Geneva hosted last 25 June the second meeting of the Management and Budget Group (MBG) of the Council of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which is headed by Plamen Vatchkov (Bulgaria), a position previously held on an interim basis by Saraiva Mendes (Portugal).
At the meeting, the group examined proposals by Malaysia and Russia to improve the organisation's operations and particularly its management. These proposals and the comments received should now be further developed by the ITU secretariat for future debate. A review of profits and spending was also conducted; it was indicated that on 31 March of this year the ITU's profits were 1.2 percent below what was expected.
The Council members also had occasion to consider the proposed operational plan for the 2009-2012 period and to evaluate implementation of the 2008-2011 strategy and operational plan of the general secretariat. Suggestions were also made with a view to improving same. The group was informed about the current situation of progress on the projects envisaged in Resolution 1243: Travel Management, Procurement, Human Resources (HR) and Key Performance Indicators (KPI). On this agenda point a new computer application available to the Council members was presented. It contains graphics with detailed information concerning ITU budget implementation and staff characteristics.
Resolution 147 on Union management and functioning was dealt with for the first time since the 2006 Plenipotentiary Conference. Note that this resolution arose from a European common proposal co-ordinated by Portugal. The ITU also reported that it had yet to begin work on this issue, as it was waiting for members’ suggestions on the route to follow. Bulgaria suggested that the ITU secretariat should go ahead with the work so that it can be reported to the next PP in 2010. If not, nothing would be done in four years.
