Ban hails $5.15bn UN budget

The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, has hailed the bodys budget of $5.15bn for 2012 and 2013 as approved by the General Assembly.Ban on Saturday described the budget as a collective achievement and a commitment to do more and better with less.All budget years are tough. But this year was especially difficult, he said in his remark to the General Assembly.Governments and people everywhere are struggling. It is a time of global financial austerity, he added.The secretary-general commended the assembly for its willingness to make hard choices.He said although the budget was lower than the one before, it was imperative to make the most of our resources to be able to continue fulfilling every one of the critical global mandates entrusted to the United Nations.Ban pledged to continue to ensure member states contributions were optimised and for all mandates given the secretariat to be delivered in full and with efficiency.The UN scribe had initially proposed a budget of $5.197bn in October, which represented a 3.2 per cent cut in the current financial plan, as part of adjusting to the current sluggish global economy.
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