U.N.’s refusal to cooperate in spending probe wrong

A month after U.N. Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon used the word deadbeat to describe the United States because of $1 billion in unpaid dues comes word that the world organization hasn’t been particularly careful in the way it has spent American money.

According to USA Today, an investigation by U.S. federal agents has uncovered the expenditure by two U.N. agencies of millions in dollars on substandard Afghanistan construction projects, including a central bank without electricity and a bridge at risk of “life threatening” collapse.

But what makes this all too common tale of poor fiscal management different is the revelation that the United Nations refused to cooperate with the investigation, thus leaving many questions unanswered.

Given that Secretary-General Ban had the audacity to publicly slam the United States for not paying its annual dues — this country accounts for 22 percent of the organization’s $4.86 billion operating budget — it is now incumbent on him to speak directly to what the investigation has uncovered.

And, he should make it clear that the immunity enjoyed by U.N. employees will be waved so that prosecutions can proceed — if they are justified.

USA Today reported that federal prosecutors in New York were forced to drop criminal and civil cases because of the immunity, The United States Agency for International Development, which made available a $25 million grant to the U.N. for its “quick impact” infrastructure program from 2003 to 2006, has hired a collection agency to recover $7.6 million. In addition, the USAID has scaled back its dealings with the U.N.

In addition to the central bank in Afghanistan without electricity and a bridge on the verge of collapsing, there is an airstrip in the southern town of Qalat that cost $749,000 — it was originally budgeted for $300,000 — that could not accommodate military planes, the newspaper reported.

Other countries

In addition, $10 million of the USAID grant money was diverted to projects in other countries, including Haiti, Sudan, Sri Lanka and Dubai.

Finally, there is the allegation that the director of the U.N. Office for Project Services in Afghanistan used $200,000 to renovate his guest house.

Under the “quick impact” program — it was designed to show that the redevelopment of war-torn Afghanistan was on a fast track — the office of project services kept a 7 percent management fee.

“This is a disturbing report and an egregious example of the fraud and waste that needs to be fixed,” said Mark Kornblau, spokesman for Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Given that the misspending of American dollars occurred during the tenure of Republican President George W. Bush, it is not surprising that the details of the investigation were kept under wraps.

The Bush administration not only made secrecy in the executive branch standard operating procedure, but it was determined to put a positive spin on what was taking place in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

It is, therefore, up to Democratic President Barack Obama to ensure that the American people are provided all of the details about the way the United Nations mismanaged American money.

Not only is cooperation from Secretary-General Ban on down demanded, but it must be made clear that any violations of the law with regard to the expenditure of the dollars will be dealt with harshly — immunity or not.