Skanska, Global Compact, ethical conduct UN’s $1.9 billion Taj Mahal on the East River By Judi McLeod July 31, 2007 Canada Free Press Original Source: http://www.canadafreepress.com/2007/cover073107.htm Is the $US1.9 billion United Nations renovation of its crumbling New York headquarters another Oil for Food-type scam in the making? There’s a discrepancy anywhere from $500 million to $1billion in unaccounted for expenses tied up somewhere in the projected costs for square footage. It’s a discrepancy lost in the same labyrinth of UN unpaid parking tickets. The UN has signed a contract with Swedish builder Skanska to handle the preconstruction phase of the renovations. Skanska is part of the UN Global Compact personally established by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at the 1999 World Economic Forum in Davos. Upon launching the initiative, Annan said: “Let’s choose to unite the powers of markets with the authority of universal ideals.” Global Compact is an organization of 100 companies, institutions, associations and think tanks that have “demonstrated a pledge to embrace and enact nine principles covering issues in human rights, labor, and the environment.” The idea of its conception is for companies and organizations to share information on “ethical conduct”. Ethical conduct would hardly describe the close-to-Annan players involved in the $100 billion UN Oil For Food program scandals. Figures caught up in the seeming never-ending scandal included former UN Assistant Secretary General Benon Sevon, who oversaw the Oil for Food program and who fled the U.S. among accusations of accepting $3.5 million worth of Iraqi oil vouchers; Maurice Strong, Annan’s close advisor, envoy in North Korea, and a former UN under secretary general, who accepted a personal cheque for nearly $1 million US from Korean businessman Tongsun Park, who was later charged with influence peddling for Saddam Hussein. The Oil for Food scandal even touched Annan’s son, Kojo, who was briefly employed as a consultant by Cotecna Inspections, which in December 1998, just after he departed the company, won the UN contract to check all goods coming into Iraq. Already stuck with 22 percent of the regular UN budget and 25 percent of all peacekeeping costs, American taxpayers will be saddled with 22 percent of the $1.9 million construction project, or $413.6 million. New York developer Donald Trump, who called the projected costs of the project “incompetence or fraud”, offered to complete the project for one-third of what it will now cost. Annan refused to discuss the matter with him. UN officials are explaining that the $1.9 billion price tag for the renovation project includes “other costs” to cover contingency funding, inflation, leasing and fees for consultants and architects. The actual overhaul of its headquarters, which is to begin in the first half of next year, is expected take seven years before completion. Arrogance is not in short supply at the world’s largest bureaucracy. UN under secretary general for management Alicia Barcena told reporters that the deal is “a major step in making the UN headquarters a safer and healthier, more secure and more energy efficient place for all of us who work here”, UN staff, diplomats, journalists and the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit each year. Even though Americans will be paying the freight, no jobs will be coming their way from the project. That’s because the General Assembly decreed that the work would be done by “vendors from developing countries and countries with economies in transition.” The plan involves a massive overhaul of the six-building UN headquarters complex, a major tourist attraction, to bring it into conformity with New York City health and safety codes while improving security. The main UN headquarters buildings, built on land that was originally an abattoir donated by the Rockefeller family between 1949 and 1951, have not been overhauled since. The complex has a leaking roof, is said to be riddled with asbestos and lacks fire detectors, a sprinkler system and other emergency safety devices. Yet Turtle Bay is one of the only buildings in New York where smokers are still allowed to light up. Annan contemplated international affairs in his office with an occasional cigar. Under the plan, 10 of the main compound’s 39 floors would be evacuated at a time to allow the structure to be renovated in four stages. Beginning next year, a temporary conference building is to be erected on the UN complex’s north lawn to accommodate the General Assembly. And 10 office floors are to be leased in central Manhattan to accommodate 750 headquarters staff while additional space is to be leased on Long Island to temporarily house the UN library and about 250 employees. The executive director of the renovation project, Michael Adlerstein will take up his post on Monday. Somewhat ironically renovation projects worked on by Adlerstein include India’s famed Taj Mahal.