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WT/BFA/129 
13 April 2012 
 
 (12-1949) 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration  
  
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 13 MARCH 2012 
 
1. The WTO Committee on Budget, Finance a nd Administration met on 13 March 2012 under 
the successive Chairmanships of Mr. Pasi-Heikki Vaaranmaa (Finland) and Ambassador Albinas 
Zananavičius.  The terms of reference and composit ion of the Committee are set out in document 
WT/L/44/Rev.1.  The agenda contained in document WTO/AIR/3899 and WTO/AIR/3899/Add.1 was 
adopted. 
I. MEMBERS AND OBSERVERS CONTRIBUTIONS 
2. A member of the Secretariat presented the report (WT/BFA/W/260) detailing the situation 
with respect to Members' and Observers' contribu tions, Members subject to Administrative Measures 
and Members following payment plans. The overa ll situation on outstanding contributions had 
improved and the number of Members subject to Administrative Measures had been significantly 
reduced. The monitoring of payment plans will beco me the critical area in the coming years.  The 
Committee was also informed th at three Members, the Republic of Chad (WT/BFA/W/256), the 
Republic of Sierra Leone (WT/BFA/W/263) and the Republic of Djibouti (WT/BFA/W/264) had 
accepted payment schemes to liquidate  their outstanding contributions. 
3. Several Members expressed their appreciation for the remarkable progress made to improve 
the situation.  Two Members had expressed concerns  about compliance with Members' payment plans 
going into default.  It was agreed that the Ch air of the Working Group on  Administrative Measures 
would hold a meeting on this topic and would then  report back to the Committee.  The Committee 
took note of the report and appr oved the following recommendations: 
4. In accordance with the decision of the Ge neral Council of 15 May 2006, the Committee 
on Budget, Finance and Administration recomm ends that the General Council suspend the 
application of administrative measures for the Republic of Chad, which agrees to, and 
undertakes to abide by, a schedule of instalment payments aimed at liquidating all arrears over 
a period of fifteen years starting on 1 January 2012.  The payments must be received no later 
than 31 December of each year, failing which the administrative measures will be reinstated. 
5. In accordance with the decision of the General Council of 15 May 2006, the Committee 
on Budget, Finance and Administration recomm ends that the General Council suspend the 
application of administrative measures for the Republic of Sierra Leone, which agrees to, and 
undertakes to abide by, a schedule of instalment payments aimed at liquidating all arrears over 
a period of 15 years starting on 1st January 20 11.  The payments must be received no later than 
31 December of each year, failing which the administrative measures will be reinstated. 
6. In accordance with the decision of the General Council of 15 May 2006, the Committee 
on Budget, Finance and Administration recomm ends that the General Council suspend the 
application of administrative measures for the Republic of Djibouti, which agrees to, and 
undertakes to abide by, a schedule of instalment payments aimed at liquidating all arrears over 
a period of ten years starting on 1 January 2010.   The payments must be received no later than 
31 December of each year, failing which the administrative measures will be reinstated. WT/BFA/129 
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  7. The Committee recommends to the General Coun cil that Guinea-Bissau, the remaining 
Inactive Member, be urged to liquidate its arrears. 
II. UTILIZATION OF THE MEMBERS' TRANSITION OPERATING FUND 
8. A member of the Secretariat updated the Committee on the progress of the building project.  
He stated that 80 per cent of the renovation had b een completed. He also announced that the South 
Courtyard Conference Centre, the Atrium and the Ma in Entrance would be open by mid-April.  With 
respect to the new administrative building, there ha d been a two-week delay due to the very cold 
weather in February.  However, the project rema ined overall within the budget and on schedule.  The 
Secretariat had emphasized that a limited number of meeting rooms would be available from April to 
September 2012.   
9. The Deputy Director-General then presented the situation of the Members' Transition 
Operating Fund (WT/BFA/W/261) and updated the Committee on the progress achieved on the 
projects already approved.  He requested the approva l for the funding of two projects, which include 
the North Wing Conference Rooms and the IT Data Centre for an amount of CHF 6.2 million and 
CHF 0.7 million, respectively.   
10. Several Members enquired about the option sel ected to award these two projects to the 
companies already working on the site and not goi ng through a new competitive bidding process.  The 
Secretariat answered that these companies had be en initially selected through a competitive bidding 
process that had foreseen contract extensions. In ad dition, it was also important to ensure adequate 
collaboration between the several companies involve d in the various projects to limit the risks of 
delays.  The price competitiveness of these cont ract extensions had also been assessed.   
