WFP legal eagle’s nepotistic secondment raises FAO staff hackles

   ROME – FAO watchers have been whiling away the long winter evenings by following the nepotistic fortunes of Filippo Pucci, son of a former longstanding FAO Legal Counsel, who was recruited by the legal unit of the sister agency World Food Programme when his father exercised supervisory functions over the WFP legal department, UN sources say. Avv. Pucci junior now has been seconded to the office of the FAO deputy director general Maurizio Martina, a languid former agriculture minister who likes to entertain FAO lady staff discussing African affairs in the poverty-busting powerhouse's many coffee shops.

 Observers surmise the secondment is a first step toward Pucci junior moving further up the tree and being recruited full time at the FAO, most likely as a direct assistant to pisspoor Human Resources director and self-proclaimed fashion model Serge Nakouzi.

Nakouzi has let it be known he wants to reinstate an old administrative law unit within the HR division. Staff representative bodies have awful memories of this sinister unit that imposed harsh disciplinary measures on staff members in a blatant situation of confusion of roles and conflict of interest.

 Against this background seasoned observers are waiting for a new director general at FAO in the hope he or she may reform FAO’s HR maelstrom. Nakouzi despite his much-vaunted Oxonian degree lacks credibility within his own division still stinging from his bizarre timekeeping japes.

 Recruitment of staff and consultants alike is a confidence trick played with donor funds. There is a widespread system of co-optation within an insular environment which defeats the purpose of a universal organization required to recruit worldwide.

 Job descriptions and vacancy announcements in theory open to anyone are often tailor made for pre-identified candidates. This is also the case for consultants.

 Geopolitical considerations play an outsize role in recruitment of senior staff while technical competence and professional integrity are ancillary considerations. FAO could be said to be structurally incapable of recruiting many competent staff.

 A futile Performance Management System rates every staff member as outstanding.

 Consultants have limited rights (shirter holidays, limited medical insurance, no pension rights, no family or education indemnities and can be laid off at any moment as demonstrated by recent drama at WFP. They do the same work as long term staff and they must always “try harder,” and have mandatory breaks in service while many of them have served more than 15 years.

 DG QU Dongyu has neutered the staff unions. He appeased staff with a highly questionable and costly upgrade of staff travel standards and pursied the self interest of tenured staff without taking meaningful reform measures for consultants..

Some expect that member states in choosing a new DG will pay due regard to the need for proper management with Adequate skills. But seasoned diplomats concede there are few reasons to be optimistic.