Why do some people get direct appointed to roles when government indicates "fair and meritorious process"?

In the past, particularly the last year I have seen people get direct awarded jobs that even I knew were not lateral transfers, and often promotional - meaning no competition occurred, or even posting for anyone else who may have been interested or even possibly better than the cherry picked candidate had the opportunity to apply.

Why do execs get to skirt the "fair competition " rules? At this point its beginning to feel intentional/gate-keeper-like behaviour.

And why is it done so inconsistently, such that it comes off as favoritism, or corrupt hiring practices/ sweet deals for some? You cannot highlight this to the merit commissioner as there is no competition to point to.

Why does PSA allow some executives to do this sketchy stuff with our tax payer dollars? How can we stop this?