Monrovia – The crisis has deepened at the Independent National Commission on Humans following a vote of no confidence filed by there are members of the Board of Commission, against INCHR Vice-Chair Charles Harris.
FrontPageAfrica has gathered that three of the five commissioners, which constitute a majority decision, are based on alleged administrative lapses, ranging from bad administrative practices and poor financial management among others.
The Commissioners to include Cllr. Pela Boker Wilson, Pindarious W. T. Allison, and Mohammed Fahnbulleh in a resolution signed on July 8 noted that for over eleven (11) months of Cllr. Harris’ stewardship as Vice Chairperson, he has negligently, and in some instances intentionally, mishandled the affairs of the Commission, thus leading to administrative malpractices and financial improprieties;
The blamed Cllr. Harris for financial and administrative lapses to include the existence of a dual payroll system, wherein the domain roster housed at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning differs from that of the INCHR formal payroll listing.
They alleged that Cllr. Harris is responsible for continued remission from the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, the salaries for Seven (7) Commissioners, wherein the Commission currently has only five (5) Commissioners.
The aggrieved Commissioners are perturbed about the alleged arbitrary laying off and recruitment of staff, by Cllr. Harris, as well as staff recruitment processes that fall far short of standards set by the laws of Liberia.
“This includes the setting up of vetting panels comprising staff that does not only have the requisite experience and expertise in the concerned areas but also that such staff is the personal staff of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman;” the resolution noted.
Moreover, they expressed disenchantment over arbitrary increment in the salaries of the Technical Assistants of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman without consultation with the board, while at the same time allegedly adopting and assuming a ‘laid-back’ approach to several issues raised by the board over time.
The resolution maintained: “These issues include the arbitrary change in the position of the Technical Assistant of the Chairmen to that of an Executive Secretary; the creation of vacancies in the office of the Chairman; and, the continuous practice of law by the Chairman;”
They are also furious about alleged repeated failure to set standards and adequately follow up on issues that have led to an avoidable crisis at the Commission, which they said in their resolution, has led to an eviction notice currently pending against the Commission, and the constant lack of electricity at the Commission.
The Commissioners further stressed that amidst numerous requests from the board, the Vice-Chairperson has repeatedly failed to inform the Board of Commissioners or report on how budgetary allotments and other logistical support from donor partners including fuel, have been expended.
According to them, Cllr. Harris repeated failure to advise the Chair in his capacity as the Chair’s core deputy, or take a solid stance when the Board of Commissioners repeatedly raise his and the Chair’s flagrant disregard of the 2005 INCHR Act and the laws of Liberia among others; are sufficient to file a vote no confidence
They added in the resolution: “Repeated failure to advise the Chair in his capacity as the Chair’s core deputy, or take a solid stance when the Board of Commissioners complain and register that the Chairman makes unilateral statements in the press or print media, and articulates his personal views as those of the Commission;”
“Repeated failure to advise the Chair in his capacity as the Chair’s core deputy, or take a solid stance whilst the Chairman has overtime usurp the oversight responsibilities of all Commissioners.”
They registered that the Vice-Chairman move to proceed with the drafting of the Strategic Plan of the Commission; which is not his responsibility and constitutes a reason for a vote of no confidence.
“That the Vice Chairman, through his silence, omission, and inaction, supported his Technical Assistant Mr. Kolubah, who publicly disrespected two Commissioners when he openly accused them (without proof) of feeding information to the press, and gave them a 24-hour ultimatum to retract their statements. Notwithstanding a formal complaint filed in this matter, Vice Chairman Harris has yet and again adopted a nonchalant and laid-back approach on the matter, and proposed no administrative action against his staff; the resolution stated.
The decision according to the aggrieved Commissioners is in line with Article IX of the 2005 Act Establishing the Independent National Commission on Human Rights of Liberia and best administrative practices.
In the same way, the Commissioners in their resolution attributed the failure of the Cllr. Harris to fulfill his statutory mandate provided for under Article X (7) of the 2005 INCHR Act, by performing the responsibilities of the Chairperson in his absence, as one of the root causes of the ongoing strife and division currently ongoing at the INCHR.
Additionally, the resolution noted that Cllr. Harris allegedly influenced and aided the Chairperson in his flagrant disregard of the board’s decisions, the INCHR Act, and by extension, the laws of Liberia
They said, notwithstanding all of the lapses mentioned to the attention of the Vice-Chairman, there has been zero progress in the state of affairs of the Commission, bad administrative governance, poor financial management, coupled with his inability to administer, control, and manage the staff and Commission effectively.
As a result, the three Commissioners have declared a VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE in Cllr. Charles Harris called on the Chairperson, Cllr. T. Dempster Brown to immediately convene a Board meeting in keeping with Article XI of the 2005 INCHR Act for the election of a new Vice-Chairperson.