Mr. Chair,

1. I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on the Agenda item 132: Review of the Efficiency - supply chain activities.

2. The Group thanks Ms. AnneMarie van den Berg, Assistant Secretary General for the Office of supply chain management, Mr. Abdullah Bachar Bong, Chair of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), and Ms. Fatoumata Ndiaye, Under-Secretary-General, Office of Internal Oversight Services, for introducing their respective reports.

Mr. Chair,

3. The supply chain activities of the United Nations must be guided by the principles of best value for money, fairness, integrity and transparency, effective international competition, and the interest of the United Nations. It is also of utmost importance that procurement activities promote equal opportunity for and procurement from least developed and developing countries and countries with economies in transition.

4. In this light, we commend the information contained in the report of the Secretary General especially in regard to the outreach activities to vendors and the distribution of procurement. However, as stated in previous sessions of the Committee, the report lacks an adequate level of detail, data and analysis on specific aspects of supply chain management and procurement. Considering it has been almost a decade since the General Assembly last adopted a resolution on procurement, the Committee should have been provided with more comprehensive and detailed report in order to facilitate substantive discussion and guidance.

5. On the status of procurement from developing countries, considering the generality of the information provided in the report, the group is not in a position to evaluate the details including the vendor diversity and geographical base of the procurement, the amount, and the nature of goods and services sourced from these countries. However, considering eighty percent of the procurement spending is on ten items, the group looks forward to acquire information on the sourcing of these ten items.

6. Regarding digitalization of supply chain management, the Group notes the completion of the e-tendering solution as part of Umoja and the availability of the UN Procurement Manual in the six official languages. However, we recognize the need to significantly improve the low number of outreach programmes to vendors in least developed and in-transition countries, as compared to the outreach done to industrialized countries. While we will seek more information on the justifications, we reiterate the need for the Secretary General to implement additional, innovative ways to promote and sustain procurement from these group of countries.

Mr. Chair,

7. It is to be recalled that the General Assembly established the Global Procurement Support Section in Entebbe, as a regular office within the Procurement Division of the Secretariat. The Centre has been servicing the procurement needs of the UN Offices including Peacekeeping and Special political missions in Africa. The Group is of the view that the Centre should be utilized to a larger magnitude, including in the initiative that is presented as "circular supply chain" in the return, refurbishment and reuse programme, including those from closing and downsizing missions. The Group will inquire further on the efforts made to make full use of the Global Procurement Support Section at the Regional Service Centre.

8. On the framework of accountability and integrity in supply chain management, the group calls for full implementation of the recommendations of the Board of Auditors. While reiterating the request of the Assembly for detailed analysis on the procurement methods of "Request for Proposal" and "invitation to bid", we encourage the SG to look into the overuse of informal methods of solicitation in both methods to identify risks of misconduct.

9. In relation, the Group also notes the underperformance of the Department in the area of ensuring equitable geographical representation. We will call for targeted measures by the leadership to meet the geographical targets provided under the senior managers compact it signed with the Secretary-General.

10. On the procurement of aviation services, the Group wishes to underscore previous Assembly decisions affirming Aviation procurement is subject to the principles of procurement in the organization. We also seek to highlight the need to ensure transparency and implement the decision of the Assembly to adopt a regional approach that facilitating an advantage from economies of scale. In this vein, the Group commends the Secretary General for accepting the recommendations of OIOS and looks forward to receiving further information on the status of implementation.

11. In conclusion, Mr. Chair, the Group assures you of our commitment to engage constructively on this agenda item for a timely and successful conclusion.

I thank you!