FAO whitewashes complaints over 'corrupt' Saudi hiring processes

 ROME – The FAO office in Saudi Arabia invites candidates to apply for professional posts in the sand-swept Kingdom and puts highly qualified applicants through numerous hoops but then downgrades the vacancies to consultancies so that they can hire Saudi or other Arab nationals who are cronies recommended by the Saudi government, according to one frustrated applicant.

 "I have been facing an abnormal situation for the last two years due to the behavior of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, which has forced me to reach out to you,” the applicant said.

 “I find that FAO or UN officials are engaging in monopolistic practices that go against UN rules and policies, discriminating in hiring and engaging in misconduct, conflict of interest, which can be termed as organized administrative corruption. I have been a victim of their actions despite having the ideal and right skills and qualifications.”

 The applicant, a Nepalese citizen who asked not be named, added that “FAO deceived me in many ways, such as inviting me for assessments and then canceling the requisitions after I completed them, and this has happened not only once but every time.”

 “They took a long time to make decisions, possibly to divert attention, and then updated the system. For other times, they usually notify the candidate, but for these instances, they didn’t. They did this for two of the four positions in the same way, and for the other two, they cancelled the positions after hiring their own preferred candidates secretly from within their closed circles, fooling innocent candidates like me.”

 “It was revealed that by doing this, they hired people with lower qualifications who were close to their staff. Many say the FAO is even worse than a developing country in terms of hiring corruption, though I do not buy that perception, but I am experiencing that kind of incident.”

 “Initially, I thought they did it solely through the country office of Saudi Arabia. However, after I contacted the Saudi team of the organization and later the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of FAO, they indicated that the decision was made in coordination with the Human Resource Division of the FAO in Italy.”

 “The OIG informed me that the decision was based on the organization's needs and processes. The terms ‘needs and processes’ suggest that they are free to do anything (such as manipulate to favour their hidden candidates) and there is no requirement to follow proper procedures. They can go against UN policies and practices and appear to be involved in wrongdoing, misconduct, and administrative corruption. They only deceive individuals who have no connections or who come from a different background than their own.”

 The applicant had over 25 years of experience in rangeland management, ecology, forestry, environment, and agriculture and was outraged by the treatment he received. He primarily contacted the Hiring team in Saudi: Jacob Ubindam, (FAOSA), Aboukaff, Dina (FAOSA),Almutairi, Seham (FAOSA),Hamad, Suad (FAOSD),FAO-Saudi-Arabia (FAOSA). Then later took up the matter with the HR director in Rome, Serge Nakouzi.

 He added that “When contacting the FAO chief to investigate the cases, the HR Director finally got back and advised me to approach the OIG as it is the only entity that can look into it, whereas the OIG had not conducted an investigation but solely relied on the responses of those officials involved in the hiring processes.”

 “They did not delve into the files in detail or conduct interrogations, etc. This shows that the IGO was also influenced by the people involved in the hiring misconduct, which can be termed as organized administrative corruption.”

 “In addition to the IGO and HR Division of FAO, I also contacted the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) of the United Nations as they are responsible for relevant matters. They initially said they would look into it (their response below), but after that, the office has been unresponsive, sounding like they are also in hesitation.”

 “Now, because all those people seem unwilling to look into the case and provide me with justice, I am compelled to request you to take an interest promptly.”