UN considers outsourcing, perhaps to Asian nations

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 7 (Reuters) UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan wants the United Nations to consider outsourcing some of its administrative services, according to a summary of a report on management overhaul to be delivered today.

If the UN General Assembly approves, this could include translation, payroll or other services moved to Asia or elsewhere out of the United States, according to UN sources. They said China was lobbying to provide translation services.

''We are particularly interested in exploring the benefits of possibly relocating certain administrative functions to lower-cost countries, but we will need to undertake a detailed cost/benefit analysis in each case,'' said a summary of the report, obtained by Reuters. It gives no outsourcing details.

Annan's survey was a response to a request by world leaders at a UN summit in September following scandals in the UN oil-for-food programme in Iraq and the fixing of contracts.

It calls for a definition for administrative and management powers delegated to a deputy secretary-general, whose duties are currently not clearly defined, such as authority to manage the organisation's operational activities.

That post is held by Canadian Louise Frechette until the end of March after which Briton Mark Malloch Brown, now the chief of staff, will take over the job until the end of the year when Annan's term ends.

The report also asks the General Assembly to give the secretary-general more power to move funds and jobs around according to need. For example, at the moment there are nearly 40 peacekeeping accounts with distinct budgetary requirements and reporting obligations.

The United States is in the forefront of a management overhaul that would give Annan and his successors more flexibility.

But the 191-nation General Assembly, which controls the budget, has been reluctant to give up power for programs and jobs. The United States usually appoints the UN undersecretary-general for management.

The report calls for 280 million dollars annually to provide better pay and benefits for people in the field, where the UN Secretariat is having difficulty recruiting and training staff.

In contract procurement, for example, recent peacekeeping figures point to a 50 per cent vacancy.

More than 25 departments and offices now report directly to the secretary-general. One proposal, U.N. officials said, report was for the departments to be regrouped into clusters, each headed by a senior secretary-general.

''In the past decade, the UN has undergone a dramatic operational expansion in a wide range of fields,'' the report says. ''Most notably, there has been a fourfold increase in peacekeeping budgets and deployments since 1998.'' Annan also proposes upgrading the U.N. information and communication technology system, which could cost up to 120 million dollars over the next few years. He wants to appoint a high-ranking ''chief information technology officer'' to develop a new system.

''Despite significant investments, our administrative systems remain fragmented, outdated and under-funded,'' the report says.

The report also calls for streamlining the many financial reports, now more than 270 a year ''without providing any real accountability or transparency.'' Annan also intends to initiate buy-outs, which he estimated at 100,000 dollars per person or 100 million for 1,000 staff members.

REUTERS VJ RAI0444