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UNRWA unable to pay salaries next month

December 5, 2017 at 11:03 am

UNRWA’s Director-General in Lebanon, Matthias Schmale [hjm1971/Twitter]

UNRWA’s Director-General in Lebanon, Matthias Schmale, warned yesterday that the organisation will not be able to pay this month’s salaries if the deficit continued, Shehab.ps reported.

During a meeting with the PLO Executive Committee member and Director of the Department for Refugee Affairs Zakaria Al-Agha in Gaza, Schmale said that the current deficit decreased to $60 million, noting that the organisation had paid November’s salaries despite the deficit and the cash shortage. The funds had been deposited in workers’ accounts at the last minute, he explained.

He added: “Since the meeting of the consultative committee last month, the UNRWA has got $500,000 from Ireland and this is not enough to cover the current deficit. UNRWA needs $40 million to pay the salaries and continue offering its services.”

Schmale said that the UNRWA has two choices in December if the deficit continues: it will not pay salaries or stop offering its services to refugees.

The organisation has tried to cover the deficit by delaying payments to suppliers.

Read: UNRWA will have no money by the end of the month, official says