DELEGATES UNDERLINE REDEPLOYMENT OF RESOURCES, RESULTS-BASED BUDGETING AS FIFTH COMMITTEE CONTINUES DEBATE ON 2004-S005 BUDGET PROPOSAL

Fifty-eighth General Assembly

Fifth Committee

11^th Meeting (AM)

DELEGATES UNDERLINE REDEPLOYMENT OF RESOURCES, RESULTS-BASED BUDGETING

AS FIFTH COMMITTEE CONTINUES DEBATE ON 2004-S005 BUDGET PROPOSAL

Support for African Development, Creation of Special Adviser’s Office Welcomed

The proposed redeployment of resources, the recently introduced results-based budgeting and the allocation of resources towards United Nations priority areas were the focus of attention this morning as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) continued its consideration of the proposed budget for the biennium 2004-2005.

Japan’s representative said new financing needs should be met by establishing priorities and strictly redeploying resources from lower-priority activities to those of higher priority.  Although the Secretary-General had proposed the discontinuation of 912 outputs, it was difficult to say that thorough scrutiny had been applied to identifying all possible outputs that could be discontinued.

Mexico’s representative, emphasizing the need to eliminate obsolete activities, said the number of mandates within the United Nations had increased over the years, as had the size and complexity of the Secretariat.  Some activities overlapped and, in some cases, it appeared that the Secretariat, in its dialogue with Member States, had its own agenda.  As a developing country, Mexico knew the value of discipline and transparency and was seeking efficiency and discipline in the Organization’s budget.

Nigeria’s representative, highlighting the importance of reallocating resources among subprogrammes, pointed out, however, that since priorities were established at the programme and not the subprogramme level, it was necessary to exercise caution and preserve the prerogative of Member States to determine priority areas.

Several delegations welcomed the initial steps taken to support Africa’s development and the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).  [Under the budget proposal, that section shows the greatest rate of growth in United Nations support at 41.6 per cent.]  Delegates also welcomed the creation of the Office of Special Adviser for Africa and highlighted the need to further strengthen its capacity to fulfil its mandate effectively.

Indonesia’s representative underlined the importance of results-based budgeting and management, stressing that it should be used as a management tool to enhance responsibility and accountability in implementing programmes and budgets.  A number of speakers also emphasized that results-based budgeting was not a cost-cutting measure leading to a reduction in the level of the budget.  Rather, it would ensure that resources were spent in a more cost-effective manner and enable better monitoring by Member States of the quality of United Nations outputs.

Also addressing the Committee were representatives of Egypt, Pakistan, Algeria, Jordan, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, South Africa, Iceland, Venezuela, Gabon, Norway, Philippines (on behalf of the Association of South-East Asian Nations), Ghana, India, China, Myanmar and Croatia.

The Fifth Committee will continue its consideration of the budget and the financial situation of the United Nations at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, 30 October.

Background

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this morning to continue its discussion of the proposed programme budget for 2004-2005.  (For background information, see Press Release GA/AB/3581 of 27 October).

Statements

YASSER ELNAGGAR (Egypt), associating himself with the “Group of 77” developing countries and China and the African Group, pointed out that it was impossible to achieve the highest level of competence and efficiency without the necessary resources.  While the Organization’s work had increased, its resources had not increased in real terms, as indicated by the Secretary-General in his statement yesterday.  While the international community was determined to reform the United Nations, political will was also necessary to ensure the necessary financing based on the principle of capacity to pay.  Thus, the Organization resorted to selectiveness, providing the resources for political missions, for example.  But the same level of resources was not available for development.  Like many countries, Egypt paid special attention to that aspect.  Egypt agreed that it was necessary to rationalize expenditures, but the agreed-upon priorities and mandates needed to be implemented.

He recalled that the question of reforming the budgeting process had been raised during the current session, but there was some vagueness in that respect.  It was necessary to consider that matter in a comprehensive manner.  A multilateral budgeting framework needed particular attention, for budgeting was not just a technical matter.  Member States had a special role in determining what was needed and assessing whether the desired results had been achieved.

MUNIR AKRAM (Pakistan) said that all mandated activities must be provided with adequate resources and Member States must fulfil their legal obligation of providing those resources.  At the same time, however, any additional mandate should not automatically mean additional posts.  Requests for additional resources should be specifically linked to the fulfilment of planned objectives and full justification in terms of workload and expected accomplishments.  The objective should be to achieve greater efficiency and higher productivity through a judicious and optimal use of available resources.

