UNITED NATIONS, April 10 -- In promoting its work in Haiti, the UN veers from loud bragging to quiet resignations. This last appears to be the case of Kim Bolduc.
She had been in Haiti for less than two months when the UN thrust her forward as its public face after the earthquake. Senior UN officials heaped praise on her, she appeared by video hook up to reporters at UN headquarters in New York, and was quoted gushing about how much she loved working in Haiti for the UN. Then, very quickly thereafter, she quit.
Inner City Press was told this by sources, and asked. Earlier this month, the UN terse confirmed that Ms. Bolduc's assignment was over. On April 8 and 9, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's associate spokesman Farhan Haq to explain her resignation and where she had gone next.
"Ask UNDP," Haq said. But since the most senior UN officials in New York had praised Bolduc, Inner City Press asked again. Video here. Again, the buck was passed to UNDP, which in substance answered that Ms. Bolduc
"now feels that the time had come for new colleagues to come in to carry forward the efforts underway to help rebuild Haiti. Interim arrangements are in place while a permanent replacement is found for the Secretary-General to name a new Deputy Special Representative."
The "interim arrangements" were not specified. The other DSRSG, Tony Banbury, was seen by Inner City Press on April 8 speaking at length on the corner of 45th Street and Second Avenue with the chief of UN Peacekeeping Alain Leroy, just before he went on ten days of leave. (While Haq refused to answer who would be in charge during Leroy's absence, Inner City Press later informally learned: Dmitry Titov, now Mister Rule of Law.)
Back in October 2009, ICP exclusively reported that UN's (now-destroyed) Headquarters in Haiti was leased on the basis of a noncompetitive procurement in a contract which cost$94,000 per month.
While that figure seemed a bit extravagant, it has since been exposed that the UN is now paying $112,500 per day for two cruise ships to accommodate UN staff.
Cabin on Sea Voyager, rented by UN for its (international) Haiti staff
WFP originally put out a press release describing these accommodations. But in a mysterious way repeated frequently by the UN agencies when it realizes the potential liability of its announcements, that story was disappeared; removed from the internet. WFP spun: "Photos, text and video material are regularly being added and removed from WFP's Web site as stories are refreshed, restructured and replaced." Thankfully, the original story was saved; we are linking here.
On April 8, ICP asked UN spokesman Farhan Haq about the Love Boat story, specifically about how the procurement was done. Haq refused to answer any questions about the Love Boat contract, and passed the ball over to UNDP, despite WFP's lead role.
Here is what UNDP's spokesman had to say -- he asked that it be published in full:
As you can imagine, working conditions in Haiti are not easy. As result of the earthquake, the main UN building was flattened, killing more than 100 of our colleagues, and the UNDP building, while still standing, is deemed unsafe. Our staff has been working out of the logistics base near the airport. Some of our staff permanently assigned to Haiti can not return to their homes because they have been damaged or destroyed and there is also a lack of available housing for new arrivals. Therefore, some UNDP staff is staying tents at a UN camp, some are sleeping in their offices at the logistics base and others are sleeping in cabins on the ships, often two to a room. It should be noted that the ship has basic amenities but is by no means a "cruise ship". It is intended simply to house staff safely so they can perform their duties. About 12 people with UNDP contracts in Haiti, out of a total of approximately 200, are using the maritime accommodations at any one time.
In the immediate aftermath of the quake, the UN needed to find quickly accommodations to handle the surge of UN personnel coming in to the country in a way that obviously did not tax an already strained housing sector. The accommodations were procured by WFP for the benefit of the UN system. The cost recovery from WFP is being calculated.
While it is unlikely that there will actually be any "cost recovery" in the meaningful sense of the phrase, we will continue to monitor how and why the UN got into this arrangement, and more broadly how it it is putting donor funds to use in Haiti. Watch this site.
this is really good - WFP takes down its own web stories...! Is this accountability public is looking for?
ReplyDeleteWFP has always been run by Americans, and now their dirty laundries are surfacing ....good luck finding anything.
am amazed by the "explanations" the UN agencies put up - listen to this UNDP guy - he says that out 200 staff only 12 use the boat at any given time. Than why in the hell you leased the boat in first place? How can UN justify 80% vacancy in the boat and still continue to have a boat at the cost of hundreds of thousand of dollars ? For the sake of who? I bet the Haitians would need those 4 Million dollars instead of going to the luxurious boat for the UN staff - whom are overpaid.
ReplyDeletelook I agree the Un staff in Haiti are overpaid. I personally know two of them whom are paid close to $10,000 a month salary and on top they also get some kind of per-day which they justify under "extreme conditions" in Haiti.
ReplyDeleteWhere does the UN find the right to pay its "volunteer staff" $10,000 per month, when the US NGOs operating in Haiti are either not paid or paid barely $2,000 a month.
$10,000 a month? Uauuuu where can I find a job like that?
ReplyDeleteSo if the UN is paying salaries of close to $10,000 a month this means that the UN would need close to 3 Billion US Dollars just for satisfying its payroll a year.
ReplyDeleteSo where is the money to rebuild Haiti ?
Not everyone in working fo rthe UN in Haiti is paid $10,000 a month. Most of the staff are lower categories, but I am sure that the lowest one gets close to $7,000 a month, while there are higher categories as well which are paid over $19,000 a month (fewer people though).
ReplyDeleteI dare you, go and spend even 1 week in the condition WFP staff had the first weeks after the earthquake and then tell us your opinion
ReplyDeleteIt's very easy to write nasty comments from the comfort of your couch....
I am writing my comments from one of the tends of WFP here in Haiti, and please don't tell me or the world about the "few first weeks" in Haiti. It's a shame that after P3-P4 salary, plus full DSA for first 30 days, plus the "E" hardship increase, you tell the world that because you were here the first two weeks of the earthquake you "DESERVE NOW" the perks to leave better than Haitians.
ReplyDeleteYou should rather tell the truth as to whom has access to the "Love Boat" and who DOES NOT. Who has the right to flights FOR FREE to Dominican Republic or Florida or elsewhere via WFP AIR CHARTERS and is abusing those.
And since you say that you are here in Haiti, please share with the public the current location of the "Ola Esmeralda" and "Sea Voyager"...
hahahahahahah so the UN STAFF are arguing that because they were there the first two weeks after the earthquake, they deserve a better life ---than the Haitians....UAUUUU What a statement !!
ReplyDeleteCmmmmmonnnn !! What about the NGOs and Church Based Organizations whom are working for free in haiti and don't have no logistics nor IT nor the fat salaries of United Nations ??
Am a UNV (UN Volunteer) and working in haiti. I can tell you that we (UNVs) are treated like third class citizens inside UN and despite that many of us perform equal duties or above of those of U.N. Professional Staff, we are paid at 20% or 30% the rates of the "Professionals".
ReplyDeleteStill at the salary I got, I am very happy that I am being allowed to provide services and work as VOLUNTEER for Haitians. It's my opinion that the U.N. and specially the UN Humanitarian Agencies like ie. WFP, OCHA etc - should eliminate the PROFESSIONAL cadre and replace those with the thousands of UNV whom are ready to work for 20% or 30% of their cost and deployed around the world at short notice.
If the U.N. is serious this initiative could reduce cost of "CORE" staffing by 70%-80% and direct those Resources towards the poor in the world.
I can tell you that getting a professional job in Haiti has become a real business for many now.