By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/undp4deputy112409.html
UNITED NATIONS, November 24 -- The controversy over the number two position in the UN Development Program, which the African Group says was committed to it but which was slated to be given to a Costa Rican candidate, "has the potential to cost Ban Ki-moon a second term," an African official told Inner City Press on Tuesday.
"The African Group will blame Ban," he said, adding that Mr. Ban is being "misled by his senior advisor. The Africans won't accept the Egyptian either," he said, referring to reports that rather than the recommended Cameroonian candidate or "another African woman," the Ban administration is now considering handing the post to Egypt's Permanent Representative.
Inner City Press, which has exclusively covered the story for a week, has been told that UN official Cheick Sidi Diarra, who attempts to cover both small island developing states while purporting to fill the merged Office of the Special Advisor on Africa, was on the panel interview candidates for the UNDP post.
Sources on the panel say that they recommended two candidates, the Cameroon "doctor economique" Inner City Press has previously reported on, and an African woman. At the November 24 noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Ban's outgoing Spokesperson Michele Montas if Diarra was on the panel, and to confirm who the other member were.
"We don't comment on members of the panel," Ms. Montas replied. Video here, from Minute 22:40.
Inner City Press then asked simply for confirmation of who named the panel. Even this, Ms. Montas declined to answer, saying it's "different groups for different departments."
Finally, Inner City Press asked who makes the decision on the Associate Administrator post at UNDP: Ban Ki-moon or Helen Clark? Ms Montas said the position is "approved by both."
On November 23, Inner City Press asked a UNDP spokesman and Assistant Secretary General -- and Assistant Administrator -- Olav Krjoven about the number two post. The UNDP spokesman said "we can take that up immediately afterwards." Video here, from Minute 22:40.
But after the press conference, about energy poverty, the UNDP spokesman would not say when Helen Clark will finally be available for questions. We'll have something to say after the nomination is made, he said. But by then it will be too late.
Also on November 23, Inner City Press asked the previously head of UNDP's executive board, Ambassador Carsten of Denmark, whether the post has been committee to the African Group, and whether given the percentage of UNDP's work that is in Africa, whether having an African in this senior post might be important.
Ambassador Carsten replied that while he didn't "want to go into the Associate Administrator" issue, he rejects any "sub geographic" claims. He said "we accept a link between Administrator and Associate between donor and development partners" but "we would not like to narrow it down." Video here, from Minute 20:10.
So despite the African Group's statement that the post was committed to them, now a major European donor denies it, the Secretary General's Spokesperson tries to deflect questions and responsibility for the decision, and the Secretariat prepares, reportedly, either to push ahead with the Costa Rican nomination or the Egyptian "diversion." Watch this space.
Footnote: it's not as if Helen Clark is running UNDP so well, a development expert told Inner City Press, pointing at the "failure" of the upcoming South -South Cooperation meeting in Nairobi, which was downgraded from a summit to a "ministerial" to, now, only involving ambassadors. Helen Clark, who appears to have the travel (and DSA) bug, will go, December 1 to 3. But the promised heads of state and ministers will not be there. Great planning, UNDP...