Pakistan supported greater use of information and communication technology (ICT) with a view to increasing efficiency, productivity and overall savings, he said.  In the face of limited resources, ICT could help to bring in efficacies though knowledge sharing, the linking of databases, the expeditious dissemination of information, improved forecasting techniques and greater accountability in the use of resources.

He said that for any efficacious discharge of executive responsibility, a degree of flexibility in reallocating resources was required.  In that regard, it would be useful to develop criteria for the use of any such authorization, proposed modalities for reporting, and the duration and programmatic impacts of reallocations.  As for the use of consultants, he said that consultancies should be engaged only where it could be demonstrably established that in-house expertise was not available.

Pakistan supported the application of regulation 5.6 of the Regulations and Rules Governing Programme Planning, the Programme Aspects of the Budget, the Monitoring of Implementation and the Methods of Evaluation (PPBME) to discontinue outputs of marginal usefulness.  However, in terminating those outputs, which had been specifically authorized by legislative bodies, the relevant intergovernmental machinery should be involved.  On the restoration of budget cuts, Pakistan looked forward to receiving more information relating to their impact on common services facility infrastructure.

ABDALLAH BAALI (Algeria) said that if the United Nations wished to be a more efficient, dynamic, institution it needed to strengthen its financial base.  The programme budget was one of the best instruments to improve the Organization’s efficiency and strengthen its capacity.  As an institution with a global vocation and a universal composition, the United Nations was an irreplaceable forum for international action.  Therefore, reform should be carried out in a resolute and determined way.

It must be recognized that the allocation of resources was sometimes done on an irrational basis, he said.  Horizontal cuts were often carried out in an arbitrary way, affecting travel, consultants, training and operating costs.  For example, cuts carried out in 2001, particularly the reduction of appropriations to Central Support Services had given rise to serious problems.

The execution of programmes and activities over the past few years had been subject to constraints, he continued.  Algeria emphasized the need to respect budgetary procedures and was pleased at the improvements made in the methods of result-based budgeting, namely, the introduction for the first time of results assessment and data.  However, there remained a great deal to be done, and it was hoped that emphasis would be placed on the results obtained, not on the inputs.

Expressing support for allocations made to strengthen initiatives aimed at African development, such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), he said he was, nevertheless, concerned at the high rate of post vacancies, particularly at the Economic Commission for Africa.  If that situation should continue, it ran the risk of compromising the activities of the United Nations with respect to Africa.

MOHAMMAD TAL (Jordan) associated himself with the Group of 77 and China, stressing the importance of providing the Secretary-General with all the necessary resources to implement the Organization’s mandates.  While the development of results-based budgeting was welcome, it was not an objective in itself, but a tool that should allow the United Nations to better implement its goals.  It was important to adhere to the international character of the Organization when implementing that principle.  Of particular importance was the interrelation between outputs and the results to be achieved.

In that connection, he noted the comment by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) that the presentation of outputs in itself would not lead to progress, unless it was tied to the realization of objectives.  More evaluation efforts should be emphasized, as well as the need to control outputs.  The goal of achieving efficiency and the highest level of accountability required an annual review of performance by various departments.

The burden of work should be the main criterion for the reallocation of posts, he continued.  It was important to enhance the ability of offices to accommodate the volume of work through better distribution of labour, as well as streamlining to avoid allocating additional resources.  As for the use of consultants and independent experts, huge resources were allocated for that.  As the same pretext was used time after time to justify that practice -- that technical expertise was not available in the Secretariat -- it was important to review the situation and train Secretariat staff to implement those activities.

Extrabudgetary resources were considered to be a main support for the budget, he said.  The investment of those resources should, therefore, be commensurate with the mandates set by the Organization.  Jordan agreed with the ACABQ on the need to be very accurate in spending those resources and to commit that kind of spending to United Nations auditing standards.

KIM SAM-HOON (Republic of Korea), noting that the United Nations was called upon to take up increasing global responsibilities of broad and various scope, said that not only the numbers, but also the complex nature of the mandates given by Member States, required full attention as the Committee proceeded to consider the programme budget for the next biennium.  It was also necessary to note that the Organization had been in a zero-growth environment for most of the last decade.

Another objective should be to ensure maximum cost-effectiveness, he said.  To that end, it was necessary to continue working towards the prioritization of resource allocation, the incorporation of a time-bound approach on obsolete programmes and further enhancement of efficiency in the way the United Nations delivered its activities.  For that reason, the budget should be considered in tandem with ongoing discussions on the reform of the Organization.  The reform should not be used as a pretext for budget cuts, but rather, the reform agenda should guide the Committee in its deliberations on the budget towards a more effective and relevant United Nations.

