 100,000 orphans living inside Somalia and the money should be given to Islamic charities helping these children .


3.All major projects costing more than $100,000.00 should be suspended and a new code of conduct for international aid groups to operate should include mandatory requirement for approval of the respective regional impact parliament (TFG, Puntland, Somaliland) for any project over $100,000.00 . And every organization should be required to spend 90% of resources on infrastructure development inside Somalia as a matter of law, this if the sounds of helping Somalia is serious.

4.Other than the Office of the President, the Prime Minister , Ministries of national security, Defense and Foreign Affairs, all other social development ministries should be moved to Puntland State of Somalia’s Galkayo city to accelerate public service delivery expansion towards the South. The Idle Somali military forces in Mogadishu should be moved to Galkayo to defend these ministries as supplementary contingent taking direct orders from Ahlu-Sunna WalJamai commanders and liberate the areas between Galkayo and Beletweyn from the rebels as an initial phase of clean-up. AMISOM should remain in Mogadishu to continue as body guards of the rest of government ministers and the President in Mogadishu. And they need to stop shelling the Somali civilian population as retaliation against rebel attacks. Otherwise, since the Somali government boasts they have 10,000 trained soldiers facing 2000 rebels, AMISOM should hand over the military equipment to the Somali government and must be evacuated back to Uganda and Burundi. What is the military logic of not relying on 10,000 soldiers in one city? Who cannot defend even themselves? The only explanation is that the TFG does not want to change the situation and the international community is also not interested in Somalia’s recovery but uses as a humble toy to play with year in/out.

5.Somali territorial Unity should be considered as a fundamental Somali and regional Africa security matter. A divided Somalia into fiefdoms and warlord-lands as well as secessionist-lands is nothing but a strategic partition of Somalia and exploitation of Somalia by Ethiopia and Kenya and the aid groups. Indeed, at the highest level, if the United Nations wants to promote peace in Africa, it should promote a United States of Africa as one nation, one people with colonial borders dissolved. That is the best short cut to accelerate peace in Africa. No other single effort will ever bring peace in Africa. But, many of us know the effort to keep Africa devided and Africans quarrel on colonial borders is an employment generation scheme for many including the United Nations and emergency aid groups who cultivate and support Africa’s dictators.

6.The UN as well as the international donor community needs to seriously assess the viability of Mogadishu as the capital city of Somalia. Beletweyn is a strategic and seemingly resourceful city and region that can be considered as a serious candidate as the next Somali capital and 5 year rotations should be considered for all major Somali cities .

7.One of the devastating problems of Somalia is indeed the negative impact of Qat, the green leaf Somalis chew. Al-Shabab, for all it’s misgivings should be commended for trying to ban this deadly drug. Since it is seriously un-Islamic to chew this drug, Ethiopia and Kenya should refrain exporting this drug and the Somali business involved in importing this drug into Somalia should be punished under Islamic law, and nothing less than public execution of Qat traders just it is in Saudi Arabia, the home of Islam. As the new Envoy, helping stop Qat in Somalia must be your 1st direct order. Without stopping the flow of Qat in Somalia it is impossible to create a Somali government and impossible to rebuild Somalia. Addicts and alcoholics cannot run a government nor can they fight.

8.However naïve and indeed strange many might seem to think, Somalia at this time and state of affairs cannot be governed by a civilian secular government. In the modern history times, no civilian government has defeated religious extremists. Somalia can only be saved by a potent and effective and well supported military government or indeed a well supported moderate Islamic military force. Al-Shabab and Hizb-Islam are military organizations. A weak, in effective Somali civilian government has no hope whatsoever to defeat these extremists. The international community should stop daydreaming about democracy and stop wasting millions on constitution writing for Somalia. The funds should be used to support to defeat these ruthless machinery of deceit and destruction, misusing Islam. As said however, I give them credit for trying to stop Qat and creating some peace where they govern, however heavy handed. Yet, to defeat them a potent military government or an Islamic government such as Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca is the only hope. Pumping money into the current government is not only a waste, it is counterproductive. In summary, the international community needs to either negotiate with Al-Shabab so that they don’t have to seek help from Al-Qaeda and they can denounce Al-Qaeda if properly and diplomatically handled. Or, if that is a taboo, then build a potent Military government in Somalia with the necessary fire power to neutralize Al-Shabab’s military strength. All that is need is to establish an effective Somali command and well fed and well paid soldiers that do not chew Qat. Within 90 days, Al-Shaba and other extremists will be history in Somalia. And Ethiopia as well as Kenya will behave as good neighbors, that they will respect. I believe this is one of the effective short cuts to revive Somalia. The other option being negotiate with AL-Shabab just as it is being done with Taliban and the Iraqi Sunni Insurgents.

