Extinction Level Event (13 page)

The ambassador of Mali came next; this time it was an
appraisal. He believed that, “The WFP is doing what no other
humanitarian organization seems capable of doing”, and that, “We
are all eternally grateful for your help during the food crisis
last year, despite some problems such as slowness of transport and
lack of adequate security at the airport”. Manjak privately held
that the UN shouldn’t be charged with security at the airport, but
that should be the role of the government in question. Maybe that
policy should be re-examined. UN troops would only be sent if there
was a high risk, but apparently a large amount of food had also
been stolen by gangs and corrupt officials in Mali.

Manjak kept in mind that these criticisms would pale
compared to the criticism he would receive from these same
representatives when they reviewed his strategic plan for the next
two years. The World Food Programme, despite many difficulties and
logistics problems, is seen by many of the Third World’s nations as
a much more effective program than the FAO. The FAO was
increasingly seen by many countries as becoming obsolete,
expensive, and downright useless. Manjak silently hopes that that
sentiment has not spread to the Senior Management team, but
confidently believes that even if it did, his proposal may change
their minds. One of his major proposals includes bringing the World
Food Programme back under the umbrella of the FAO, instead of
acting as a separate organization. The WFP is directly responsible
for administering and delivering the Food Aid shipments to other
countries, and Manjak believes that if under FAO not only would
that shorten the administrative hierarchy, but it would also once
again give FAO a direct hand in food aid. In recent years FAO
focused more on pro-active programs such as pest management, food
price initiatives, local food growth programs, and the World Food
summit.

The meeting concluded after three hours, Manjak
spending the last hour on the phone with Pereira going over updates
from around the world. Bao Feng walks over as the committee
disbands, asking him, “What do you think?” “Hmmm, other than you’re
getting credit for what we should be doing? This is the usual. Its
always the same story, as if they expect us to be able to load
those planes any faster.” “I know. I try to make a schedule
beforehand and give it to the local governments. They are rarely
satisfied however, even when they know exactly when each shipment
should arrive. And our planes are usually on time!” “Of course!”,
replies Trip with a supportive smile. Barring atmospheric
disturbances and the occasional hurricane, he knows that Bao would
make her appointments on schedule. That would include delivering
supplies when she promised she would.

He doesn’t however, know how she would react to his
new strategic plan; and he doesn’t feel like finding out right now.
What if she doesn’t like it? She has gotten very used to
independent functioning, if the FAO were to butt in. . .
movement to the left catches Trip’s attention, derailing his
process of thoughts. It is Zihgneg Nahk, Deputy Secretary-General.
Known as being a relatively quiet man who would work behind the
scenes letting others get the spotlight, the short man with short
straight black hair is generally regarded by most with a mixture of
admiration and curiosity. His eyes, however, dart everywhere when
he goes around, as if he is trying to immediately take into account
everything about his new environment. The blonde-haired Swede
Hartaagnaan usually got most of the world’s attention, but to
Manjak at least it seemed that most of the intelligence of the
organization was due to the efforts of Nahk, and not Hartaagnaan,
who was more known as a frequent jet-setter and centerpiece of
media spotlight.

“Good morning, sir. How are we doing today?”,
inquires Trip politely to his relatively obscure boss. “Quite well,
Mr. Manjak.”, comes the reply in his soft, raspy voice. “I have
been here at the meeting over the last hour, as you may have
noticed.” Manjak hadn’t noticed until two minutes ago. “I am
confident that Mrs. Feng is doing her utmost, I believe that you
recommended her for the position in the first place.” “That is
correct, sir, I did. I knew she was right for the job.” “You choose
wisely, Mr. Manjak. So. You are here to present a new plan to
Haartaagnan?” “Actually, yes. I should be meeting with him and
yourself, sir, in less than two hours.” “Yes. Very well then, and
good luck. See you in two hours.” Shaking his hand again, Manjak
sees the Deputy Secretary-General leave the conference room for
some other location with his two aides in tow. Bao has in the
meantime been in conversation with the UN Ambassador from
Indonesia, which seemed to Manjak to be pointed and in heat.
Deciding to get lunch, an activity that always brought him great
joy since he was more aware of food security than most people in
the world, Manjak headed towards the Secretariat cafeteria located
the next floor down.