The issue of staff posts was one of the most crucial items in the budget, he said, noting that staff-related costs comprised almost 80 per cent of the total regular budget.  The Republic of Korea remained concerned about the upward reclassification of staff posts and would closely examine the requests for adding or upgrading a post based upon their full justification.

He said his delegation fully acknowledged the importance of the role of ICT in the reform of the Secretariat and the United Nations as a whole.  ICT could contribute significantly to enhancing efficiency in the system, and the Republic of Korea intended to participate constructively in discussions to ensure that large investments in ICT led to greater benefits for all.

Regarding results-based budgeting, he expressed appreciation for the efforts to develop a more focused and strategic format in budget documentation.  Nonetheless, many indicators needed to become more specific and measurable.  The Republic of Korea encouraged the Secretary-General and the Secretariat to work for further refinement of the results-based budgeting system.

V.B.VOLKOV, Deputy Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation, said that in order to maintain its role as an irreplaceable instrument for the maintenance of international peace and security, and to counter both new and old threats, the United Nations must continuously increase its operational capabilities and the efficiency of its executive mechanisms.  In last year’s budget outline, the General Assembly had defined the priority activities of the United Nations, and the reviewed Medium-Term Plan for 2002-2005 constituted a guideline for the budget proposal.  The Russian Federation fully supported that document and the measures proposed by the Secretary-General to reallocate limited resources in the light of priorities, objectives and mandates established by Member States.

Regarding the proposal to discontinue 912 recurrent activities, he said it was possible to sort out inefficient or outdated activities in a more rigorous way, in order to reallocate the resources thus saved to high priority areas.  Those included the identification of additional resources for providing full-fledged posts in Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) from the regular budget.  Regarding the considerable progress made in improving the budget format, he said the new format should ensure better cost-efficiency in programmes and projects, greater effectiveness of mandates approved by the Member States and stricter control over the use of limited United Nations resources.  The proposed budget should help consolidate the efforts the Member States and prioritize the Organization’s activities.

The advanced format of the budget also implied greater efficiency and effectiveness in the Secretariat, he said.  It was also obvious that the budget reform underlined the reform of human resources management with regard to improved performance appraisal, delegation of authority, system of reporting and accountability.  However, there was a risk that the introduction of a budgeting process targeted at specific results without changing its day-to-day implementation by staff members could become an interesting theoretical exercise without achieving real results.  Another concern was raised by the failure to find a close and concrete linkage between resources and activities in the current draft budget.  Such a linkage was necessary for Member States to analyse the efficiency of programmes.

As for the level of budget expenditures, complex negotiations would be needed on that financial and political issue, he said.  While the budget was estimated at the level of $3.058 billion, substantial additions would be made for priority activities.  It was, therefore, relevant to ask how those operational expenses would be accounted for during the reconciliation of the final budget and where the funds to cover those expenditures would come from.  Possible savings should be sought in such areas as administration, general services, travel, consultancy and additional feedback from investments to information technologies.  Pointing out that the ACABQ had indicated a number of areas where it was quite possible to rationalize the Secretariat’s activities and increase its efficiency, he said it would be very important to know how the budget estimate was adjusted to inflation and currency fluctuations.  The Russian delegation was against the politicization of that issue, since the mechanism of recosting was a technical method to arrive at the final amount of budget expenditure.

While agreeing with the ACABQ recommendations on the rate of vacancies and reclassification of posts, he expressed alarm over the proposed increase in the number of posts and upward reclassifications in the budget, which, strictly speaking, was evidence of a burgeoning bureaucracy.  On training, it was necessary to ensure efficient control over the retraining of personnel, in order to avoid a pro-forma approach, and to seek a real increase in productivity and efficiency.  As for information technologies, it was important to objectively assess the real output from multimillion-dollar investments, rather than consider new injections.

JEANETTE NDHLOVU (South Africa), associating herself with the Group of 77 and China, and with the African Group, noted the Monterrey Consensus and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation provided a framework to address the fundamental issues of underdevelopment and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.  It was, therefore, appropriate for the regular budget of the United Nations to provide sufficient funding for the integrated implementation of these mandates.  It was imperative that Member States provide the United Nations with the necessary resources to fulfil its mandated activities, so that it would not have to resort to extrabudgetary funding for core activities.  Reform should not be seen as a budget-cutting exercise, and the Organization’s efforts to implement its development goals should be further strengthened through enhanced mechanisms, adequate resources and effective follow-up.  Any reallocation should not adversely affect the Organization’s ability to implement its development goals.