9.Training of Somali militia’s in Uganda must be stopped. Many Somali leaders including prominent ministry of defense officers of Somalia are on record seriously disapproving it, rejecting it and calling for the cancelation of this scheme which is non but another mask for corruption. The officers who disapproved Uganda’s trainings were last forced to resign under the direct orders of the President and the Prime Minister. Because these 500 heavily equipped AMISOM are non but body guards for the President and the Prime Minister and paid $3.0 million dollars per month. The most expensive body guards in the world. They are not peace keepers. Just body guard Mercenaries.

10.Somalia’s foreign embassies should be assigned with educated and competent professionals. In particular, the Somali Embassy in Kenya is far overdue for a cleanup.

11.There are too many aid organizations pretending working for Somalia. Most of them need to shut down. It costs too much for the international community. In fact, the only UN organizations that should work in Somalia is those that directly help the Somali people in health, education, infrastructure building and law enforcement. Indeed, one of the most competent and able UN organizations is the UN organizations helping and involved to some extent, on piracy issues. It is a small UN organization based in Nairobi. For concern of UNDP-Somalia retaliation against this small organization that has done much, I will refrain from disclosing their name here.

12.Somali refugees in Kenya must be relocated back to Somalia. It is nothing but an organized scheme by the government of Kenya to milk millions off of the international community and non but a job security for UNHCR Kenya’s bosses. Somalis always have a place to return. Their tribal lands. The international community needs to close these camps effectively and help create livelihood programs in the respective tribal lands of each Somali family. Indeed, where Al-Shabab rules, there is some peace.

13.Finally, the UNPOS in Nairobi is populated with a few irresponsible opportunists that have been an embarrassment to the current Envoy. Only recently has been added with a good staff member who was relocated from NY. He is a very competent UN officer of Japanese decent I was told . As the new UNPOS boss, you will need a clean table. Get new staff untainted by the status quo of Somalia’s sad saga. The current staff is and remains part of the UNPOS failures.

Wishing you all the best, we Somali-African intellectuals remain eternally indebted to your honest efforts to try resurrect Somalia out of the ashes. For the new Envoy, we welcome him provided he avoid the many pitfalls and conspiracies that remain thorny and difficult to break it’s backs. And one last advise for the new Envoy. Please remember that racism in the aid industry is rampant. Yourself as a black African, the UNDP-Somalia folks remain least concerned and least respecting for any competent black African leader. They will intentionally, directly and indirectly sabotage and ignore your guidance and indeed do all they can to put your fate in the same black-hole as they did to the outgoing Envoy. The only cure to such prejudice is to populate the African aid human resource with African professionals with integrity and skills necessary to do better than folks now steering aid business in Somalia and Africa at large.



Sincerely,

Dr. J. Keenadiid.

Email: Keenadiid86@hotmail.com



______________________



Dr. J. Keenadiid was formal Somali government senior civil servant, Ministry of Foreign Affairs .

UNDP Cleared of smuggling diamonds, but . . .

Towards the end of 2005 I was contacted and subsequently met with a rather odd individual who accounted a number of very strange stories regarding his experiences with UNDP. This person did not reveal his identity and when asked if he had any documentation or could provide anybody to corroborate his allegations, claimed that he did have such things but would not share it, since this is all “death sentence sort of stuff.”

It also transpired that he was not concerned with the illegality of what he was doing but rather with the fact that he was not earning the percentages that he thought to be entitled to.

“Every time I complained I was given $5 000.00 and told not to make waves.”

He seemed to believe that since I had authored a book on UNDP corruption that I may have some influence in getting people like him get paid more reasonably.

“It is regular UNDP staff that benefit the most, rather than the people who take the risks.”

His stories revolved around gold and diamond smuggling, arms deals, interference in the democratic processes within countries, amongst other things.

