Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the United Nations to Wall Street to the Inner City

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, November 12 -- The Ban Ki-moon era at the United Nations featured increasing irregularities, nepotism and corruption, including a chief of Communications Cristina Gallach who did no due diligence of the Macau based businessman Ng Lap Seng, then evicted the investigative Press which asked her about it.

But just as Inner City Press in 2014 reported on then-head of the UN Department of General Assembly and Conference Management  Tegegnework Gettu calling female critics "emotional," here, whistleblowers afraid of Gallach-like retaliation tell Inner City Press that Gettu has continued his "shenanigans" at UNDP.

Inner City Press is today exclusively publishing internal UNDP (“Atlas”) travel vouchers leaked to it by scared whistleblowers, reflecting among other things Gettu coincidentally putting in for $11,000 travel expenses. See documents here, on Scribd. We'll have more on this.

At UNDP, Gettu's $11,000 Trip Documents Leaked to Inner City Press, He Told Staff, I'm Warning You by Matthew Russell Lee on Scribd

 Previously, multiple sources informed Inner City Press that Gettu told complaining staff "I am warning you," cutting them off while saying We are all equal, including me." Really? Leaked audio exclusively put online by Inner City Press here.

 What will incoming Secretary General Antonio Guterres do? On Gettu, and on the equally retaliatory Gallach? Under Ban's management, the UN Staff Union in New York has been broken. (Inner City Press is informed that these Gettu irregularities have been raised to UNDP's staff union). But ask: is this rant appropriate? Previously, Gettu said, if we all fart together, it doesn't smell. Really?

 Back on July 31 Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced he is shifting Catherine Pollard from the Office of Human Resources Management over to become Assistant Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM).

  As Inner City Press previously reported, Pollard had declared herself the poster child of Ban's “mobility” policy, to only hold the same post -- or was it duty station? -- for five years.

  What does DGACM do? As a sample, Inner City Press has already exclusively received a number of complaints about a meeting held by DGACM chief Tegegnework Gettu, also on July 31. According to sources, Gettu used the meeting to tell staff how well he is doing, how objective he is, that he has no personal agenda. (Click here for previously Inner City Press report.)

  But when he opened the floor, the first staff member who dared make a suggestion -- that verbatim is now nearly identical to translation -- was cut off and told that his was only a personal opinion.

  A female staffer who made a criticism was told by Gettu to not be “emotional.” Eventually Gettu was telling the assembled staff that the UN “is good” and “if you don't like it, walk away.”

  In fact, it was in DGACM that the staff member elected vice president of the Staff Union in December was terminated -- Gettu says he didn't re-apply for a job so he clearly didn't need one -- and it was in DGACM that staff members were subjected to bed bugs, among other things, in the Albano Building.

  On July 31, the sources exclusively tell Inner City Press that Gettu told DGACM staff that they may remain in the Albano Building on 46th Street until 2017 when, he says, the UN may have a “DC5” building, proposed to be built on the Robert Moses playground south of 42nd Street. Click here for Inner City Press story.

  There are many hardworking staff in DGACM, and even some in management may mean well.

   But the type of self-serving speechifying at staff described to Inner City Press by sources on July 31 is indicative of the same UN which, for example among the press, evicted the News Agency of Nigeria from its work area claiming a lack of space -- and then, in pure Gallach and Ban retaliation, physically evicted from the UN Inner City Press, and has confined it to minders for more than eight months, and counting. We and the Free UN Coalition for Access will have more on this. We'll have more on this.