She said the establishment of the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa was an important expression of international solidarity and partnership with NEPAD.  Those political commitments must be translated into action when the financial and human resources for the Office were considered.  South Africa was encouraged by the growing efforts of the United Nations system to mainstream NEPAD into its priorities and programmes, and by indications that the programme budget reflected a strengthening of the regular budget component of the United Nations Office at Nairobi.  The resulting easing of administrative costs levied on the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and on United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) would enhance their ability to implement existing and new mandates and programmes.

Regarding results-based budgeting, she said it was important to acknowledge that such budgeting was not a cost-cutting measure and would not lead to a reduction in the level of the budget.  It would, however, ensure that resources were spent in a more cost-effective manner and enable Member States to better monitor the quality of the Organization’s outputs.

HJALMAR W. HANNESSON (Iceland) noted that the size of the proposed budget, over $3 billion, was in itself a milestone, reflecting the growth of the United Nations system.  It was also a reminder of the need to take a careful look at the tasks facing the Organization and the reality of its capacity to deal with them.  Every Member State contributed to the programme budget to the best of its capacity and it was in the interests of all that budgets were clear and strategic, and that funds were allocated according to the criteria of results rather than intentions.

The Organization needed to implement results-based budgeting and management, he said.  Transparency must be enhanced, both by presenting a more clear and concise budget and by reporting on its implementation in a comprehensive way, with clear benchmarks.  The system must be run with vigorous internal oversight and effective inspection mechanisms, and must eliminate the duplication of activities and functions.  It must be guaranteed that every penny given by contributing nations produced results.

In the present age of information, he said, the efficiency and effectiveness of the Organization’s work depended in many ways on secure and speedy information systems.  That was one of the vital tools of reform and should be given priority in future budgets.  The information society was growing day by day, but did not yet incorporate every citizen of the world.  Iceland hoped that the World Summit on the Information Society would make a significant contribution to extending the information society to encompass more States.

ADRIANA PULIDO SANTANA (Venezuela) noted that the Secretary-General occasionally introduced new changes in the format and presentation of the budget.  However, much remained to be done to improve it.  For example, there was no effective mechanism for monitoring, evaluating and measuring the results and repercussion of United Nations programmes and activities.

Applying results-based budgeting was still in its initial phase, she said, stressing the need to speed up the process of improvement.  One of the main thrusts of the proposed programme budget was the reallocation of resources to priority areas.  In principle, all sections of the budget were important and due account should be taken of the Millennium Declaration and the results of international conferences in the economic and social spheres.

She said that the sections of the budget document that were of particular importance to Venezuela included those on electoral assistance, combating terrorism, disarmament, justice and international law, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the environment, crime prevention and international justice, human rights and humanitarian affairs and the Development Account.  Those priorities were consistent with the hope of the Venezuelan Government to combat poverty and social inequity.  Economic growth was not enough to achieve development, but social development was essential in order to respond to the needs of individuals.  It was hoped that the Secretary-General would be given the necessary resources to achieve such aims.

JEAN CHRISTIAN OBAME (Gabon), associating himself with the Group of 77 and China and the African Group, supported basing the budget on the priorities of the United Nations, as well as the Goals of the Millennium Declaration and the outcomes of major conferences.  But while Member States had an obligation to provide financing for the Organization’s regular budget, it was necessary to recognize the difficulties encountered by some countries.

He noted that the recosted budget proposal amounted to $3.058 billion and envisioned a net increase of 117 posts.  In that connection, Gabon was interested in the transformation of temporary posts into permanent ones.  It was necessary to evaluate the nature and the level of those posts in view of expected efficiency and improvement in the quality of services.  In response to the establishment of a post, recruitment should take into account the principle of equitable geographical distribution.

The budget proposal revealed a slight increase of 0.5 per cent, and emphasized the redeployment of resources towards priority areas and an increased focus on results, he said.  Gabon favoured strengthening United Nations oversight bodies towards that end.  Also, resources coming from the regular budget should be on a par with the Organization’s priorities, as should extrabudgetary resources.  A comparison between the current and new biennium demonstrated clearly that estimates of extrabudgetary resources were on the rise in several sections of the budget, including peacekeeping, Africa’s economic and social development and regional cooperation for development.  It was important to manage the expansion of extrabudgetary funds without losing sight of the multilateral nature of the Organization.  In addition, Gabon welcomed the proposal to eliminate obsolete outputs, but felt that the 912 outputs involved should be the subject of consensus among Member States.