He was either deluded, or a somewhat naïve small time hood, caught up in processes that he did not fully understand. The thing that gave his account some credibility was the fact that in order to have made these things up would have required some degree of competence and understanding of the relevant issues. This person did not display such a capacity.

He accepted the notion of Africa as a continent that could and should be exploited by any means as a given fact.

He mentioned a number of African countries where he worked. Zimbabwe was one of them.

It was with this individual in mind that I started following allegations of UNDP involvement in diamond smuggling in Zimbabwe that broke in 2007.

The last item that appeared was this article:
Zimbabwe: River Ranch Cleared of Smuggling But . . .
Financial Gazette (Harare)
22 November 2007
Posted to the web 22 November 2007
Clemence Manyukwe
Harare
THE Kimberly Process (KP) has released a long awaited report exonerating River Ranch mine in Beitbridge, against which allegations of diamond smuggling had been levelled, of any wrongdoing.
But the report, which says no evidence was found to support the allegations, has fuelled further controversy.
A seven-member team that probed allegations that vehicles registered under the Zimbabwean office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) had been used to smuggle diamonds from River Ranch prepared the report, presented to Cabinet on Tuesday.
Bubye Minerals, which is locked in an acrimonious ownership wrangle with River Ranch Limited, was among those accusing it of smuggling.
In exonerating River Ranch and the UNDP, the report quotes Bubye Minerals lawyer Terrence Hussein as telling the investigating team that there was no smuggling of diamonds.
However, Hussein disputes this.
The report says: "The lawyer acting on behalf of Bubye Minerals later denied having said that a UNDP vehicle was ever involved. The UNDP representative believes that no employees of the organisation were ever involved in diamond smuggling. The allegations referred to have furthermore never been substantiated by the sources, neither have they been substantiated by any other available information."
In a letter addressed to KP chairperson Karel Kovander, Hussein said the investigating team refused to meet either him or his clients for purposes of receiving proof of the alleged smuggling and statements in the report to the effect that he had said no smuggling was taking place surprised him.
In June, Sergei Oulin, who headed the team, said he did not meet Bubye Minerals officials or Hussein because that would have been extending his activities beyond his mandate.
"At no time and in no manner have I ever denied that the UN vehicles were involved at River Ranch diamond mine . . . I request as a matter of urgency that you delete the false representation that is attributed to me as regards the UN vehicles and/or afford the readers of your report the benefit of my side of the story," Hussein told Kovander.
In addition, he had complained to United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon about the conduct of UNDP resident representative in Zimbabwe, Augustino Zacharias.
Adel Farquhar, a Bubye Minerals director, has also written to Kovander, calling on him to resign after complaining about the false impression given by the report that she and other officials at her company had denied that there was smuggling at River Ranch.
She wondered why the KP could say there was no smuggling after only hearing evidence from those accused of misconduct -- the UNDP and River Ranch Limited -- without getting Bubye Minerals' side of the story Farquhar said besides refusing to meet Bubye Minerals, the probe team did not a visit the Central Vehicle Registry where it would have accessed proof that UNDP vehicles were involved in the racket.

It appears that we are dealing here with just one more cover-up. Is it part of something larger? More information will follow.

What is UNDP doing in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

Disturbingly similar to my own experience with UNDP and UNOPS in Angola is an evaluation of the UNDP/UNOPS Peacebuilding and Community Development Project in Ituri, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by Ingrid Samset and Yvon Madore from the Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI), an independent, non-profit research institution.

This is an evaluation of the project “Support To Peacebuilding And Community Development In Ituri,” implemented in the Ituri district of the Democratic Republic of Congo from mid-2003 onwards, by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in conjunction with the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS). The project, which ended in 2006, was co-financed by the Government of Norway (U$D 3.1 million) and UNDP (U$D 400 000.00).

At the end of the report they provide the following summary:

“Building peace through community development: this was the key idea of the evaluated project, which was run in the war-torn Ituri district of the DRC from 2003 onwards. The planning of the project did not take sufficiently into account the difficult conditions under which it would be run. Centralisation of project management tasks to UNDP and UNOPS in Kinshasa, and the shortage of resources that were made available for the project at this central level, complicated implementation efforts on the ground. Strategic management was also weak. Still, many positive results materialised as the local partner organisations welcomed the idea of building peace through community development and acted on it in their micro projects. Thanks to many skilful local partners and a dedicated UN project team in Ituri, and despite considerable delays, the micro projects came a long way towards reaching the aims of reconciliation, reconstruction, local capacity building, and HIV/AIDS awareness raising. As a whole the project contributed to launching the processes of peacebuilding and community development in the district. But given the uniqueness of the project and its weak coordination with other agencies, little ground was prepared for a scale-up and a transfer of results in a subsequent phase.

