How do you judge people!?

It is well known that nepotism in the workplace whether it is for relatives, friends or even for political reasons regardless of competence affects the morale of the staff and becomes worse when it comes to the appointment of unqualified persons in sensitive positions where it could have a high negative impact on people's lives.

According to a recently released article, a number of doctors have protested a decision made on the appointment of a fresh medical graduate as Medical Director-General for Omdurman hospital.

A statement signed by three doctors, including Dr. Bireir Awad Karim Hamad, Dr. Imam Abdullah al-Hassan, and Dr. Al-Yasa’a Abdul Qader Al-Mubarak , called on the concerned authorities to intervene to cancel the decision, indicating the presence of doctors at the hospital who are more qualified and experienced than the said doctor and who might have been working in the hospital and the field of medicine before he he was admitted to the medical college. They pointed out that the concerned doctor graduated in 2009.

The principal issue here, I think, is not the appointment of the fresh graduate doctor in the presence of experienced doctors. The issue rather pertains to how many people would be directly affected by such a decision, regardless of whether the doctor has met the required medical standards for the appointment to perform the functions of the position or not! Therefore, it is not the responsibility of the federal ministry of health alone to investigate such cases. This task should rather be undertaken by the Ministry of Justice because such appointments touch peoples' lives directly.

My dearest readers now let me link this strange phenomenon with another more controversial one related to the Press and Publications Council, which is the organ responsible for approving the appointment of editors-in-chief of newspapers. The Council has rejected appointment of many qualified journalists, claiming that they do not have sufficient credentials and experience in the field, though, as far as I can see, those journalists were rejected because they hold views that are in conflict with the views of the ruling party.

I join hands with the above doctors in their call on the concerned authorities, the Ministry of Justice in particular, to intervene to redress not only the above cases but also to reform all the laws and procedures related to appointments in all fields in accordance with the international standards and procedures to be conducted according to the required qualification and experience and to combat nepotism and favoritism, especially in sensitive fields can have an extremely negative impact on peoples' lives.