BUD LEON
That's not correct. UN procurement guidelines stipulate best value for money and the guidance specifically states that does not mean the lowest initial cost. Before you post information like that you really should make sure you know what you are talking about.
Be that as it may.. During my time operating in DRC I witnessed many questionable operations by outfits from ex USSR countries. Old poorely maintained a/c. Smelling alcohol on the breath of pilots. Cargo a/c selling space to locals probably to subsidize the miserable pay of the pilots (it was common following the crash of a 'cargo' a/c to hear that 20+ bodies had been recovered).
Watching an Antonov 12 or whatever struggling to get airborne then seemingly relying on the curvature of the earth to gain altitude was an amusing pastime while waiting around on the ramp. It was obvious that A/c were so heavily overloaded that a 4 eng transport didn't need to lose an engine, just one engine not producing max power would put the plane in jeopardy.
I don't ever recall our outfit being ramp checked by a UN representative though I'm aware of one Ukrainian operation that was closed down following an accident, I had the chance ro look into the sea container that represented their 'parts store', it was comparable to what one might expect going to a scrap yard looking for car parts. Nothing labled just old bits lying on shelves or on the floor. Of course not all of these outfits are operating on UN contracts.