Manjak, who generally only had one large meal a day,
tried to enjoy the turkey sandwish and salad while going over his
prepared speech to the Senior Management Group.
I really hate
the Senior Mangement. All they do is talk, and then they may deny
me the money needed for my reforms. Bao is ok, but as she said –can
I trust the rest?
His phone rings – who would be calling me
now?- prompting Trip to answer in the middle of a mouthful. “Hello?
Trip Manjak, FAO.” “Trip!”, comes the all-too familiar voice of his
wife Sofia, “How is New York? Did you see my family yet?” “Are you
talking about me? Or Luis?” Trip hears Sofia laugh over the line,
“You!! Well, I was referring to Luis.” “I can’t get out of the
city, honey, and you know that. Whenever I don’t have a meeting I’m
invited to a new one. Its really rather fascinating.” “I can
imagine. So when are you going to be back?” “I should be back in
Rome in about two more days. That’s 48 hours querida” “You are sooo
not funny. Kisses.” Manjak blows a kiss into the phone and hangs
up. He forgot to tell her about his return ticket as usual, but
since she used to work for the UN she is usually forgiving of his
quack, unpredictable and abrupt schedules. The twins weren’t nearly
as forgiving as their mother, until they turned 16 and started
enjoying his time away from home. Which is why Manjak made sure he
was at home as much as often during weekends.

After finishing the rest of his lunch Manjak arrives
in front of the Economic and Social Council Chamber one hour ahead
of schedule. His massive 120 page strategy outline is in his left
hand, while his laptop is held firmly by his right. He enters the
Chamber and sits down, setting up his laptop. The Chamber, designed
by Swedish architect Swen Markelius, uses red Swedish pine wood for
the room’s walls, railings, and doors. Pipes and venting are
uncovered on the ceiling, done intentionally by Markelius to
symbolize that the UN’s social and economic work is never fully
finished. The chamber is rumored to be Hartaagnaan’s favorite
chamber, but whether this is due to the unorthodox architecture or
the fact that the architect was also a Swede is unknown. The layout
includes a small central table with seating for fourteen flanked on
three sides by rows of seats for members of the council and
onlookers. On the fourth and final side lies the raised seven-seat
table reserved for the directors at the conference. After forty
minutes the Senior Management starts appearing in droves, including
the Directors for the Refugee Agency, peacekeeping Operations,
Field Support, Management, Safety and Security, Environmental
Programme, and Economic and Social Affairs, along with their aides.
Bao Feng arrives with the rest of the Secretariat. Hartaagnan
arrived in the Council Chamber after another ten minutes, taking
his seat at the center of the long table on the raised dais. Manjak
uploaded his presentation to the computer and turned on the
projector, allowing the screen in the corner of the chamber to hum
to life. The directors at the head table would have to seat slanted
to their left to view Manjak’s visual presentation, but they would
also see him when they sat looking straight. Manjak paces around
the central table, anxiously waiting to begin his presentation.

