While Staff Council approves resolution on freedom of speech - at UNDP Kemal Dervis increased illegal spending for spinning the media

After the tentative of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to silence the free press only because they are exposing UNDP's corruption and internal mess, the UN Staff Union yesterday approved unanimously a resolution in which they strongly condem Ban Ki Moon's and Kemal Dervis's attacks on media and attemps to silent and censor media within the United States and world-wide.

This resolution come in appropriate moment, when the UNDP spending on auto-publicity has gone crazier than ever. Only in the month of January 2008, David Morrison and the department for Public Information within the office of Kemal Dervis approved an addition 28 million dollars fund for "media capacity development".

This slush-fund will and can be used as follows:

1. 18.5 Million USD - for Any RC/RR that requesires additional funding to "publicize the work of UNDP in the field;
2. 3.5 Million USD - for any Regional Burea Director that requires additional funding to publicize the work of UNDP at regional and sub-regional level;
3. 6 Million USD - for HQs and David Morrison to "work" with the media and ensure that UNDP's "programmes are accurately perceived and reflected";

While 28 million USD would have made quite a difference in the poor africa, or in the slams of India, Bangladesh and SriLanka, or helping the poor kids in central-america - it seems that UNDP leadership is more afraid and concerned form the media attacks and exposures.

Without any Executive Board mandate, UNDP continues to use and abuse tax-payers voluntary contributions, which are earmarked for the poor for auto-publicity, and its spin machine.