Statement by Ambassador Xolisa Mabhongo, Resident Representative/Governor of the Republic of South Africa, International Atomic Energy Agency, Board of Governors, 3-7 June 2013

AGENDA ITEM 4: STRENGTHENING THE AGENCY'S TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES: TECHNICAL COOPERATION REPORT 2013

Chairperson,

My delegation associates itself with the statements delivered by Ambassador of Sudan on behalf of the G77 and China and by the Chair of the African Group and would like to express its appreciation to the Deputy Director General Technical Cooperation, Mr Kwaku Aning, for his introductory remarks and for the staff of the Technical Cooperation Department for the preparation of the documents, as well as for organising the relevant briefing on 14 May.

Chairperson,

South Africa commends the Agency for the reported activities undertaken in the area of nuclear science, technology and applications to support developing countries through its Technical Cooperation Programme.  These activities clearly demonstrate the leading role that the Agency continues to play in this area, carrying out the centrality of its statutory function “to seek to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy for peace, health and prosperity throughout the world”. 

Chairperson,

South Africa is concerned by the significant challenges the Technical Cooperation Fund faces in terms of its resourcing.  Our deliberations on the Programme and Budget for the next biennium have seen the Secretariat revise its budget proposal to better reflect the financial situation within the domestic budgets of Member States. A further reduction in the budget will negatively impact the Agency’s capacity to meet the growing needs of Member States for Agency assistance. My delegation calls on Member States to support a budget proposal that will ensure that Major Programme 6 receives the required human resources and funding in the next biennium to successful deliver the TC programme.

My delegation is of the view that in the light of growing austerity in the Agency and  the continued downward trend in the rate of attainment in the Technical Cooperation Fund,  serious discussion is required on measures to be taken to ensure that the TCF is sufficient, assured and predictable (SAP). We call on Member States to pay their contributions in accordance with the indicative scale of assessment in full and in a timely manner.  My delegation also requests   the Secretariat to take all necessary measures to improve the rate of attainment including strictly applying the due account mechanism.

Chairperson

My delegation takes note of the proposed move of PACT from MP2 to MP6.  We call on the Secretariat to make every effort to ensure that the successful delivery mechanism of PACT is not affected by the move and at the same time that the TC programme is not impacted adversely.  My delegation requests that the Secretariat in future align any restructuring with the Medium Term Strategy that could have an impact on the effective delivery of a programme on the budget or on policy.

I thank you.

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