Makana's turnaround will have to come from the inside, says the municipality's new administrator, whose introduction to Council this morning ended weeks of speculation.
Advocate Nkokheli Vuba, standing in for Local Government MEC Fikile Xasa, formally introduced former Grahamstown resident Pamela Yako on Wednesday 1 October.
Makana's turnaround will have to come from the inside, says the municipality's new administrator, whose introduction to Council this morning ended weeks of speculation.
Advocate Nkokheli Vuba, standing in for Local Government MEC Fikile Xasa, formally introduced former Grahamstown resident Pamela Yako on Wednesday 1 October.
In front of Makana Council and officials, Vuba outlined the terms of reference in Yako's contract with the department . These included facilitating the appointment of a municipal manager and overseeing credit control and revenue collection.
"She will be here for six months subject to a review," Vuba said. "She is a child of Grahamstown so we believe she will do justice in fixing her home."
Yako's previous jobs include serving as municipal manager at Amathole District Municipality, working for the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, and serving as director-general of the Department of Water Affairs. She was suspended from the latter post in 2008 following allegations of financial irregularities.
Yako said she had no illusions that the job of administrator would be easy.
"I offer my commitment in the time I will be here… it'll require arm-twisting to restore Makana to where it used to be.
"I do have a reputation of tending to move things faster than they should be.. there is not a lot you can do in six months but at the same time there is a lot we can do in six months depending on the pace and the environment," she said.
She said the turnaround that is happening in Makana is not going to come from the outside but the solution will be from the inside; hence working as a collective is important.
"I have read some reports from the department and I have also read some media reports (about Makana), but I haven't really engaged with the people, primarily within the municipality and the leadership to get their perspective in terms of what the challenges are."
Executive Mayor Zamuxolo Peter said he had to come to the council meeting although he was currently injured.
"I had to come so that the new administrator Ms Pam Yako will feel welcome… Makana has been receiving disclaimers without any consequences and we hope that we can work together in fixing that," he said.
Read more about the new administrator in Friday's edition of Grocott's Mail.