The peacebuilding and community development project was hence a success – but a success that materialised in spite of an unsuitable organisational framework, weak strategic management, insufficient coordination, and continued violence in Ituri. It was in other words a “success by default”; one that came about despite choices made within the project that were not the most amenable to goal attainment. Yet given the project’s positive results, its still unrealised potential, the need for such a project in Ituri, and the learning of lessons within UNDP; the report recommends that the project continue and proposes a number of reforms that should be made within it in a new phase.”
It may be interesting to note that this project was implemented in the immediate aftermath of this confident promise made by the then UNDP Administrator, Mark Malloch Brown in 2003:

“Today, UNDP has come to the close of the most dramatic four-year internal transformation in our history. We are more capable than ever before of responding to the world’s development challenges because our organization is stronger, more focused and better connected. We seek and achieve results, and underscore accountability in all that we do. We look for new and creative opportunities to help people build better lives, through partnerships and the exchange of knowledge, while ensuring that our resources flow steadily behind our mission to reduce poverty.”

In order to truly understand what this project evaluation summary above really says, it may be important to reflect on the euphemistic way in which many of these reports are written. A statement such as “can be improved” usually means “was a complete failure” and - the personal favourite of many consultants doing evaluations - “at best had no results” almost invariably means that said activity harmed the very people it was supposed to benefit.

This particular report is not all that guilty of these sorts of euphemisms, written as it is by a respected and independent organisation. Nevertheless, as is the nature of these reports, its criticism remains in many ways very general, much understated and with an emphasis on avoiding possible conflict and offence.

In this context one should then perhaps be concerned about statements such as “the shortage of resources that were made available for the project at this central level.” That usually means that nobody knows where much of the funds were spent.

If the resources were not made available to the project, where and/or to whom were they then made available?

The usual criticisms that surface so regularly with regard to UNDP -“unsuitable organisational framework, weak strategic management, insufficient coordination, and continued violence,” “considerable delays,” “choices . . . that were not the most amenable to goal attainment” – sits uneasily with Mark Malloch Brown’s confident promise of an organization “that is stronger, more focused and better connected,” that “seeks and achieves results, and that underscores accountability in all that we do.” An organization that “looks for new and creative opportunities to help people build better lives, through partnerships and the exchange of knowledge,” and (by the way) “ensuring that our resources flow steadily behind our mission to reduce poverty.”

It shows an institution that, notwithstanding the report’s assertion of “the learning of lessons within UNDP,” remains an organisation that is unable to learn lessons, in fact, an organisation almost exactly the same as the one of which I have experience in Angola (in the midst of its so-called “most dramatic four-year internal transformation in our history”). The Angola project was evaluated as such by an observer with thirty years experience in the country:

“UNDP is one of the weakest structures in terms of administering programmes. After almost 4 years, none of the rehabilitation had taken place. Proposals received in late 1995 from communities had still not been processed 4 years later. Due to poor implementation, the international community was further discredited. If implemented early and effectively, this programme could have assisted in the consolidation of peace.

UNDP’s own bureaucratic systems of financial planning, reporting and monitoring - Imprecise and overlapping sets of definitions of programme and project boundaries made budgeting a difficult process for non UN personnel to understand. Government, Donors and Communities each became frustrated and impatient with programme procedures and tended to look for means to circumvent them.”

It shows an organisation refusing to answer the questions of their failure in one country as they already embark on exactly the same failures in another.

Refreshingly for a UNDP project it appears that in spite of the difficulties, “projects came a long way towards reaching” their goals, “thanks to many skilful local partners and a dedicated UN project team in Ituri.”

One is assuming here that the UN project team in Ituri must have consisted largely or exclusively of Congolese, thus leaving the burden for the project failures with UNDP in Kinshasa.

As is usual with these sorts of reports it is very difficult to asses whom exactly had not done their jobs, and what exactly it is that they should have done but did not, and, equally importantly, what exactly they did do with their time at UNDP in the DRC.

