AMIS says not part in delay of Darfur peacekeepers salary

July 11, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — The African Mission in Sudan (AMIS) said today that it is not part in any delay of payment of AU peacekeepers salary, underlining that EU money goes first to Addis Ababa before receiving it.

The AMIS Spokesman, Noureddine Mezni, in response to recent press reports regarding EU funding, announced that financial support did not go directly and in full into AMIS coffers, adding that such support was provided in tranches and that a report has to be submitted to the donors before the release of the next tranche.

The AP reported yesterday that the European Union is iprobing why its multimillion-euro contribution toward the African military force in Darfur is not reaching soldiers, leaving many without pay for months, officials said Tuesday. This comes after a recent EU fact-finding mission to Sudan’s war-torn western region met with widespread complaints from the troops.

Mezni furthermore added that AMIS worked in close collaboration and full transparency with representatives from the EU, who provided service as consultants to the AU in both Addis Ababa and Khartoum and are reporting on weekly basis to the donors.

The soldiers have not been paid their salaries for the past four months, he added, appealing to the EU and other donors to simplify the paperwork so that the AMIS soldiers in Darfur could receive their pay faster than has been the case to date.

Referring to the recent statement by the EU committing Euros 40 million to AMIS, he stressed that this money had been pledged but not yet received.

It seems that the money is stuck in Addis Ababa, where the AU headquarters is based. Also the EU’s executive Commission believes the delays are due to lack of experience and administrative capacity and there has been no indication of fraud, a spokesman for EU aid Commissioner Louis Michel said.

The European Commission has earmarked A282 million (US$384 million) for the African Union since November 2004, and further funds have been provided by the individual EU member states.

(ST)