U.N. wasting money in Sudan, audit says

NEW YORK, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- The United Nations has wasted millions of dollars in its peacekeeping operations in Sudan during the past three years, an audit indicated.

Internal audits by the U.N. Office for International Oversight Services found that millions of dollars were spent on, among other things, renting warehouses that were never used, booking hotel rooms that were never filled, and losing food rations to theft and spoilage, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

Auditors also found that one U.N. purchasing agent might have steered a $589,000 contract for airport runway lights to a company that helped his wife obtain a student visa.

The U.N. procurement division "did not have the necessary capacity and expertise to handle the large magnitude of procurement actions" in Sudan, said a confidential October 2006 audit obtained by the newspaper.

The Post reported that a U.N. task force is probing the global agency's handling of nearly $300 million in contracts for food, transportation and fuel for Sudan.