The implementation of NEPAD and the strengthening of development activities were among Gabon’s priorities, he said.  As for the question of peace and security, it was important for the international community to back and support African initiatives in that respect.  Gabon expected a strengthening of cooperation between the United Nations and African organizations in order to increase African peacekeeping capacity.  Gabon also supported the strengthening of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, for the Organization must have an ability to react quickly and appropriately in response to crises under the mandate of the Security Council.  Adequate resources should be provided for prevention mechanisms and for the implementation of programmes on small arms.

OLUSEGUN APATA (Nigeria), aligning himself with the Group of 77 and the African Group statements, said his country’s support for the growth in the budget was based on the fact that United Nations priorities should determine its financial outlay.  The Organization’s priorities had been set in the last four years, particularly in the Millennium Declaration and the outcomes of the Johannesburg and Monterrey conferences.  It was, therefore, time to move away from the many years of static budgets that were, in many cases, below the Organization’s actual requirements.  The time had come to match mandates with adequate resources.  “Simply put, let us put our money where our mouths are”, he said, calling on all Member States to pay their assessed contributions in full, on time and without conditions.

Turning to results-based budgeting, he said the new format remained a work in progress and continued improvement was necessary, with particular emphasis on objectives, accountability and accomplishment of set targets.  Indicators of achievement should be clear, concise and measurable.  A major feature of the budget proposal was reallocation of resources among subprogrammes.  Since priorities were established at the programme and not the subprogramme level, it was necessary to exercise caution and preserve the prerogative of Member States to determine priority areas.  In the same vein, in reviewing outputs for termination, programme managers should comply fully with regulation 5.6 of the PPBME Rules and Regulations, in consultation with relevant intergovernmental bodies.

Regarding the proposal to refine the Secretary-General’s authority to reclassify posts as long as the overall number of staff in each grade did not change, he said it was not clear how the integrity of the statutory requirements of each United Nations office would be guaranteed in that scenario to ensure that each had the optimum number of staff and discharged its mandates effectively.  For instance, in offices with high vacancy rates, such as the United Nations Office of Nairobi and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), if the Secretary-General decided to reclassify a post elsewhere, would that not impact negatively on the functioning of those offices? he asked.  The Secretariat should explore other options for addressing that issue, including that of according greater flexibility to the offices themselves to recruit staff up to the P-4 or P-5 levels, rather than reclassify posts.  A more comprehensive analysis of various options would help the General Assembly take a decision on that important matter.

Adequate resources should be devoted to enhancing the information and communication technology capability of the Organization, as such an investment would in the long term translate into significant savings, he said.  The new ICT strategy should, however, be extended equitably to all duty stations and regional commissions, taking into account their specificities, responsibilities and any additional mandates conferred on them.

ARNE HONNINGSTAD, Senior Adviser to the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, welcoming the shorter and more strategic budget format, said that the budget proposal reflected his country’s priorities better than previous budgets.  There was evidence of substantial reallocation of resources, which affected, for example, nearly 9 per cent of all posts in the Organization.  The overall real growth of 0.5 per cent was hardly excessive.  Norway, therefore, strongly supported the proposed budget.

Recalling that the agreed-upon priorities for the United Nations, as stated in the Millennium Declaration and conferences outcomes, called for adequate funding to meet global challenges, he said that insistence on a net zero-growth budget was no longer an option.  The recent trend of a level-off (and decline in real terms) of the regular budget, accompanied by increased extrabudgetary funding, was unfortunate and not a cost-effective way to tackle issues of common interest.  In that view, he said, the ACABQ had been too frugal in its overall recommendation of a total cut of about $41 million in the gross budget.  One result had been the elimination of a new management post at the P-5 level in the Office of the Security Coordinator, at an unfortunate moment.

On the other hand, he said, Norway welcomed the priority given to international cooperation for development, in particular, that given to NEPAD.  Africa required special attention and support.  Human Rights activities, however, were priorities that were clearly underfunded and too heavily dependent on extrabudgetary resources.  Norway was pleased, however, with the emphasis on gender mainstreaming, drug control, crime prevention, and the fight against terrorism and humanitarian assistance.  While the budget proposal would make a considerable contribution towards achieving the goals of the Secretary-General’s agenda for further change, Norway would continue to seek productivity improvements and efficiency gains.

