4 November 2004)

Mr. Chairman,

The South African delegation wishes to express its appreciation to the Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, Mr. Dileep Nair, for presenting the annual report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), and its report on the audit of the regional commissions, as contained in documents A/59/359 and A/58/785. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Office and the annual report provides us with a good benchmark for evaluating the work of the Office. We at the outset wish to associate ourselves with the statement delivered by the Chairman of the Group of 77 and China under agenda item 119, which touched on the review of the mandate of the Office.

My delegation wishes to commend Mr. Nair and his Office for their efforts to instill a greater sense of accountability throughout the United Nations. The large number of OIOS reports that were submitted to the General Assembly during the period under review, as well as the wide range of issues that they covered, and the actual savings of $26.6 million as a result of implementation of OIOS recommendations bear testimony to the importance of having effective oversight mechanisms. The increase in the number of requests for OIOS studies and reviews over the past few years also clearly illustrate the confidence that Member States have in the independent nature of, and the oversight functions performed by the Office. In this context, we have taken note of the self-evaluation done by the Office and the related remarks made by Mr. Nair in his introduction.

My delegation wishes to commend the OIOS for attempting to effectively rationalise its allocation of resources and improve the targeting of its oversight assignments by applying a risk management framework to its annual work plan. We observe that the risk management mechanism has facilitated cross-disciplinary teamwork in the OIOS, as well as with its clients. We trust that this framework will further strengthen and add value to the oversight activities. We are encouraged by the efforts made to improve co-ordination between the various oversight bodies and the measures taken by the bodies to ensure that they continue to meet the highest auditing and investigating standards. We wish to encourage the Office to continue with its efforts to increase its collaboration with the Board of Auditors and the Joint Inspection Unit.

Mr. Chairman,

The annual report of the OIOS provides Member States with a useful and indispensable opportunity to evaluate the performance of the Organisation and monitor the effective use of its resources. In this regard, my delegation welcomes the improved format of the annual report and takes note of the efforts of the Office to streamline its report by including only the more significant and specific recommendations in its oversight reports, and thereby decreasing the number of recommendations, including critical ones, issued during the period under review in comparison with preceding years. We, however, still deem the number of instances recommendations too high and wish to appeal to the relevant OIOS clients to implement the recommendations without delay and to ensure that the necessary steps are taken to prevent such recurrences in future. We are encouraged, however, by the statistics, which demonstrate that the majority of critical recommendations for the three preceding periods under review have been implemented.

The South African delegation attaches great importance to the oversight activities and recommendations of the OIOS that, amongst others, relate to safety and security, procurement, the management of peacekeeping operations, and humanitarian and related activities. We, therefore, continue to view the findings that point towards instances of sexual abuse and exploitation, poor management controls, inadequate staffing of units in peacekeeping operations, weaknesses in administrative oversight, unreliable accounting practices, inadequate record keeping of mission equipment, alleged fraudulent activities and non-compliance with procurement guidelines with great concern. We wish to reiterate our view that remedial action should be taken to ensure that such incidents do not hinder the effective functioning of the Organisation at Headquarters and in the field. My delegation intends to further pursue some of these matters when the Committee returns to the relevant agenda items later in the session.

Mr. Chairman,

The South African delegation views the effective functioning of the Economic Commission for Africa as essential, and we trust that the audit conducted by the OIOS of the regional commissions will contribute to the positive roles that the Commission plays in advancing the development agenda in Africa. The Commission in 2002 received the additional and very important mandate of overseeing the co-ordination and collaboration concerning NEPAD among the entities of the United Nations at the regional level. The ECA has subsequently made considerable progress in aligning its activities and programmes with the goals and priorities of the NEPAD, and the internationally agreed development goals.

We trust that findings of the OIOS will contribute to further improvements in the management and efficiency of the Commission. My delegation wishes to seek clarification concerning the rationale for, and modalities of the implementation of some of the recommendations contained in document A/58/785. We will raise these matters during the informal consultations on this agenda item.

Mr. Chairman, in conclusion, my delegation wishes to express its sincere appreciation to Mr. Nair for his years of dedicated service to the Organisation. We have seen the Office grow from strength to strength during the past five years under his able leadership. We wish to thank him for his personal contribution to effective oversight and wish him good fortune in his future endeavours.

I thank you.