Secretary-General says: 'Managerial reform well under way.' (UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan)(Costwatch)

Managerial reform in the United Nations will yield savings of $100 million this year and improve the world body's effectiveness, according to a report released at United Nations Headquarters on 22 April. The report was prepared by the Management Reform Group of the Department of Administration and Management (DAM) under the direction of Under-Secretary-General Joseph E. Connor.

"I believe that this report makes clear that managerial reform is well under way in the United Nations", Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a 21 April letter transmitting the report to the President of the General Assembly.

Accomplishments include the following: United Nations documents were linked to the Organization's Home Page via the optical disk system (ODS); the United Nations Office at Geneva automated its security services and saved $1.197 million; and the Treasury of the United Nations saved $501,000 in the first eight months of a cash management project to buy foreign currency more competitively.

Other examples of the many organizational efficiency gains listed in the report include a saving of $188,000 by a reduction of meetings by the Department of Political Affairs, a $1.7-million savings by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations through improved selection and training of Police Monitors, as well as a revitalized Commission on Population and Development which, with no additional resources, met a doubled demand for services.

The process of modernizing information services thus far has entailed a strengthened United Nations Home Page, making available full access to the complete Treaty Series and allowing for full-text searching of Security Council resolutions, Department of Public Information press releases and other organization-wide pages. The United Nations Home Page has been rated by Lycos, a search engine which also provides reviews on World Wide Sites, in their "Top 5 Per Cent Sites" review. Another of those services, Hyperspace, has named it one of the "Top 10" government sites, and Excite Reviews rated the Home Page as a "must see", and went on to say that "this site should serve as an example to other government entities as to how to make a site appealing and useful". The Cyber School Bus has received a number of honours, including a NetGuide Platinum Site Award. The estimated number of "hits" per week on the Home Page has risen from a total of 210,000 in June 1996 to 1,100,000 in February.

In the future, the goal is to dramatically expand electronic dissemination of information in the 185 State Members of the Organization, while eliminating 25 per cent of paper-based, small circulation newsletters and publications. Resources are to be reallocated to promote electronic dissemination of documents and publications.

Common-service arrangements are being extended as in the case of consolidation of United Nations Information Centres, which saved $600,000 in 1996-1997. Recasting DAM as a Department of Management could reduce layers of central administration and change its role from a highly centralized, paper-driven administrative system to a central management that empowers and supports programme managers to act decisively in their areas of responsibility, the report states. A significant challenge ahead, the report points out, concerns the opportunity and need to renew and revitalize the international civil service during a period of substantial turnover. Accelerating attrition will make it necessary to plan for the retirement of 5,000 staff members over the next 10 years. It will lead to a period of expanded recruitment and career development to support the vision of the new United Nations.

Shortfall in budget appropriations possible

If current rates of inflation and foreign currency exchange values continued, the 1998-1999 appropriations for the United Nations budget would fall below the outline approved for that period by the General Assembly, and the Organization could have a "negative nominal growth budget", Mr. Connor told the press at Headquarters on 4 March. The 1994-1995 budget was $2.608 billion, while the latest revised 1996-1997 appropriation was $2.603 billion, he said. The overall $5-million cut had been achieved by making real reductions of $210 million, which had been "offset by higher costs for inflation and foreign exchange fluctuations", Mr. Connor stressed.

New departments

In line with the Secretary-General's decision to establish at Headquarters a single Secretariat department in the economic and social fields, he has announced on 21 March the appointment of Nitin Desai of India, formerly Under-Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, as head of the new department, the title of which will be announced later. The Secretary-General also appointed Jin Yongjian of China, formerly Under-Secretary-General for Development Support and Management Services, as head of the new Department of General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services.