Tuesday, January 11 2005 12:18 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

United Nations: In an attempt to enhance transparency, the United Nations has decided to appoint an outside accounting firm to track billions of Dollars pledged to tsunami victims and allow people to track via a website how the money is spent.

The world body, which is facing allegations of irregularities in the Oil-for-Food programme for Iraq, has accepted an offer by a leading accounting and consulting firm Price-Waterhouse-Cooper (PWC) to help create on pro bono basis a system to track aid Dollars.

The firm, which was briefed on the accounting system used by the United Nations over the weekend, will also promptly investigate credible allegations of fraud, waste and abuse, a top United Nations official said at United Nations Headquarters yesterday (Jan 10, 2005).

Briefing reporters, a senior official in the UN office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Kevin Kennedy said that this was first time in his experience of ten years that the United Nations has decided to use outside firm, "at least at this juncture".

The idea is that billions Dollars pledged for the victims of tsunami in the Indian Ocean to the world body and its agencies are "efficiently and effectively" used.

Noting that there has always been a general interest in tracking the allocation of relief funds, he said, "If the effort of Price Waterhouse Cooper adds to the transparency and credibility, so much the better."

But he did not agree with the suggestion that ongoing investigations into the "oil-for-food" programme would affect donations to the tsunami victims, saying that some $ 2 billion had been received in response to the humanitarian appeals.