LAURO L. BAJA, JR. (Philippines), speaking on behalf of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), welcomed the timely submission of the proposed budget and its shorter and more strategic format.  The ASEAN had been consistent in reiterating that the most vital part of the Organization was its staff, and recognized the impact that good personnel practices and policies had on good management and the efficient use of the Organization’s resources.  In that, ASEAN supported the Secretary-General’s efforts to ensure that the United Nations was staffed with multi-skilled international civil servants.  The association was also pleased to note that gender mainstreaming would be emphasized to ensure equal benefits in the Organization’s policies and programmes.

He said ASEAN attached great importance to the programme budget of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) for 2004-2005.  It hoped the Commission would receive adequate financial and human resources to support both its administrative and operational work programme on economic and social development in Asia and the Pacific in three key thematic areas -- poverty eradication, managing globalization and addressing social issues.

LUIS ALFONSO DE ALBA (Mexico), associating himself with the Rio Group, said that despite the new format, the budget proposal continued to be unwieldy.  It should not only be briefer and more transparent, but also state clearly where the Organization was headed and reflect the will of Member States.  In addition, while the proposal reflected a growth of 0.5 per cent in real terms, in nominal terms, the increase was almost 6 per cent, or $161 million.  Although that increase was not significant, it was time to reflect reform in the budget.

He said his country would prefer to see the elimination of a greater number of obsolete activities.  Over the years, the number of mandates had increased, as had the size and complexity of the Secretariat.  Some activities overlapped and, in some cases, the Secretariat had developed its own vices.  On occasion, it appeared that, in its dialogue with Member States, it had its own agenda, systematically denying the existence of resources and protecting pockets of power.  The international community shared the challenge of making the United Nations more efficient, which required that the Secretariat make more efficient use of resources.  As a developing country, Mexico knew the value of discipline and transparency, and was seeking not reductions in the Organization’s budget, but efficiency and discipline.

NANA EFFAH-APENTENG (Ghana), aligning himself with the Group of 77 and the African Group, said his country shared the observations of the ACABQ concerning the need to continue efforts to shift the emphasis of the budget towards results, achievements and related accountability.  As for its comments on programme performance and reporting, those matters should be addressed in the context of other intergovernmental reform initiatives.

On the question of posts, he said some $1.79 billion -– excluding staff assessment -– had been estimated for both established and temporary posts.  While the proposal contained vacancy rates of 5 per cent for Professional staff and 1.5 per cent for General Service and related categories, the ACABQ had recommended a revised rate of 5.5 per cent for Professional staff and 2.3 per cent for General Service, based on the Secretariat’s past experience.  That recommendation, which Ghana might be in a position to support, would entail a reduction of $12.5 million in the estimates for the next budget.  However, he expressed concern over high vacancy rates under budget sections devoted to NEPAD and economic and social development in Africa, which translated into more than 50 vacant Professional posts.  Ghana urged the Secretariat to expedite the recruitment or transfer staff to those sections to ensure that their mandated objectives were not negatively affected.

While the ACABQ’s comments provided a useful basis for further discussion, he said, they required in-depth consideration to address a number of concerns, such as the criteria that the Secretary-General should adopt in reclassifying posts.  Another concern was how the proposed management of the staffing table as a whole would impact the integrity of the post establishment in chronic high-vacancy areas.  There were almost 7,527 posts, taking into account posts proposed under extrabudgetary sources, including the support account resources, which should be integrated in the staffing tables to enable judicious management of the staff.

On investments in information and communication technologies, he said that, as far as possible, investments in ICT should be matched by corresponding savings sooner down the line.  However, efficiency did not merely equate doing more with less, but could also mean doing more with equal resources, and doing so effectively.  The ICT investments were not of a one-time nature, but, like the human element that ICT replaced or facilitated, must be regularly resourced, though perhaps not at the same level of cost.  Therefore, Ghana supported most of the ACABQ recommendations in the ICT area, including those on the need for strong central leadership and governance structures.  At this point, however, there was no adequate justification for establishing a post for head of the Information Technology Service Division.

YOSHIYUKI MOTOMURA (Japan) said that budgetary discipline was one of the most important pillars of the United Nations and that zero nominal growth should be the underlying principle for the next programme budget.  New financing needs should be met through the establishment of priorities and by strictly redeploying resources from lower-priority activities to higher-priority activities.  Although the Secretary-General had proposed the discontinuation of 912 outputs, it was difficult to say that thorough scrutiny had been applied to identifying all possible outputs that could be discontinued.

