Dep. AU President Kwesi Quartey accuses his boss of hiring an "old friend"

The Vice President of the Commission of the African Union, Thomas Kwesi Quartey, reportedly wrote to President Nana Akufo-Addo to reveal the deep divisions that existed within the AU's senior management and to further enlighten the previous reports on nepotism and badual harbadment.

According to reports from South African companies Mail & Guardian The vice-president of the AU Commission, in his letter of November 6, 2018, complained that the president, Moussa Faki Mahamat, went out of his way to name an "old friend" ambbadador of the AU in Brussels. It was "not good governance," he said.

Ahmat Awad Sakine, a Chadian diplomat, was appointed permanent representative of the AU to the European Union in September 2017. Smaël Chergui, Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union, reportedly signed Sakine's appointment letter.

He denies the allegation by saying, "As you know, the commissioners have no administrative responsibility …
the Brussels office is not under my authority … So this case is simply impossible. "

Mr. Kwesi-Quartey also criticized Mr. Faki for not having defined "a central organizing idea" for his tenure as Chair of the AU Commission, saying that efforts to study and debating the Commission's reform proposals were "seen as an intolerable affront".

The authenticity of this letter was initially confirmed by Kwesi Quartey spokeswoman Doreen Appolus, who said it was confidential and urged the M & G not to publish. "You are evacuating all the good things," she said. A few hours later, in a text message, she retracted this confirmation: "I am not aware of this letter, but what I can tell you is that it is not in our possession and therefore we can not authenticate the author or the reasons behind it. especially its suspicious emergence at a time when African leaders are coming together for the summit of the African Union. "

The chairman of the AU commission, Faki, declined to comment. Spokesperson Ebba Kalondo said: "The author of the letter is best placed to explain the allegations. The letter was not addressed to [Faki]. "

The 32nd Summit of the AU is currently underway in Addis Ababa. Heads of State are scheduled to meet on February 10 and 11.

However, tensions were already evident at the Executive Council at ministerial level, according to three people present at Thursday's meeting. Faki reportedly attempted to adopt a resolution that would have expanded his powers within the commission, but that failed after an intervention by Kwesi Quartey. "The chair was so, so angry, we could see it on his face," said a source, who asked to remain anonymous.

The dispute between Kwesi Quartey and Faki stems in part from the question of who will control the functions of human resources. Although, technically, hiring and firing are the responsibility of the Vice-President, the latter would probably have disavowed him several times.

In his letter, Kwesi Quartey also confirmed that he was aware of badual harbadment and discrimination against women in the commission, which was reported for the first time in the paper. M & G in May 2018.

"Another problem that I observed during our first six months in office was the low morale of the staff, especially the female gender. According to the complaints (now confirmed by the independent report on badual harbadment), short-term contracts (approximately three months) were deliberately granted to female employees, so that renewal is then a negotiation. between unequal parts generally / usually his contract is extended. "

Kwesi-Quartey identified a senior official of the Commission, who was subsequently transferred from the Commission, as "the cog in the situation in this case". Amine Idriss Adoum headed the Directorate of Administration and Human Resources Development for four years, before taking a leadership position at the NEPAD Agency.

Amoun denies the allegations. "I have never harbaded, discriminated or hurt anyone within the AUC and this can be verified by an investigation. This is a false accusation and I am ready to face any investigation for it to be conducted impartially, independently and professionally. You can check the numbers and my records when I was at the AUC. I have worked pbadionately to increase the number of women staff and youth at the AUC, under the guidance of Ms. [Nkosazana Dlamini] Zuma and worked hard to get more women into management positions, "he said.

In November, the AU's investigation into badual harbadment revealed at least 44 suspected cases of unfair labor practices, badual harbadment, badual badault, fraud and nepotism, some of which involved senior officials. Although they promised to take the allegations seriously, no further action has been taken.

Several sources within the AU commission confirmed that the dispute between the president and his deputy had a negative impact on the work of the continental body. "You see that the AU is not doing anything because the leadership is dead," said one of them, expressing himself under the guise of anonymity. "Member States could just as well waste their money."