The moment Hartaagnaan takes his seat he motions for
all present to quiet down and be seated. “This is an official
meeting of the Secretariat, to assess a proposed new direction for
the Food and Agriculture Organization. Deputy Director-General
Manjak, please begin. We are listening to your proposal.” Eagerly,
Manjak sums up his energy and gestures around the room with his
hands, “Members of the Secretariat. Over the years it has become
apparent to myself and many of us at the FAO that discrepancies
have started to occur between our objectives and goals, and what we
have actually been accomplishing so far. We have created many new
programs, spent much new money, but all to what avail? I am here to
present to you first, the evidence that FAO may reduce its spending
on non-critical programs by up to 30%, and use this to expand
programs that require more funding but have not been receiving it.”
I’m throwing you a bone here, Zafir.
Manjak clicks to move
the slide presentation along. “We have created programs as wide in
range from the International Alliance against Hunger, TeleFood, the
Goodwill Ambassadors, and an Investment Center. The goals of these
programs are worthy, yet many of them are overlapping in nature. If
larger, more centralized agencies are created from numerous smaller
ones, more resources and funding can be devoted to solving problems
than if these resources and funding is split. Another problem is
the splitting of critical components of the FAO into splinter
groups that, while effective, would be better off as part of a
larger, more resourceful organization.” The slide that Manjak puts
up on the screen shows a huge spider’s web of competing
interactions amongst the various agencies of the FAO.

“I propose that FAO be reorganized into three primary
branches. The first will be the SOFS- the Support and Funding
Services. The second will be an R & D division. The final will
be the WFP- World Food Programme.” Manjak pauses to take a sip of
water, noticing that Feng is now paying rapt attention to his every
word. The rest of the Secretariat members are also fixating him
with stares, some blandly shocked at his blunt proposal, others
shielding their thoughts through misty eyes. All are focused on his
every word. “The SOFS should be an integration of all fundraising
programs, including celebrity sponsorship, media relations,
concerts, to government grants. Every bit of support regardless of
its source should be coordinated under one agency. Regardless of
whether we talk about earmarked funds or donations for NGOs, one
office to coordinate that and coordinate codes of funding, support,
summits, conferences, and the like. Good examples of current
programs that fall under these categories are Telefood and Goodwill
Ambassadors. The SOFS will also be responsible for maintaining the
Codex Alimentarius, since codes of standards for food labeling,
additives, pesticides, and food safety are all administrative
support issues. FAOSTAT will also be the responsibility of the
SOFS. This will make SOFS the largest of the three branches, but
should take many burdens off the other two.”

“The R & D Group will have a different task.
Their purpose will be to coordinate with agricultural research
corporations, biotechnology companies, and NGOs to develop new ways
of strategic problem solving. Basically, covering any problems from
increasing crop output to dealing with pests and agricultural
diseases. I consider there to be overlap between these fields, they
are all long-term problems that have no short-term solutions.
Joint-programs with local governments and farmers will be headed by
the R & D division. Construction of local farming industry,
field assessments, and independent agricultural research will all
be headed by this department. The purpose of this is to diversify
our activities and find common solutions to common problems. It
would be wasteful not to combine say, the United States’
agricultural research efforts with that of South Africa. Basically,
all development aid will be the responsibility of R&D.”

“The final goal is important relating to the first.
FAO needs one rapid-response agency, not a hundred.” Some heads nod
silently in response to Manjak's jab. “The World Food Programme
should be brought completely under our mandate and their resources
and budgets integrated with our own. Its staff and equipment should
be part of FAO but as a separate agency. Rapid response to
flooding, earthquakes, famines, warfare, and other catastrophes can
be accomplished with The WFP. I must also take into account that in
recent years the WFP has become the largest humanitarian
organization in the world, and is the primary arm of the United
Nations in distributing food aid to victims of natural disasters
and warzones. The WFP will continue to draw on its current sources
to provide the necessary food to be used as food aid.”

“FAO is the world’s primary organization for food and
agriculture. Despite the WFP’s budget being over ten times our own,
we feel that the WFP’s missions is also covered by our own
jurisdiction and that by merging our combined resources we would be
better able to respond to emergencies around the world. While FAO
has some control through executive appointments, we feels that it
will be better if WFP is integrated a branch of the FAO, as it has
been during the 1950’s. This arrangement, though it may seem
burgeoning at the beginning, will soon streamline the process and
speed at which FAO not only responds to emergencies, but also the
speed at which we can foster development in the countries that need
it. The full proposal has been submitted to each and every one of
you and should be available on your computers for further
reference.”