United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa)
Eoin Young
30 November 2007
MONUC Director of Administration (DOA) Hazel Scott left the mission this week after 27 months in the DRC. Ms. Scott will now retire in Pretoria, South Africa, after 38 years of loyal service to the United Nations.
Ms. Scott, of Trinidad & Tobago, started her UN career as a 19 year old in New York, working in many duty stations with both UNDP and DPKO / DFS during her career. Her field assignments were mostly in Africa: South Africa, Uganda, Nigeria and Angola, as well as Iraq - Kuwait.
During her time in MONUC, Ms. Scott presided over key achievements such as the holding of successful national elections in 2006, the largest and most complex ever undertaken by the UN.
"The crowning glory of our achievement in administration over the last 27 months has been our support to the national elections, including the referendum, the registration (of voters) and the two runs of national elections. Former Secretary General Kofi Annan said it was a logistical nightmare, yet we achieved it despite shortfalls in terms of staff, budget and aircraft," Ms. Scott explained.
Ms. Scott listed the other main achievements during her time, including the decentralization of the mission into three tiers at mission, regional and office level, and the development of the Entebbe air support base in Uganda.
"This was very important during the elections. It also cuts some of our air support costs because we can now move things to the east by road from Entebbe, and we are able to support the east where the operational tempo of the mission is high," Ms. Scott underlined.
The most difficult period for Ms. Scott was the three day work strike by local staff last August, with much negotiation between administration and local staff representatives.
Ms. Scott said she would like to be remembered as "someone who made a difference, particularly in MONUC."
"I think that over the years I've been quite a loyal and committed international civil servant who has been quite concerned about helping others, and helping them to achieve their career aspirations," Ms. Scott concluded.
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