<p>Moments after Professor Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, Nigeria&#8217;s permanent ambassador to the United Nations emerged as the 74<sup>th</sup> President of U N General Assembly, Antonio Guterres, a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth Secretary-General of the global body, has cried out that very soon, the organization would run out of cash, owing to outrageous expenditure on operational duties.</p>



<p> ;He has therefore called
on member states to support the organisation and address its deteriorating
financial situation.</p>



<p>“Despite numerous efforts to contain expenditures this year, we
are likely to run out of cash in August and, therefore borrow from the Working
Capital Fund,” said Guterres, in his remarks at a formal meeting of the Fifth
Committee.</p>



<p>UN has more assets than liabilities but not enough liquid
assets, the UN chief said in a report by Xinhua.</p>



<p>According to Guterres, a major cause of the deteriorating
financial health of the organisation in the past few years is the increase in
arrears from member states in both the regular and peacekeeping budgets.</p>



<p>The UN chief said the level of arrears at the end of 2018 was
$529 million, equivalent to more than 20 percent of the year’s assessments.
Five months into this year, arrears are still at $492 million.</p>



<p>However, non- and late payment of contributions are not the only
causes of liquidity problems, said Guterres.</p>





<p>



According to him, structural weaknesses in the budget methodology create a
situation in which the expenditures outpace the approved budget level and the
collection of contributions.</p>



<p>“It is caused by the effects of currency exchanges, inflation,
salary cost standards and the actual vacancy rates that are approved at the end
of one year and assessed only in the next, and unfortunately not always fully
compensated, as we had last year,” he added.</p>



<p>Similarly, additional mandates, which are approved by the General
Assembly and the Security Council after the approval of the budget, are
assessed only at the beginning of the following year, said the UN chief.</p>



<p>The lag between expenditure and assessment has created a gap
almost half the size of the Working Capital Fund.</p>



<p>Therefore, even if all member states pay on time and in full,
the United Nations will still face cash problems toward the end of the year,
said Guterres.</p>



<p>“The solution lies not only in ensuring that all Member States
pay in full and on time, but also in putting certain tools in place,” Guterres
said.</p>



<p>For the regular budget, he is proposing measures that would, on
the one hand, strengthen liquidity-bridging mechanisms and, on the other,
manage expenditure levels in a manner that would support program delivery.</p>



<p>Bande’s
 ;appointment was announced by María
Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, outgoing president of UNGA at a press conference in
Abuja after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday.</p>



<p>Bande
becomes the second Nigerian to be appointed President of UNGA after Mr. Joseph
Nanven Garba who held the position between 1989 and 1990.</p>



<p>Bande,
until his appointment, was the permanent representative of Nigeria to UN. ;</p>



<p>Born
at Zagga in present day Kebbi State, Bande  ;holds M.A in Political Science from the Boston
University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA in 1981 and a PhD in Political Science
from the University of Toronto, Canada in 1987.</p>



<p>He
 ;was, from January 2000 to February 2004,
the Director-General of the Centre African de Formation et de Recherche
Administrative pour le Development (CAFRAD) in Tangier, Morocco. This is
Africa’s premier institution with responsibility for training and research in
public administration and management.</p>



<p>He
was the Vice-Chancellor Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, between 2004 and
2009 and  ;served as former Director-General
of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Plateau State
from 2010 till March 2016.</p>

Aki’s Wife Laments Over POS Fraud Experience OpenLife reports that Stephanie Promise, the wife of…
The Kind Of Man I Will Marry---Tems, Grammy Award Winner OpenLife reports that Grammy…
VeryDarkMan Vows To Send Human Rights Activist, Omoyele Sowore To Prison If......... OpenLife Nigeria…
Stanbic IBTC Top Executives Risk Jail Terms Over Alleged 'Infractions' OpenLife Nigeria reports that…
BREAKING: Deep Legal Crisis Ruptures ADC As INEC Withdraws Recognition Of David Mark's Chairmanship …
Breaking: Blord To Spend Easter In Kuje Prison Over Alleged Criminal Activities Against VeryDarkMan (Video)…
This website uses cookies.