I WRITE in response to last week’s letter by Stewart Edwards, ‘Why do we need a CEO?’.
Whist I agree with Mr Edwards’s justifiable criticism of the outgoing ToG CEO Henry Inat, and with his criticism of the past decade of waste, lost opportunity, toxic culture, poor leadership, and ballooning debt under Mr Inat’s ‘leadership’, I can’t agree with his belief that Mayor Redman is exempt from responsibility nor with his statement that ‘our Mayor does a wonderful job’.
I served our community as an elected member and Deputy Mayor for seven years of the past decade, from 2014-2021, observing and experiencing how the ToG leadership worked, and I can assure Mr Edwards that Mayor Redman and CEO Inat operated as a team.
Mayor Redman and CEO Inat worked in strong partnership over the past decade as the two most powerful office bearers and ToG administrators.
I believe they not only lacked vision, but together they oversaw all the waste, lost opportunities, and ballooning debt that is the legacy of the past decade as Mr Edwards rightly calls out.
Let’s also not forget, it was Mayor Redman who used her casting vote to gift CEO Inat yet another uncontested multi-year contract extension back in 2020, and I believe it was Mayor Redman who, during those secret meetings in early February this year, initiated the proposal to gift CEO Inat a massive rate payer funded golden handshake for leaving town four months early.
Yes Stewart Edwards, CEO Inat must accept responsibility for the past decade, but so must Mayor Redman.
Ian Tooley, Gawler East.
