The boss of the British branch of Oxfam gets off at the end of this year. That is what the aid organisation announced this afternoon. Mark Goldring was under fire after it became clear that Oxfam employees would have hired prostitutes in Haiti during a humanitarian mission in 2010 and 2011.
“After the unveiling of our previous failure, we are working twice as hard to turn Oxfam into a safe and respectful place for everyone with whom we have contact,” says Goldring, who has been at the helm of the organisation since 2013. “Now it’s time to regain the trust of the audience. A new boss is needed for this task. “He continues to look after the promised improvements for the remainder of the year.
Oxfam was severely embarrassed last February when it turned out that employees with managerial positions in 2010 and 2011 would have held sex parties with prostitutes who were possibly underage. This happened in Haiti during the humanitarian mission after the devastating earthquake that claimed nearly 300,000 lives.
The British Department of Oxfam, responsible for the employees in Haiti, already received signals in 2011 about possible misconduct. The organisation fired a few employees after internal research but did not inform Haiti about this. After the revelations, several thousand donors cancelled their Oxfam membership. The Dutch branch also lost hundreds of donors.
Goldring also received heavy criticism for a skewed comparison in the scandal. He said in an interview with the newspaper The Guardian that his organisation was attacked as if they had “killed babies in their cribs.” Critics accused him of trivialising the scandal. , I was under stress ”, Goldring later explained his behaviour.