Noting that the ACABQ had recommended a reduction of $41 million from the overall level of the proposed programme budget, he said the Government of Japan supported that recommendation, but felt that the possibility of further reductions should be pursued.  It was important that the budget level not exceed $3 billion.

Turning to the post structure, he said its top-heavy structure should be reformed.  It was hoped that the Secretary-General would compare it with the post structures of major governments or those of other international organizations, which tended likewise to be top-heavy, and to report at an early date on the information obtained.  Requests for the creation of high-level posts could not be immediately justified from the viewpoint of strengthening the staff of the Secretariat.  In fact, those requests could further distort the staffing structure and consequently reduce the efficiency of the Organization’s activities.

While appreciating the economic measures introduced by the Secretary-General in February last year, he said the savings accruing from them should be utilized to the maximum extent possible to meet increased expenditures resulting from inflation and currency fluctuations.  Furthermore, regardless of whether or not the December recosting would be conducted at the time of the budget’s adoption, a recosting would be necessary at the end of the year 2004.  Recosting must not be conducted in December of this year when there was a strong possibility that the level of the budget may rise sharply in nominal terms due to currency fluctuations.  Japan would rather support the ACABQ recommendation to postpone the December recosting.

VIJAY K. NAMBIAR (India), noting that the proposed programme budget for the coming biennium accounted for less than 25 per cent of the Organization’s total outlay, said that even within that 25 per cent or so, staff costs accounted for 80 per cent of the total costs.  Of the remaining percentage, much was fixed.  In the end, the General Assembly would negotiate for many weeks, perhaps over less than 1 per cent of the total outlay.  That led to the conclusion that the General Assembly devoted, for every biennium, a disproportionate amount of time in negotiating the programme budget. With the ever-increasing mandates given to the Organization, there could be no such thing as a zero nominal growth budget.  Nor could any logic be seen in the budget level being made a victim of currency fluctuations.

Developing countries such as India had no desire to micromanage, nor were they attached to an input-based approach to the budget, he said.  India was legitimately concerned about the adequacy of funding in areas of priority interest.  The regular budget was the only vehicle through which developing countries had a say in the financing of priority areas in the social and economic sectors in which they faced challenges.  The interest in inputs would remain until results-based budgeting began to inspire confidence that the objectives of programmes and activities were indeed being met.

The logical framework of results-based budgeting had been further enhanced in the budget document though the introduction of performance targets, he said.  However, although the budget contained as many as 600 expected accomplishments and 900 indicators of achievement, it was not so much their number, but their quality that was important, and much remained to be done in that respect.  Unless that happened, it would be impossible to progress to an output-based system of intergovernmental scrutiny.

Turning to specifics, he welcomed the significant reallocation of post and non-post resources within the budget sections.  Rather than seek new resources, it would be prudent to examine and propose where resources were redundant and to reallocate them to priority areas; that had made it possible for the Secretary-General to seek an additional appropriation request of only $15 million over the last biennium.  India commended the Secretary-General’s recommended elimination of several reports, meetings and other activities and welcomed the fact that 912 recurrent outputs had been identified and proposed for deletion.

ZHANG YISHAN (China), associating himself with the Group of 77, noted that the total expenditure of $3.058 billion proposed for 2004-2005 represented a 5.8 per cent increase against the $2.89 billion for the current biennium.  China expected the United Nations to operate within available resources by following the principle of aligning resource levels with requirements, taking into full consideration the capacity of Member States to pay.  It was also necessary to keep resource growth under control and improve the management and cost effectiveness of resources.  Reasonable allocation of resources was of paramount importance.

In the context of limited overall resources, he said, information and communication technology should be fully leveraged to effect drastic reductions in administration and management costs, so that the United Nations could devote more resources to development, for the benefit of more countries, particularly the developing ones.  The ACABQ had made valuable recommendations on resource allocation, which warranted close attention and careful study by the Secretariat.

He said the United Nations system should strive for logical and rational use of the resources provided by Member States, preventing waste in any form or manifestation and leveraging limited resources for maximum effect.  It was hoped that budget and programme managers would truly enhance their communication and cooperation, sharpen their awareness of the need for budget management and design well-conceived and feasible performance measures to ensure the timely termination of obsolete and ineffective outputs.  That, in turn, would contribute to the comprehensive and effective delivery of priority programme activities.  With the implementation of reforms proposed by the Secretary-General, a brand new management culture would take hold in the Secretariat.

