UN: Waaaaaaahhhhh!!!!! You're Giving Us Money!!!

UN: Waaaaaaahhhhh!!!!! You're Giving Us Money!!!

White House seeks to loan U.N. funds for renovations - The Washington Times: World

The loan to fund the U.N. Capital Master Plan still must win approval by Congress and the U.N. General Assembly. The world body must agree to accept the 5.54 percent interest rate. Interest and principal is to be paid off by all member states.

The loan announcement came on a day when Mr. Annan was in Washington for meetings with Mr. Bush and other senior administration leaders on the troubled political transition in Iraq.

Catherine Bertini, the U.N. undersecretary-general for administration and management, who accompanied Mr. Annan on his Washington trip, called the loan provision "great."

"It's exactly what we wanted, but we were hoping it would be interest-free," she said.

If approved, Washington will pay out $400 million a year for three years, and the organization will have 30 years to pay it back, plus interest. The total bill, with interest, will be close to $2.5 billion.

As part of its assessed contribution to the U.N. budget, the United States will supply 22 percent of that repayment figure — $265 million on the principal alone.

Diplomats said yesterday they did not know enough about the loan to comment, but several were dismayed that Washington would charge interest.