Mr Chris Plunkett, Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations, on behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand, to Fifth Committee on Item 118: Programme Budget for the Biennium 2008–09 – Information Technology
October 22nd, 2008
(As delivered)
Mr. Chairman,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. I would first like to thank the Chief Information Technology Officer, Mr. Choi Soon-Hong, for the introduction of the reports of the Secretary General on Information and Communication Technology, as well as Ms. Susan McClurg, Chairperson of the ACABQ, for the introduction of its related report.
CANZ is fully committed to a modern, efficient and effective United Nations. In our view, this can only be achieved if we have modern and efficient information and communications technology, as well as a unified strategy to govern its implementation. This committee wisely recognized that fact in 2006, when we created the position of the CITO and agreed to the implementation of a new Enterprise Resource Planning system.
Mr. Chairman,
For too long, the governance of Information and Communications technology within the Secretariat has been fractured and divided. While individual units have been able to create innovative solutions to their ICT challenges, this lack of a common vision has led to duplication, extra costs and incompatible systems.
While there are a number of different strategies that could have been proposed to remedy this situation, the Secretary-General has proposed a strategy that centralises many of the strategic and long-term planning functions within the Office for Information and Communications Technology, but that also recognises the inherently decentralised nature of the United Nations, allowing the day to day functioning of the ICT system to be managed by the respective departments and offices.
This will allow the dual benefits of a more integrated ICT planning process, while remaining responsive to the end users of ICT services, particularly those in the field.
Mr. Chairman,
This committee has already recognized that this organisation lacks a modern, integrated information system for managing its resources. This is why, in 2006, we decided to replace the current system with an Enterprise Resource Planning system that would enable the better and more efficient management of human, financial and physical resources.
One of the major reasons for implementing an ERP system is to allow the Secretariat to streamline and improve the operations of the organisation, particularly through the redesign of business processes that currently require a lot of manual processing. In our view, this would free up significant resources within the organisation that can be utilised in fulfilling other mandates. Unfortunately, the report before us does not provide adequate detail on what additional efficiencies can be expected through the implementation of an ERP. CANZ will be looking for the Secretariat to provide us with these details during the informal sessions to follow.
In order to realize these benefits, there is no denying that a substantial financial investment from Member States will be required. CANZ is prepared to make this investment, however we will also need to be reassured that the costs of the ERP system are kept to a minimum. Like the ACABQ, we feel that one definitive way to accomplish this is to avoid excessive customization of the ERP system. Any customization should be fully justified, and we will be seeking reassurances from the Secretariat on this point.
Mr. Chairman,
In closing I would like to assure you of the willingness of CANZ to engage constructively on this item. The Committee has a number of important decisions to make on ICT this session, and we look forward to working together with other Member States in reaching a successful conclusion.