11. One Member enquired about the method selected to obtain the initial estimates of CHF 8 
million to equip the North Wing Conference Rooms.  The Secretariat explained that it had worked 
with the contractor to reduce the overall costs by revising down some of the requirements.  The same 
Member requested why the cost of the IT Data Ce ntre had risen and why the move of the IT Data 
Centre was more complicated than  anticipated. The Secretariat expl ained that the energy efficient 
standards of the new building required some techni cal adjustments to the IT Data Centre. Another 
Member sought further information on the remaini ng projects to be funded and on the potential risk 
and impact of a delay in the completion of the new building. 
12. The Committee took note of the report and adopted the following decision:  
The Committee agreed that the following addi tional projects may be funded from the 
Members' Transition Operating Fund for a total amount of CHF 6,900,000: 
(a) The equipping of the North Wing Conference Rooms for an amount of up to 
CHF 6,200,000 ; 
(b) The equipping of the Data Centre for an amount of up to CHF 700,000 . 
III. REPORT BY THE OFFICE OF INTERNAL AUDIT 
13. The Head of the Office of Internal Audit presented the annual internal audit report 
(WT/BFA/W/259) to the Committee.  She first reminded the Committee about the establishment, purpose, authority and responsibility of the internal audit function at the WTO.  The internal audit 
activities carried in 2011 were, then presented.   She detailed the scope, objectives and key 
recommendations of the two audits performed on a)  the cleaning and maintenance services activities 
and b) on Security and Safety activities.   WT/BFA/129 
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  14. The Deputy Director-General recalled that a numbe r of measures to reinforce the Secretariat's 
Governance had been implemented over the last fe w years. These included the establishment of the 
Internal Audit function and the presen tation by the External Auditors of  their report to the Committee.  
He emphasized that the Secretariat remained very transparent on how it used the funds that Members 
were putting in its hands and that there was no probl em in opening its books to answer any concerns, 
either directly, through the Committee or th rough the internal and external auditors. 
15. Several Members welcomed the report and took the opportunity to propose that the written 
report could be more substantive in the future, incl uding more details and further risk categorization 
on the recommendations.   
16. Two Members raised specific concerns regard ing allegations they had heard of possible  
misuse of funds in the areas of:  a) corporate credit cards, b) telephone and mobile phones, c) taxi services and d) official missions.  They asked that th ese matters be brought to the attention of both the 
internal and external auditors for their examina tion and offered to provide further detail to the 
auditors. They stressed importance of ensuring that  any allegations of inappropriate use of WTO 
funds be examined and, if substantiated, acted upon by the appropriate authorities.  Several Members 
expressed concerns about those allegations and support ed the proposal to have both the internal and 
external  auditors review them and repor t back to the Committee as soon as possible.  
17. The Secretariat reiterated its open book policy.  It would promptly examine any allegation 
brought to its attention and provide further inform ation to the Committee and the External Auditors.  
The Committee took note of the report of the Internal  Audit. The Committee also  invited the External 
Auditor to review and report on the specific concerns raised.   
IV. OTHER BUSINESS 
18. Two Members expressed their deepest gratitude to  the former Director of the Administration 
and General Services Division, Mr. Robert Luther w ho had retired in January.  They thanked him for 
his long lasting support, both in the Committee a nd in the WTO Pension Plan Management Board.  
The Chair agreed that he would co nvey those wishes to Mr. Luther.  
V. ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON 
19. The Chair recalled that the General Council at its meeting in February had taken note of a 
slate of names of officers for the various WTO sta nding bodies.  On the basis of the understanding 
reached, he proposed that the Committee on Budget , Finance and Administration formally elect 
Ambassador Albinas Zananavi čius as new chair of the Committee by acclamation.  The Committee so 
agreed.  The Chair told he had high regard to  the WTO secretariat, from professionals to the 
administrative staff, from desk officers to technical  staff to the interpreters. WTO secretariat stood out 
in comparison to a lot of other international or ganization secretariats. The Chair felt the secretariat 
needs be given proper acknowledgement and appreciation of their efforts.  
20. Ambassador Albinas Zananavi čius assumed the Chair, congratulated the outgoing Chair and 
wished him the best for his future career.  He also thanked Members for their participation.  
 
POINTS FOR DECISION: paragr aph 4, 5, 6, 7 and 12 
 
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