Pay your dues – UN tells govts amid near decade worst cash crisis

The United Nations says it faces a severe cash shortage. Consequently, the world agency has asked more governments to pay their annual fees. Our work and our reforms are at risk,” UN chief António Guterres told member states on Tuesday.

Latest Nigeria newspaper report that The Secretary General said that he had written to Member States “about the worst cash crisis facing the United Nations in almost a decade.”

“The Organization runs the risk of depleting its liquidity reserves by the end of the month and defaulting payments to staff and suppliers.” The UN revealed that 129 States of 193 had paid their regular annual fees, the most recent being Syria.

At the end of September, only 70% of the total evaluation for the year had been paid; 78 percent this time last year.

And as of October 8, member states have paid $ 1.99 billion for the evaluation of the regular budget for 2019, leaving a pending amount of around $ 1.3 billion for the year.

UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told correspondents in New York that others had to pay “urgently and in full. This is the only way to avoid a breach that could run the risk of disrupting operations worldwide.

“The Secretary-General also asked governments to address the underlying reasons for the crisis and agree on measures to put the United Nations on a solid financial basis. To date, we have avoided significant interruptions in operations. But these measures are no longer enough.

Latest Nigeria newspaper report that The Secretariat could face a breach in wages and payments of goods and services by the end of November unless more Member States pay their budgetary fees in full.

“The Secretary-General pointed out that this is a recurring problem that severely hinders the ability of the Secretariat to fulfill its obligations to the people we serve.

“We are now forced to prioritize our work based on cash availability, which undermines the implementation of mandates decided by intergovernmental agencies.

Latest Nigeria newspaper report that The Secretary-General, therefore, expects the Member States to solve the structural problems that underlie this annual crisis without further delay,” Dujarric added.