Director General of ITF, Sir Joseph Ari, addressing the 2020 annual performance review meeting of ITF in Jos.
By Marie-Therese Nanlong
Jos – The Director-General of the Industrial Training Fund, ITF, Sir Joseph Ari has warned that any staff of the organization that refuses to proceed on transfer may have to seek employment elsewhere.
This is to curb the situation where staff that are not needed at particular duty posts are deployed for reasons other than the advancement of the corporate objectives of the organization.
Sir Ari also warned some officers who have the tendency to collude with some employers of labour to defraud the organization to desist from such as appropriate sanctions will be applied to those found wanting.
Equally, the DG cautioned those involved in acts of indiscipline, absenteeism, insubordination and other misconducts that are inimical to the progress of the organization to turn a new leaf.
Ari who spoke on Wednesday at the ITF headquarters in Jos during the 2020 Annual Performance Review meeting with theme: “Empowering the nation’s human capital for prosperity,” acknowledged that the organization did not perform optimally in several of the key mandates like training and task all staff to be up and doing and ensure lasting solutions are found to the problems identified.
He said, “You will recall that I had shared with you Management’s position on frivolous requests for transfers and wish to reiterate that all decisions with regards to personnel movement and transfers will be determined by the larger cooperate good.
“Going forward, appeals for transfers for any reason other than for the needs of the organization will not be heeded as we have discovered that in showing compassion, we have contrived a situation where officers that are not needed at particular duty posts are deployed for reasons other than the advancement of our corporate objectives.
“Any officer that refuses to proceed on transfer may have to seek alternative employment.”
Speaking on other issues, he added, “Although one may conclude that we performed reasonably given the challenging circumstances, we may be glossing over the fact that we have not performed optimally in several of our key activities for some time now. One area is our performance in the area of training, which is our main mandate. This meeting is therefore crucial and quite timely as it provides us with the opportunity to thoroughly address this issue to find lasting solutions.
“I wish to address the issue of indiscipline, although discipline has improved from reports that I have received, it must be completely stamped out. Incidents of absenteeism, insubordination and similar misconducts should not be treated with levity. Where it is discovered that any member of the workforce is engaged in activities inimical to its progress and development, appropriate sanctions will be applied in all cases.
“Closely related to this is the tendency for some officers to collude with some employers of labour to defraud the Fund… I need not remind you that you have to be 100% loyal to the ITF in view of the fact that whatever false information that you circulate about the organization will have adverse effects on its very existence. I need not remind you that we have a duty of care and responsibility to protect the ITF and work towards achieving its corporate goals. Anything short of this will not be considered good enough.”