DJAUHARI ORATMANGUN (Indonesia) said that the application of results-based budgeting should be used as a management tool to enhance responsibility and accountability in the implementation of programmes and budgets.  Taking into account the character of the United Nations as a multilateral forum, the results-based budget should be implemented on a gradual basis, in full compliance with the regulations and rules governing programme planning; the programme aspect of budgets; the monitoring of implementation; and the financial rules and regulations of the United Nations.

The proposed programme budget should be commensurate with the need of the United Nations to continue to pursue its internationally agreed development goals.  It was in that context that attention must be paid to strengthening and supporting policy coherence and management capacity in the area of economic and social affairs.  A strengthened Department of Economic and Social Affairs would ensure that development programmes continued to be a top priority of the Organization.

Noting that the Secretary-General’s proposal for the biennium 2004-2005 largely reflected a significant reallocation of resources between several programmes, he underlined the importance of allocating resources among the various programmes to reflect the priorities established in the Medium-Term Plan.  The adequate allocation of resources for economic and social development activities should be guaranteed so as to reinforce the Organization’s ability and capacity to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

U KYI TUN (Myanmar), aligning himself with the Group of 77 and ASEAN statements, expressed support for increasing the efficiency of conference services and public information activities.  While appreciating that the proposed budget had been presented in a shorter and more strategic format and welcoming the continued use of results-based budgeting, Myanmar felt that the results-based approach should be kept under periodic review for further improvement.

The principal policy directive in elaborating the budget should be the Medium-Term Plan for 2002-2005, he continued.  Myanmar also fully subscribed to the need for budgetary discipline, which should be achieved through greater efficiency and the elimination of waste.  However, budgetary discipline should in no way adversely affect the smooth functioning of the Organization, which should be able to carry out successfully the mandates entrusted to it by Member States.  Adequate resources should be provided for environment, economic and social development, poverty alleviation and humanitarian assistance, which were of vital importance for developing countries.

Myanmar recognized the importance of information and communications technology, as well as training, he said.  It also welcomed the extrabudgetary resources provided by donor countries, which supplemented the resources needed to realize the Organization’s mandated programmes.

JASNA OGNJANOVAC (Croatia) noted that the observations of the Advisory Committee on how to further improve the implementation of results-based budgeting would be taken into account in future budget submissions, thus ensuring a streamlined approach in resource requirements.  Proper and efficient functioning of the United Nations, particularly at a time when challenging tasks were testing the Organization’s very foundation, could not be achieved without ensuring the availability of sufficient resources.  Croatia supported the Secretary-General’s efforts to ensure that mandated activities were appropriately funded from the regular budget.  At the same time, promoting the best use of available resources would lead to a more efficient United Nations.  The budget for the next biennium should reconcile two objectives:  proper appropriation of funds and their efficient use.  In that regard, the ACABQ’s recommendations could serve as a good basis for further deliberations on the budget proposal.

There were areas where further rationalization and improvements were possible, she said.  It was not easy to determine the degree of priority, which was particularly evident when it came to determining the level of funding for those priorities.  Nevertheless, sound evaluation of marginal programmes was possible and necessary in order to better implement the objectives and activities decided by Member States.  Redeployment from activities of marginal utility would be an adequate way to deal with, and respond to, new priorities.  Still, compliance with the mandated activities, especially those defined by the Millennium Declaration was essential for the optimal implementation of reallocation to priority areas.

As a country with an economy in transition, Croatia continued to deal with the impacts of economic transformation, she said.  At the same time, it had demonstrated its commitment to the United Nations through its continuous effort to meet its financial obligations in full, on time and without conditions and, at the moment, had no outstanding financial obligations to the Organization.

Other Matters

At the conclusion of the meeting, the representative of China, supported by the representative of Syria, said that diplomatic cars needed special access to the garage because there were significant traffic jams on First Avenue in the morning.  That was particularly important in view of the early start of Fifth Committee meetings in connection with Ramadan.

Mexico’s representative reiterated his request for clarification on the question of smoking, recalling that, at the beginning of the session, delegations had expressed doubts about the appropriateness of the procedure followed in imposing a no-smoking rule in the conference room area.

The representative of the Russian Federation said he would like an answer from the Secretariat containing a clear legal explanation as to how the decision on the total prohibition of smoking in the building had been taken, particularly in view of the fact that by its 2000 resolution on the pattern of conferences, the General Assembly had, by consensus, clearly expressed its position on the matter.  That resolution had not been terminated.

The Secretary of the Committee, Movses Abelian, assured the delegations that an explanation from the Secretariat would be provided.

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