12 women in special administrator posts: Notable inclusions

Twenty-eight Fijians were appointed earlier this week as Special Administrators for municipal councils across the country.

This is part of Government’s continued commitment to reform our municipal councils with new expertise.

Good governance is the buzz word in this reform. Special Administrators have a strategic role in shaping urban and rural growth and investments.

The bottom-line remains - Council initiatives should have an impact at local level. Rate payers must be satisfied with quality and efficient service delivery.

These are not just sitting appointments. Special Administrators have been appointed because of specific skills and expertise they’ve acquired over the years. Ratepayers will ultimately be the judge of whether they are diligently carrying out their tasks or otherwise.

Notable is the inclusion of 12 women out of the 28 appointed.

A welcoming precedent for half of Fiji’s population. Those appointed are divided into seven teams of which three are chaired by women.

They oversee the governance and operations for the 13 municipal councils.

Most of our municipal councils still operate under old practices and policies. These have to go.

The Special Administrators have to oversee that modern and efficient methods of operations are carried out to ensure timely and professional service delivery.

One of the seven chairpersons is Debra Sadranu. She is a familiar face in the West and a pioneer of the Fiji’ spa tourism industry.

She will be chairing a four-member team including architect Adish Naidu, Manorma Khan, Romil Patel and Anil Chandra. They look after Nadi and Sigatoka towns.

Ms Sadranu is the director/principal of Spa Academy Fiji and has won various awards for her leadership in the sector.

One of the many issues Ms Sadranu and her team will have to deal with in Nadi Town is the increasing complaints from motorists, business owners and members of the public regarding the one-way road.

Another is the flooding that has brought devastation to parts of Nadi.

Chairing perhaps the biggest municipality in terms of population is Vera Chute, the managing director of Value City (SP) Pte Ltd.

She leads a team of four: Baskaran Nair, Uma Kant Patel, Elizabeth Jane Algar and Praneel Surendra Prasad. They are tasked to address rate payers’ concerns in Nasinu and Nausori towns.

The increase in informal squatters in these areas will definitely be on their agenda.

Fijian ratepayers can be demanding. These Special Administrators know they have their work cut out for them while performing their duties to oversee and govern.

They will, in fact, be the drivers and motivators for municipal council management as they reform from within and transform our towns and cities.