; ... A/C.5/38/SR.26 English Page 4 (Mr. Yonis, Irag) less interest in the future. It would therefore be more logical to seek an immediate solution to the problem of vacant posts than to reduce the volume of resources available to the Commission. Noting that in paragraph 14.6 of the Advisory Committee's report it was stated that the representatives of the Secretary­ General believed that the vacancy rate should decrease, his delegation asked whether that optimism was based on specific facts or was simply a pious wish. It also wondered who would be responsible for finding a way of reducing the number of vacant posts if the Executive Secretary was not able to do so by the end of the biennium. Since it appeared from paragraph 14.13 of its report that the Advisory Committee was trying to find a solution to the question, at least in respect of the General Service category, he asked the Chairman of the Advisory Committee whether he had any suggestions for solving the problem regarding vacancies in Professional posts which constituted the main obstacle to ECWA's work. 9. Mr. KELLER (United States of America) said that the proposed programme budget for ECWA demonstrated the efforts that had been made to make redeployments of resources under section 14 and the care with which levels of priority had been determined. Now that ECWA had completed its transfer to Baghdad, thanks to the generosity of the Iraqi Government, it should be able to make a start on implementing its programmes. 10. Despite its positive aspects, the budget for ECWA posed problems for his delegation. First, the growth rate was excessive, since it had almost tripled since 1980, increasing from $12.9 million for the 1980-1981 biennium to an estimated amount of $29.6 million for the 1984-1985 biennium. The amount of 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be a discussion about the budget and operations of a regional economic commission, ECWA, and its challenges in implementing its programs due to vacant posts and excessive growth rate. The language used suggests a focus on administrative and organizational issues, rather than specific economic or environmental topics.

**Category**
Employment, International trade