PAP Crisis takes a new turn as Gayo terminates Appointment of Acting DC-FAHR

The crisis rocking the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) is taking its toll on the staff of the Secretariat of the Parliament who are now subjected to adverse administrative actions for not implementing unlawful directives of the Acting President/ Second Vice President, Hon. Dr. Ashebir W. Gayo that are inconsistent with African Union (AU) Staff Rules and Regulations approved by the Assembly of the Union at the Fifteenth Ordinary Session 25 - 27 July 2010 Kampala, Uganda (Assembly/AU/4(XV)).

The latest is the issuance of a letter terminating the appointment of Mr. Kenneth Akibate as the Acting Deputy Clerk - Finance, Administration and Human Resources (DC-FAHR). Akibate is the Parliament’s current Serjeant-at-arms.

In a letter dated 4^th January 2024 with reference PAP/BUR/Corr/004/01.24, Hon. Dr. Gayo stated that “the Bureau has observed that you have been absent from office without its permission”.

However, the AU has said that the PAP Bureau as presently constituted is inquorate to take any binding administrative or management decisions. The implication is that Dr. Gayo  may be held personally liable for financial losses incurred in implementing those unlawful directives.

Our correspondent notes that such a reason as absent from office without permission would ordinarily have required that Mr. Akibate be given an opportunity to explain himself before any adverse administrative action is taken against him. It is only when an unsatisfactory response is given that an adverse administrative action can be contemplated. This is because the opportunity to be heard is an essential requirement of due process which appear not to have been followed in this case.

Mr. Akibate was during the time in question, reportedly on sick leave which means that his absence from duty was authorized under the AU Staff Rules.

Rule 43.1(c) of the AU Staff Rules which was mistakenly relied on for the decision does not relate to Acting Appointments but talks about Medical expenses incurred by eligible staff members and eligible dependants which shall be refunded as provided by the Plan. Obviously whoever drafted the termination letter did not do his or her homework which raise questions as to whether there was due diligence investigation on the matter.

Rather, it is Rule 35.1 of the Staff Rules that addresses the issue of Acting Appointment and states:

35.1 Acting Appointment: (a) The Chairperson or the competent authority of any other organ may issue an acting appointment to a staff member with the requisite qualifications to assume duties relating to a vacant position provided that the acting period is not less than thirty (30) days. (b) Unless where justified by exceptional circumstances, the most senior staff of the Department, Division or Unit shall be eligible to act. (c) The acting period shall not exceed one (1) year, except under exceptional circumstances (e.g. training) which shall be specified in these rules. (d) Upon the expiration of the one year acting period, the post shall be declared vacant and the staff member who has held the post in an acting capacity shall be allowed to compete with any other eligible candidate and be confirmed if the evaluation shows that he/she has the requisite qualifications and skills and has satisfactorily performed his or her acting duties.

One therefore wonders where Rule 43.1(c) of the AU Staff Rules prescribed a minimum three month period relied upon to terminate the acting appointment. Also, it is to be noted that Rule 35.1 does not contemplate the termination of an acting appointment before one year except as a result of the resumption of the substantive office holder.

It would be recalled that Mr. Akibate’s appointment which took effect from 01 June 2023, was approved by a properly constituted PAP Bureau in a meeting held on 22 May 2023 and thereafter ratified by the plenary. Under the AU Staff Rules, the appointment was supposed to last for no more than one year. As per Rule 35.1 (d), upon the expiration of the one year acting period, the post shall be declared vacant, and the staff member who has held the post in an acting capacity shall be allowed to compete with any other eligible candidate and be confirmed if the evaluation shows that he/she has the requisite qualifications and skills and has satisfactorily performed his or her acting duties.”

But our investigation has revealed the real reason for the termination. Mr. Akibate was on 23 December 2023 directed to effect payment retroactively from 01 October 2023 to someone whom Hon. Dr. Gayo had engaged as a contract staff and to further issue the person a contract starting from 01 October 2023 to the end of January 2024.

In response, Mr. Akibate stated that as Officer-in-Charge (OIC) – Clerk, he does not have the mandate to execute such a directive, more so with retroactive effect citing relevant AU Admin. Policy.

He noted that the Clerk, Ms. Lindiwe Khumalo and Acting Clerk, Mr. Gali Massa Harou were given similar instructions but did not execute them guided by legal or other relevant provisions. “As an OIC – Clerk, especially without the benefit of knowing why the instructions were not carried out, I therefore find it beyond my ambit to handle a matter that the Acting President and the two officials (Clerk and Acting Clerk) could not conclude” wrote Mr. Akibate.

In this regard, it is important to point out that Rule 78.4 indicates that “Any procedure, policy or manual approved by the Chairperson, or any competent authority of any other organ shall not prevail over these Regulations and Rules nor over any Executive Council and Assembly Decisions, Statutes, Treaties, Rules and Regulations made by the Union”.

The implication is that Mr. Akibate’s Acting Appointment was terminated because of his insistence on complying with the relevant AU Staff Rules and Regulations. This is worrisome.

Our correspondent also recalls that Hon. Dr. Gayo  had in October 2023, unilaterally suspended the Clerk of the Parliament, Ms. Lindiwe Khumalo whose appointment was ratified by the plenary along with that of Mr. Akibate at the Second Ordinary Session of the Sixth Parliament. There is now apprehension among the staff as to who will be Hon. Dr. Gayo’s next victim.

As a staff member put it, “we wake up each day at PAP ready to expect anything”. What a sad commentary on how low things have gotten under a dictatorial leadership in a supposedly democratic institution.

The policy organs of the AU must act fast to override the suspension of the Amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament duly adopted by the plenary on 04 November 2022. The suspension can only be sustained if the Chairperson of the African Union Commission can pursuant to Article 20 of the PAP Protocol and Article 26 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union, obtain two-thirds votes of the Assembly to support the suspension of the Rules. It is the suspension of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, which is an internal working document of PAP that gave room to the absurdities being witnessed at PAP since 23 August 2023. PAP cannot and should not operate as a department under the supervision of the AUC Chairperson as this will be contrary to the provisions of both Article 5 and 17(2) of the Constitutive Act of the African Union.