Murky FAO manouvres in African appointments bewilder stakeholders

 ROME – Byzantine efforts by the wily FAO Human Resources director Serge Nakouzi eveidnelty designed to keep a West African poverty-buster in a series of high paid temporary jobs with the UN agency have bewildered regional stakeholders and partners, FAO sources claim.

 Koffy Dominique Kouackou, from Ivory Coast, currently is interim representative heading FAO’s Mali office “without any fixed basis,” the sources say. “Kouacko was initially emergency coordinator in Burkina Faso, deployed on interim basis to a P5 position in Dakar by the Director for Emergencies and resilience, Rein Poulsen,  and the HR Director took him to Nigeria where he was FAOR acting, which means he was acting for two positions,” one source said.

 “The P5 position in Dakar was opened for competition, with the complicity of the HR Director the P4 base position in Burkina Faso was opened for competition while their friend continued to work as an interim P5 in Senegal … “

The source added that “this explains the biased process, a scheme orchestrated to give their friend the P5 position in Senegal, otherwise how can we explain that the position is open and another candidate is being recruited to replace him while he is only acting in Senegal at P5 … This scheme constitutes a major manipulation to get their friend the P5 position.”

 “The person they promised the P5 position to, known in West Africa for being a smooth talker, did not ultimately get the P5 position as the DG decided otherwise … As a last resort they ultimately had to cancel the P5 position and re-open it for competition for the simple reason that if their friend did not win this P4 would find himself unemployed, since they were almost certain to give him the position and had taken the risk of appointing someone else in Burkina Faso to his previous position instead.”

 The cancelling of a staff position when it cannot be awarded to a croney is typical of the sort of sleight of hand associated with the HR director, observers say. In Saudi Arabia also competition for a senior post was cancelled and the position downgraded to a consultancy after a highly qualified external candidate applied and it could not be given to a mediocre candidate approved by Saudi authorities.

 “Since Koffy did not win in the end he found himself without a foothold, and would be unemployed. They schemed and cancelled the P5 position as a last resort, then moved their friend who was a temporary employee in Senegal at P5 to a temporary position in Mali as P5 right now … “

 “In principle a temporary worker is an employee with a fixed base who travels to work elsewhere on a temporary basis, but in this case this gentleman is nowhere but benefits from the coverage by the HR director and the emergency and resilience director without anyone knowing. This situation is irregular,” one source added.

 “The question is where is this guy attached? To which country? He can’t be attached to Senegal since he is a temp in the position, and since the selection for this position is ongoing how can he be based in the country with the position? This is corruption.”

 “They are trying to fool people that he is based in Senegal but how ia this possible? They are protecting and encouraging an irregular situation while manipulating to give him a P5 or Country Representative position … “

 “He used the opportunity of the funding cuts to settle scores in Nigeria firing many consultants also in Senegal last year. “