NADMO JOB FOR THE BOYS

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday, August 25, 2014

National Coordinator of National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) is increasingly becoming a hotbed for NDC activists to provide sanctuary for them to make a living.

Currently, NADMO has five deputy National Coordinators including Anita De Sooso who is in charge of special duties and doubles as the National Democratic Congress (NDC) National Women’s Organizer.

NADMO National Coordinator, Kofi Portuphy has already given Anita red card, describing her as lacking the requisite qualification to be appointed into the organization.

Anita appointment letter contains mouthwatering and tantalizing conditions of service only comparable to a minister of State.

Mr. Portuphy was on Asempa FM with KABA last week accusing his deputy of trying to take his job.

The government has been accused of stockpiling the organization, which has been found wanting on numerous disaster management case, with only activists of the NDC.

For instance, in every region, the positions for coordinators are reserved for NDC executives. Almost every coordinator at the district level is either an NDC constituency organizer or youth organizer among others and that has affected the organization in effective disaster management, seeing the place as avenue to create jobs for party activists.

The Stand-Off

Interestingly, it was Anita who appeared to have triggered the current ‘stand-off’ when she reported Mr. Portuphy who has been with NADMO since 1992, to President Mahama.

In her petition to the presidency, she said among other things that there was no governing council for NADMO, intimidation of staff, relief items as well as Mr. Potuphy’s ‘one-man show’ and wanted the highest office of the land to call her boss to order.

However, Mr. Portuphy responded harshly saying “she wants to use her appointment to create disaster for the nation.”

“If she has the appropriate qualification, I should be directed to give hand over to her. They should ignore all the technical people and say Anita go and do it but we will not sit down for that to happen because she does not qualify for the job,” the national coordinator fumed.

“If she had paid attention to the orientation we organized for her, she would have known her job. She cannot do it she is not qualified for that job!, Portuphy charged.

He said that all Anita is interested in “is distribution of relief items,” adding “she is crying that she should be scheduled on relief distribution but she is not trained there yet. She raised that issue with then Minister of the Interior Kwesi Ahwoi and he told her that was not her schedule.”

Car hijack

He said Anita ‘hijacked’ NADMO’s official car in her own right saying “her appointment says that she deserves a driver but before we realized she was using her own driver. The Pajero was donated by the Japanese government and we use it for our technical allies for trekking but she took it and went and broke the windscreen.”

Salary Demands

He ruled out paying Anita because she had not done any job. “She started work in February and by March/April she was complaining that she hadn’t received her salary but she had not presented all the requirements needed for her to be paid,” saying “she’s complaining that she hasn’t been paid; meanwhile she does not come to work. Anytime she comes to the office, she is coming to demand her salary from the accountant.”

“During the emergencies in the rainy season I was in the tranches with my deputies but she never set a foot to the office,” adding “we have had two buildings collapse. She did not come to the meetings as well as our briefing and debriefing meetings.”

“She hasn’t attended any meetings we have called. She must be patriotic enough to come to work. We have handled several emergencies when she should have been part of it but failed to attend,” he said and added that Anita does not come to work and had never submitted a written report for her visits to disaster affected areas as demanded.

He also accused Anita travelling without permission. “This is a clear violation of the Public Service rules. She has turned herself into a national coordinator,” Mr. Portuphy alleges.

“What she is doing is complete indiscipline and lawlessness. She has gone astray She say all the deputy coordinators are subservient to her.”

Anita hits back

Anita who said she was in the United States, responded to her boss’ claim on the same network but preferred not to talk about the issues in the media.

“I heard everything my boss said but what I can say is that I am not accountable to any radio station. I love my country and I love my party.”

She admitted that she sent a letter to the presidency copied to the Minister of the Interior and Mr. Portuphy saying “This shows that my boss leaked the letter to the public domain otherwise he would not have been able to answer the questions you asked him.”

Anita is said to have returned to the country on Friday.

Genesis of feud

DAILY GUIDE learnt the genesis of the feud is the impending NDC race where Portuphy is challenging the incumbent, Dr Kwabena Adjei for the chairmanship position and enjoys the support of President John Mahama.

Anita on the other hand supports Dr Adjei, her immediate boss at the NDC national executive.