By Stephen N. Tokpah
(Freelancer)
Creditable as it may be, it is rumored that, the Director General of the Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI), Arthur Bob Karnuah, has fetched plan against some staff of which many workers are also planning to resist.
According to reports, Dr. Karnuah who was recently appointed after a controversial vetting process conducted by the Board might dismiss staffs who were recruited under the administration of former Officer-In Charge, Paulette Findley, with whom he never had a cordial relationship.
Dr. Karnuah in his first general staff meeting alleged that Madam Findley who was the acting Head of the institute under former President George Weah had no right to recruit when she was acting without any legal reference.
It appears that the new CARI boss wants to use the Civil Service Agency (CSA) current personnel exercise to get rid of staff as he is always heard saying CSA boss calls him every day to talk about CARI staff despite the successful head count verification conducted by the CSA.
Dr. Karnuah who was Deputy Director General at the institute during the last tenure of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and former Director General Walters Wiles who is now on the Board of the institute had an extremely tensed relationship with Madam Findley who was the administrator under their management.
According to the rumor, they had always differed on various issues at the institute.
Dr. Karnuah’s latest plan might cause serious chaos at CARI that is notorious for its consistent protests against any management that usually tries to execute plans which staff members view as counterproductive to their well-being.
Inside sources have hinted us that a huge number of staff is planning to violently resist Dr. Karnuah and even chase him out of the compound if he engages in targeting specific group of workers at the institute.
All eyes are now on the new CARI Director General to see how he will commences this process.
Since the news broke out, some members of the public continue to condemn Dr. Karnuah and called on him not to allow the institution that has now settled down to sink into misunderstanding and chaos.
Some are speculating that Dr. Karnuah is taking instructions from his former boss, Dr. Wiles, who is heading the vetting committee that saw Dr. Karnuah controversially recruited and recommended to the President.
Already one of the candidates, Dr. Mulbah Quiqui has written the Minister of Agriculture, Alexander Nueta, who is the Chairperson of CARI’s Board; questioning the entire recruitment process, adding that it was marred by fraud and that the vetting committee chair manipulated the process against certain candidates he thought are not in his interest.
Dr. Quiqui has called for thorough investigation into the entire recruitment process to ensure fairness and level playing field, maintaining that it was a complete cheating.
However, it appears that Dr. Quiqui’s complaint might not yield any fruit due to Minister Nueta’s opened statement during the induction of Dr. Karnuah recently that Dr. Karnuah and Dr. Wiles were his longtime friends.
The explosion of the latest town bomb at CARI will seriously hamper agriculture research work, throwing back the little that has been achieved in recent years.
