The Old-School 1975-ers are dying out. The world is modernizing too quickly for a religion that was supposed be gone in 1914. They have had the tiger by the tail for a long time. They simply MUST make changes to survive. They need more and more control. Remember the sheep were just lovingly reminded to be "ever more submissive."
Compartmentalization is a great way to keep order. You don't know if you don't need to know. Or as the Elders told me, " You don't qualify to read the Shepherd Book." So if the Elders don't qualify and the R&F don't need to know about pedos and other issues, having the CO take over appointments is great. If he finds anything out that may damage Jehovah's THE ORGANIZATION'S name, then he can simply decide to not appoint, or remove anyone. If it is in Jehovah's THE ORGANIZATION'S best interests, then it would never be challenged.
If they had done this years ago, think about all the Elders who would never have learned about a pedo in their midst. Very few would question the CO, because Jeehoober's spirit made the decision. Also, imagine trying to appeal a decision if Elder's have zero input? If the CO deems you as unqualified, who do you appeal to, the GB?? You are screwed.