In the wake of the recent dismissal of the former Research Officer and head of the Livestock and Fishery section of the Central Agriculture and Research Institute (CARI), Dr. Nykoi D. Jomah, for “acts inappropriate to his office”, the Consortium of Civil Society Advocates is calling on Dr. Nykoi Jomah to desist from making outlandish charges against the authority of CARI and pursue the resolution of his disagreement with his dismissal scrupulously.
According to a press statement from the Consortium of Civil Society Advocates signed by its spokesman, Amos B.S. Kanneh, over the past few weeks it was observed with deep remorse how Dr. Jomah has been going from one media outlet to the other, using paid surrogates to demonize the CARI Authority, especially its Officer-In-Charge Mrs. Paulette G. Findley, by claiming that the administration’s dismissal action against him failed to comply with the established regulation for such action and that he is owed ten months’ salary that he demands to be paid.
“In light of this claim, the Consortium of Civil Society Advocates meticulously pursued and acquired documentary tangibles to the contrary of Mr. Jomah’s claim of wrongful dismissal and arrears. In conformity with our objective of seeking justice for all in time of bubbling dispute which borders on ravaging the image of public officials and institutions, our findings show that as of Mr. Jomah’s entry into the employ of CARI, he has undergone a litany of disciplinary actions which range from Gross Misconduct, and acts of Dishonesty in the discharge of his duty. We also observed that as it relates to acts of dishonesty, Mr. Jomah was forwarded to the LNP Detachment in Gbarnga on the charge of fraudulently withdrawing the amount of ten thousand Liberian dollars from the finance office of CARI through signature forgery and was subsequently found culpable by the Police, charged and sent to court,” the Consortium of Civil Society Advocates claimed.
Mr. Kanneh, said, more disturbing was its observation from document in its possession showing that Mr. Jomah also breached administrative procedure when he on July 29, 2019 ordered and took away for personal use a two-inch water pump and other items from the institution’s warehouse and has yet amid multiple attempts at recovery failed to restitute the stolen items.
“In furtherance of findings to the contrary of Mr. Jomah claim of wrongful dismissal by the CARI authority, it is observed that while Mr. Jomah served a suspension for misconduct, he was regularly seen abusing the terms of his suspension by approaching the grounds of the entity during working hours and attempting to breach security through forceful entry into the facility and insulting duty officers who tried to ensure order. These facts confronting us put us under the onus to warn Dr. Nykoi Jomah to accept the action taken against him and where possible and necessary, pursue issues of misunderstanding carefully to avoid putting the institution’s name in the public space under ugly conditions. By the same token of concern which drives our civil society operations with the public, seeking justice for all during times of dispute, we call on Madam Jeanine Cooper who concomitantly serves as the minister of Agriculture, and Chair of the Board of Directors of CARI to take all steps prudently possible to coordinate with the CARI authority in handling matters of crucial importance,” the Consortium noted.
The group noted further that it observed the existence of a communications gap between Minister Jeanine Cooper and the authority of CARI over the ministry’s dealing with AfricaRice.
“Our findings show that the MOU of the contracts with AfricaRice is yet to be shared with the CARI authority which is currently overseeing the program implementation of AricaRice. Owing to the fact CARI is an autonomous agency by law and has its own standard operation procedure (SOP), it is only prudent for its management to have full access to every MOU by which it is to conduct business with institutions or persons assigned or referred to it by all implementing partners especially the ministry of Agriculture its major national partner in progress. Additionally, we have observed that the head of AfricaRice, Inoussa Akintayo, has placed three expats in the residential facility of CARI without the knowledge and consent of the CARI authority, and is paying huge sums whilst the actual Liberian staff for the project are on hold.
Moreover, the only two CARI staff on the project are required to be second in charge and paid 100% from the project but Mr. Akintayo wants to pay them stipend as employees of a $3.4million European Union funded project. In light of these inappropriate practices and gaps in communication between the CARI administration and minister Jeanine D. Cooper, we call on the minister to exercise her required role as the minister of Agriculture and ensure that the proper due diligence is observed in all operations with the CARI authority,” cautioned the Consortium of Civil Society Advocates.
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