FOLLOW UP COMMUNIQUE #14

Date: 11/3/05
EODAF/179-05

       To:            Mrs. Clara Estrada, President, Staff Association

      From:         Frank Almaguer, Director, Department of Administration and Finance 

      Subject:     Staff Communiqué #14, dated October 31, 2005 

I am pleased to write to you in your capacity as President of the Staff Association, concerning the memorandum “Staff members authorized to contract obligations, make commitments, and/or make disbursements on behalf of the General Secretariat.”   Thank you for your comments and concerns. 

In the directives issued on September 30, 2005, the Secretary General and his Chief of Staff delegated authority to the executive secretaries, the directors of departments and offices, and the heads of programs or projects, as well as to administrative support staff in the respective areas. Therefore, all staff responsible for making financial commitments on behalf of the Organization are obliged to sign the document mentioned in the Chief of Staff’s memorandum, whether or not they have access to OASES.  To date, more than 80 percent of the staff affected by that directive have complied.  That number will increase once officials who are away from headquarters on official mission or on leave return. 

The Administration is aware that it is first of all the department directors, followed by the office directors and the authorized technical staff, who are authorized to commit the Organization’s financial resources in their areas of competence. Responsibility for these acts and the resulting consequences are commensurate with rank and with the functions assigned.  Along the same line, it is also the responsibility of administrative support staff to comply with rules when acting on any instructions from their directors or heads of programs and projects. 

My doors, as well as those of the entire Secretary General’s team, are always open to your questions and suggestions, and we will thus be able to avoid any concerns, uncertainty, or anxiety on the part of the staff.  If you should have any other questions, I would be delighted to meet with you.  

            Sincerely yours,

cc:        José Miguel Insulza
             Ricardo Domínguez
             Albert Ramdin
             Alfonso Quiñónez