UNITED
NATIONS, July
5 -- How does
the UN choose
to whom to pay
money, and
how much to
pay?
Amid
hoopla
at the UN
about its
UMOJA computer
system upgrade
in Lebanon,
Inner City
Press reported
on
whistleblowers'
complaints
that
PriceWaterhouseCoopers
got contract
after contract
without things
ever going out
to bid again.
On
July 1 when
UMOJA launched
in Lebanon,
Inner City
Press began to
ask
about UMOJA
and this at
the noon
briefing, but
this was
disallowed
despite the
brevity of the
noon briefing.
But
on July
2, Inner
City Press managed
to ask about
another
strange
contract:
Deputy
Spokesperson:
Matthew, last
question?
Inner
City
Press: I got a
couple on
Sudan; one
about money.
Which do you…?
Deputy
Spokesperson:
Money.
Inner
City
Press: All
right. Skanska
announced
today and put
out a press
release that
they have been
awarded $65
million
contract
for the
renovation of
the General
Assembly
Building. But
the timing
seemed
strange,
because it’s
already been
fenced off and
people thought
that they’d
already been
given this
whole
contract. So
is there
some way to
know, did they
release a
second
contract to
Skanska and
was it done
competitively?
And if it
wasn’t done
competitively,
why wait until
now that it is
already fenced
off? Isn’t
Skanska
already
working on the
building?
Deputy
Spokesperson:
We’ll have to
find out for
you, Matthew;
I don’t
have that
information
with me.
It
took a couple
of days, but
an answer did
come in today,
unlike on the
UN
Mine
Action Service
chief in
Somalia David
Bax sharing
information
with US
intelligence,
or which
Congolese Army
units Herve
Ladsous' UN
Peacekeeping
supports:
Subject:
Your
question (from
2 July) on
Skanska
From: UN
Spokesperson -
Do
Not Reply [at]
un.org
Date: Fri, Jul
5, 2013 at
12:49 PM
To:
Matthew.Lee
[at]
innercitypress.com
The
United
Nations, on 2
July 2013,
signed a
contract for a
portion of
the renovation
of the General
Assembly
Building with
Skanska USA
Building Inc.
The value of
the contract
is $66.8
million.
(Please
note that the
news release
you based your
questions on
quoted $65
million as the
value of the
contract. That
number is not
correct.)
The
United Nations
selected
Skanska USA
Building Inc.
as
Construction
Manager for
the Capital
Master Plan in
July 2007 in a
competitive
bidding
process. For
each phase of
the renovation
of the UN
Headquarters
the UN
negotiates
separate
guaranteed
maximum price
contracts with
the
Construction
Manager. The
UN has the
option to
negotiate
contracts with
other
construction
companies, if
it
disagrees with
Skanska’s
pricing.
The
General
Assembly
Building was
closed for
construction
on 31 May
2013.
Work performed
by Skanska
before the
signing of the
contract was
authorized in
the form of
task orders,
which was
funded outside
of
this
guaranteed
maximum price
contract.
This
seems to be the way
PriceWaterhouseCoopers
kept getting
UMOJA
contracts
-- the UN
could have
gone back to
market but
said it wasn't
required to.
What triggers
actual
competition?
Tellingly,
Skanska
began to work
and get paid
before the new
contract was
agreed to.
Here,
Skanka's
own press
release says
$65 million;
the UN says
$66.8
million.
What's $1.8
million
between
friends? We'll
have more on
this. Watch
this site.
, 