From previous experience I would be somewhat concerned with the relationship between what UNDP staff did with their spare time and “the shortage of resources that were made available for the project at this central level.”

In Angola it appears as though key staff dedicated their time to making funds available to their cronies. They then dedicated their time trying to cover up this fact.

One can however, with a bit of effort, come up with some names, names that are useful in some ways, but useless in the absence of accountability systems that would actually hold them accountable, that can explain exactly what they did not do and what they did in fact do, if anything. Therefore I can only speculate, but here all same is the, admittedly incomplete and unsupported, result of my speculations:

Roberto Valent, Deputy Resident Representative, and UNDP Programme Co-ordinator,
Babacar Cissé, Country Director, UNDP,
Daniel Mukoko, Senior Economist, Policy and Strategy Unit, UNDP,
Zenaide Gatelli, Reintegration Expert, the COMREC project, UNDP,
Judith Suminwa, Programme Advisor, Post-conflict unit, UNDP,
Robert Geilimo, Community Development Expert, Ituri Peacebuilding and Development project, UNDP,
Clive Jachnik, Principal Technical Advisor, the MRR project, UNDP.

And as I so speculated I also came across German Hulgich, Co-ordinator, Central Management and Coordination Unit, UNOPS.

What made this discovery so interesting is not the name of the person as much as his title. In 2001, as I wandered around at UNDP in Luanda, trying - unsuccessfully to date - to solicit an explanation as to what had happened to the funds that UNDP was supposed to disburse to a project in Huambo, Angola but did not; I came across this correspondence from Dimitri Samaras, Deputy Director UNOPS, and instrumental in the misplacement of said funds, to Herbert Behrstock, Officer-in-Charge UNDP, Angola on 12 March 2001:

“. . .Lots of money have been spent in Angola and wasted for no reason. . . or reasons beyond my imagination.
We have invested but never capitalised on it. Cost benefit analysis is indeed needed.
I do believe that this office needs a Central Management and Coordination Unit which will implement/ execute and supervise all operational activities.”


Dimitri Samaras is not in my experience a person with much of an imagination, but it is astounding how the same solution he offers for their failure in Angola then becomes complicit in their failure in the DRC.

Surely the solution to their problems must be found somewhere other than in the ability to move blocks around on an organisational chart?

An excellent example of this is how in Angola UNDP in the mid-nineties created an “Economics Unit,” which they announced with a lot of fanfare will contribute towards the consolidation of peace and reconstruction in Angola. When this failed to materialise they created the “Project Management Support Unit.” This consisted of two lost looking individuals, a man and a woman, who with increasing and ultimately futile despair tried to figure out what UNDP had done and was doing with its funds. It did not go to its projects. As criticism of UNDP mounted they responded with the “Advocacy, Partnership and Resource Mobilization Unit,” this time consisting of one pathological liar with an uncanny ability to exclaim, “this is getting more and more complicated” when asked routine questions. This finally morphed into a more conveniently named “External Relations Unit” consisting of the same man being equally confused.

The shocking reality that lies behind the measured tones of this report, and is not even alluded to or acknowledged, is the sacrifices and effort that no doubt had to be made by somebody to make the project a success. It is not “success by default” as the report asserts, it is success because without a doubt, somebody, most likely the local staff members, made an exceptional effort to do what UNDP was supposed to do.

Projects of this type that do have some results, invariably achieve them not so much in spite of the failures of UNDP and UNOPS, but because an effort is made to mitigate the harm that these organisations cause.

In his excellent book “The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good” Prof. William Easterly claims that existing aid strategies provide neither accountability nor feedback. Without accountability for failures, he says, broken systems are never fixed. And without feedback from the poor who need the assistance, no one in charge really understands exactly what trouble spots need fixing. Prof. Easterly adamantly argues that the sort of planning administered by organizations such as the UN will never reach the people that need it most.

True victories against poverty, he demonstrates, does not come from those who seek to impose solutions from the top down, but are achieved through indigenous, ground-level effort that adapts to the real life and culture of countries from the bottom up.

It may be a bit utopian to think that all these small efforts will add up to the big changes required in the absence of fundamental global reforms. The efforts of local actors can be a bit of a racket as well, but to suggest that the project can be continued with UNDP, since it has “learned lessons” is equally naïve since UNDP has demonstrated and demonstrates with each additional failure that it is not able to learn anything.