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Dutch Subsidy of Herfkens Triggers Calls for Reimbursement, But Inaction from UNDP, Apartments Offshored

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis

UNITED NATIONS, March 27 -- The $280,000 that Eveline Herfkens illegally took for housing the Dutch government while in the employ of the UN Development Program would all be paid back, parliamentarians from across the political spectrum in the Netherlands said today. While Herfkens has fought not to return the money, now an October 2002 memo has surfaced, reflecting how the impermissible subsidy was planned out.  UNDP defended Herkfens then said, two and a half months ago, that it was investigating the subsidy. Since then, UNDP has said nothing. The simplest of questions about UNDP finances are left unanswered for days, purportedly due to a need to check with "the field." But the finances in question are managed from Headquarters. So much for transparency.

            In a January 9 posting with an undated supplement, UNDP bristled that "UNDP is not aware of ANY rules Ms. Herfkens has knowingly broken to further her own interests. (Subsequent to issuing this statement, the UNDP Spokesperson became aware of the details of the housing subsidy received by Ms. Herfkens. UNDP is looking into this issue, including whether receipt of the subsidy violated the applicable UNDP staff rules."

Eveline Herfkens -- laughing all the way to the bank?

            Two and a half months later, there are no announced results of UNDP's "looking into this issue." Rather, Radio Netherlands reports that

"this week a member of the Socialist Party produced an internal foreign ministry memo, dated October, 2002, in which the ministry seems to suggest the subsidy construction... In addition to finding out how this situation came to pass, a majority in parliament would also like Herfkens to pay the money back. Mr Verhagen says the chance of this happening is very small. She has already declined a request to return the subsidy voluntarily... But many parliamentarians disagree. Member of parliament from the Conservative VVD party, Arend Jan Boekestijn, says he will submit a motion requiring Herfkens to reimburse the government, and he thinks a majority in parliament will support it."

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Click here for a Reuters AlertNet piece by this correspondent about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click here for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali National Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an undefined trust fund.  Video Analysis here

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