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STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE GROUPOF 77 AND CHINA BY AMBASSADORDUMISANI S. KUMALO PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVEOF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA TO THE UNITED NATIONS AND CHAIRMAN OF THE GROUP OF 77 ON THE AGENDAITEM 124: PROGRAMME BUDGET FOR THE BIENNIUM 2006-2007

New York. 20 June 2006

Mr. Chairman, I have the honour to speakon behalf of the Group of 77 and China on agenda item 124: programme budget for the biennium 2006-2007, in pirticrlar on the request of the Secretary-Generalfor the lifting of the spendingcap. The Group of 77 and China wishes to thank the Controller, Mr. Warren Sach, and the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Budgetary and Administrative Questions,Mr. Rajat Saha,for their introductionsof the and respectivereports of the Secretary-General the Advisory Committeeon this matter. Mr. Chairman, has placed before the General Assembly a formal The Secretary-General requestin accordancewith General Assembly resolution 601247A for the Assembly to authorize the expenditure of the remaining funds that were appropriatedin 2005. The Group of 77 and China supportsthe requestby tfr. S..r.tary-General and calls on the Assembly to responddecisively and expeditiouslyto the requestof the Secretary-General' We therefore support your proposal, Mr. Chairman, which provides and Member Stateswith an opportunityto join consensus resolve this matter in the most constructive and expeditious manner. We urge other Member Statesto join us in this endeavor. This will lift the cloud of doubt that has been hanging over the Organrzationfor the past six months and demonstrate our commitment to ensuringthat it remains financially solvent. The Group of 77 and China is ready to endorsea decision to authorizethe expenditureand lift the spendingcap without restriction. It should be clear to all of us that the imposition of the spendingcap has placed this Organisationand its Membershipin a very difficult position. The spendingcap has becomean obstacleto the trust among Member States For example,the developmentresolution and the work olthe Organization. has been held up for as long as there is this spendingcap and recently we

have seen even a reluctance to act on other areas that have nothing to whatsoever do with the spendingcap. It perhapsunintentionally has led to numerousdebatesover the equal rights of all Member Statesto participatein decision-makingat the United Nations, irrespective of the size of our contributions. It unfortunately has raised seriousconcemsamongMember Statesover the financial solvencyof the United Nations. I, therefore, am encouraged that we have finally reached the stage where Member Statescan unequivocally lay these questionsto rest onceand-for-all and allow the Organisationto function proficiently. Mr. Chairrnan At the time of the adoption of the budget negotiations,the Group of 77 andChina made it clear that we believed that the spendingcap would be makes a request for the automatically lifted when the Secretary-General funds already approved to implement the programmes and activities of the and Organisation. We did not recogniseany link betweenthe unprecedented one-time decision to introduce a spendingcap and our collective efforts to reform the Organisationin various areas.We were also assuredduring the negotiationsthat the spendingcap was not intendedto harm the Organisation will be able to requestthe lifting of the cap and that the Secretary-General when he requiredthe funds to be released. Mr. Chairman, on 29 May 2006, the Group of 77 and china held a Special Ministerial Meeting in Putrajaya,Malaysia, and noted with concem that the United Nations is operatingunder a spendingcap that limits the manner in has which the Secretary-General to implementhis mandates. The SpecialMeeting of the Ministers of the Group of 77 and China in Malaysia reaffirmed that efforts to use the size of financial contributionsto and violate push for the adoptionof certainproposalsare counter-productive ihe obligations of Member Statesto provide resourcesfor the Organisation, as enshrined in its Charter. The Ministers also reaffirmed that, in order to avoid a crisis within the United Nations, the limit on the expenditure of the

Organisationshall be automaticallylifted and urged all Member Statesto act accordingly. The Ministers of the Group of 77 and China reaffirmed the Group's commitment to the reform of the United Nations while stating clearly that this reform must not be linked to the issueof the spendingcap. Finally, Mr. Chairrnan, I think we would all agree that Secretary-General Kofi Annan has for the past ten years served this Otgamzation with distinction, courage and vision. In his last few months of service to this Organization,it would be unfortunate if his ability to complete his mandate bestowed upon him by this General Assembly will be intemrpted and ftustratedby the imposition of a spendingcap that has never before been imposed. We, the Member States,have long approved the budget for the biennium of 2006-2007.The least we can do is allow the Secretary-General to go on with his work by unanimously approving the lifting of this cap. This is the leastwe can do. I thank you, Mr. Chairman.