UNDP pays historian half a million to praise itself

In the meantime, UNDP condemns the US for not giving it millions more "for the poor"

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) paid $567,379 in 2004 for a historian to lavish praise upon itself in the form of a published book released this year entitled, UNDP: A Better Way? This included the following expenses:

$252,000 for the historian's 21-month salary
$87,639 for the "project coordinator's" salary
$91,559 for "research and editing"
$37,299 for travel
$26,752 for office space
$55,452 for purchasing mass quantities of its own book

Overlooking the fact that the U.N. must pay historians to praise itself, U.N. officials continue to criticize the U.S. for not giving more than the $108 million we give to the UNDP each year. This criticism towards the #1 U.N. donor seems odd at a time when U.N. management should be asking UNDP how many Guatemalan farmers could be trained to maximize crop yields, how many Burmese refugees could be taught to read and write, how many Sudanese survivors of genocide could be fed a meal, how many micro-loans could be administered in India for $567,379?

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Senator Tom Coburn

Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and International Security

340 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510

Phone: 202-224-2254 Fax: 202-228-3796