By SYLVESTER MWALE –

WHILE internal conflicts are normal in any organisation, the current disagreements at the SOS Children Village are ridiculous in that the board has elected to do damage control by incriminating the outsiders instead of resolving the wrangles.

The recent press statement by the board of trustees of SOS on its confusion exposed in the Sunday Times edition of 22 and 29 December, 2013 is a mere public relations which may not help to stop the confusion in the organisation.

For instance, while the statement appeals to the Editorial Team “to desist from publishing stories on SOS Zambia that are inaccurate,” the board failed to highlight any single aspect of the articles which was inaccurate.

Unless this is done, the statement which was placed as an advert in the press will be perceived and treated as public relations or a threat by the board to the editorial team.

Like any other media house, we have a responsibility to be responsible and we have got no shame to retract or correct stories that we believe are inaccurate or indeed untrue.

Unless it is proved otherwise, this is not one of such stories. Board chairman, Geoffrey Chipota admitted in an interview that there is a poor relationship between senior management team (SMT) and national director Bwalya Melu.

Mr Chipota’s position was also reflected in the recent statement issued as an advert in the press which stated that “the SOS Board of Trustees is aware of a plot to frustrate the work of the current national director by a few disgruntled elements.”

But it is surprising that his board has elected to discredit the newspaper stories at the expense of dealing with “disgruntled elements” in the organisation.

It was reported in the first story (December 22, 2013) that three senior managers and two employees had been dismissed at SOS Children Village in confusion between Mr Melu and SMT.

This was not only accurate but also fact! All the people mentioned were offered an opportunity to say their side of the story including Mr Melu who presented some documents on the procedure taken to dismiss the workers.

More details emerged after the first story and the second article on December 29, 2013 revealed that the manner in which Mr Melu was engaged as national director had created problems the organisation was facing.

While there is no argument about Mr Melu’s qualifications and ability, it is the manner in which he was engaged which has raised a lot of dust among his subordinates.

There is documentary evidence that Mr Melu’s CV for the job was lodged in by his sister-in-law Mizinga Melu who was one of the influential board members of the SOS at the time.

Mrs who is chief executive officer for the National Bank of Commerce in Tanzania refused to say anything and referred all queries to Mr Chipota.

Many senior management team members believe the method was not only against the principle of good governance, but also amounted to nepotism.

According to the advert which was placed in the press for the job of national director for SOS, the deadline for submitting application letters was August 10, 2012 .

However, Mrs Melu emailed Mac Recruitment (recruitment agency) where she attached Mr Melu’s CV for the job on November 21, 2012 which was way after the deadline had past.

Mrs Melu wrote: “Please find a CV for Mr Bwalya Melu (copied) in the US. He has excellent credentials and an excellent CV and has run a number of NGOs.  I have to declare interest and say he is my brother in law. Kindly review objectively.”

Although Mrs Melu had declared interest, she was one of the four panellists who interviewed the candidates and it is from this point that SMT and other candidates for the job felt that the declaration was arbitrary as it was not matched with actions.

As though that was not bad enough, then SOS board chairperson Lucie Kasanga also declared interest saying Mr Melu was her brother although she surprisingly took part in the recruitment process of her ‘brother’.

In her response to Mrs Melu’s email which was copied to Mac Recruitment, Ms Kasanga wrote on 26 November, 2012: “I wish to concur with you (Mrs Melu)! I’ve been in correspondence with him already.

Like you I need to declare interest, since he is my young brother.” Interestingly, while the current chairperson, Mr Chipota admits that Mrs Melu had declared interest, he claims he was not aware that her predecessor had equally declared interest.

Shockingly, Mr Chipota-led board’s press statement failed to tackle this moral issue or highlight what was inaccurate about the Sunday Times story.

Instead, the board chose to talk in general about a four-member panel (without names) that conducted interviews for the candidates that had been shortlisted by the recruitment agency.

“Therefore, no individual member of the board of trustees, past or present, single handedly influenced the selection of the current national director,” the board stated.

Again, the second Sunday Times story talked about the former Standard Chartered Bank Zambia managing director being embroiled in the decision to appoint her brother-in-law.

But why has the board not talked about the relationship between Mr Melu and Mrs Melu, why has the board not talked about the declaration of interest by two influential people – Mrs Melu and Ms Kasanga – on the board then on Mr Melu’s engagement?

It is only logical for any sane person to suggest – rightly or wrongly – that Mrs Melu could have disadvantaged other candidates she interviewed to ensure that her relative got the job.

In this vein, the least Mrs Melu and Ms Kasanga should have done after submitting Mr Melu’s CV was to leave other people conduct the interviews. Having a representative from the regional office alone does not make the process transparent.

Up to now, neither Mr Chipota nor Mr Melu or indeed any other official from SOS Children Village has complained about the story until the organisation’s board issued the statement.

From these happenings questions are being raised: Is SOS trying to cover up the internal problems by incriminating innocent institutions and individuals?

Is SOS trying to pretend that all is well so as major donors can continue to pump in more funds, or is it a gimmick to intimidate the press from covering the wrangling?

As stated earlier, while mistakes occur, there has always been an effort to achieve objectivity, fairness and accuracy in the reports not only about SOS but also other complicated and investigative stories that have been published.

From various reviews and interviews we have had with officials and workers at SOS, the current squabbles are self-inflicted and the sooner Mr Chipota and his board realises this fact, the better for the organisation.

There is no one who can take away the great work that SOS Children Village Zambia has performed and continue to perform in assisting the vulnerable children in the country.

The government alone cannot afford to help each and every vulnerable child in society and it is efforts like that of SOS which can enhance positive change where there is desperation among the needy.

It is also gratifying to note that the institution is this year targeting to support more than 9,000 children under family strengthening and family based care schemes.

However, it will be important that such noble actions are protected by systems that will build and sustain the good image of the organisation.

Egoism, arrogance and selfishness exhibited among SOS management or board members will not help in any way to take the organisation to prosperity, but will instead generate antagonisms like the ones witnessed today.