The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The United Nations General Assembly has approved U$37.2 million (about Shillings 138 billion) for the operations of the regional service centre in Entebbe for the next one year. The decision was reached by the General Assembly on Tuesday using the silence procedure because of the coronavirus disease-COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the silence procedure, the president of the General Assemble circulates draft decisions to all member states at least 72 hours after consultations with the General committee. Member states are expected to raise their objections within that period. But “if the silence is not broken, the decision is considered adopted,” according to the procedure.
As a result, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, the President of the General Assembly circulated the draft decision entitled “Financing of the Regional Service Centre in Entebbe” on June 29th and placed it under silence procedure until Tuesday June 30th 2020. With no objections raised, the Assembly approved the draft decision.
The General Assembly made the decision based on the recommendation of the Administrative and budgetary committee also known as the fifth committee. The committee approved US$37.2 million for the maintenance of the service center from July 1st 2020 to June 30th 2021.
This is an increase of US$1.7 million from the US $35.5 million allocated to the center in the last financial year. The bulk of the funds will be released to active client peacekeeping operations while the rest will pay staff and fund special political missions. The facility was established in 2010 as a shared service center for administrative, logistic and ICT services to peacekeeping missions in Africa.
The centre currently serves 20 UN client missions in Africa representing 77 percent of all UN peacekeeping and special political missions in the world. By end of last year, the center had 404 workers comprising 131 international staff, 267 Ugandans and 6 United Nations volunteers.
Ambassador Adonia Ayebare, the Uganda’s permanent representative to the UN stated on Wednesday that the budget approval is a “win” for Uganda because the center will continue operating at full capacity in the meantime.
Relocation of the center could result in loss of over 300 jobs and businesses in Uganda.
In 2018, Uganda protested the proposed relocation of the center to Nairobi, Kenya or removal of certain functions under the proposed Global Services Delivery Model (GSDM).
The model wants UN administrative functions coordinated in four locations in Nairobi (Kenya), Montreal (Canada), Budapest and Shenzhen (China) as member states discuss sweeping reforms to reduce costs and increase effectiveness of field staff around the world.
Ayebare however, says negotiations are still going on about the new model, which is among reforms initiated seven years ago during Ban Ki-moon’s era as UN Secretary General.
*****
URN
