Greetings and thanks for accepting to talk to us as we spotlight some prominent women. Tell us about who you are.
I am Mrs Tatason Eri nee Ita, Secretary General of the Tiko Council since November 2019. I am a princess from Eyumojock in Manyu Division. I am an expert in local government.
I hold a First Degree in English from the University of Buea, a Master's Degree in Decentralization and local governance from the University of Dschang.
I also hold a couple of diplomas: Diploma in Human Resource Management, Advertisement, Public Relations and Customer Service from PAID-WA Buea.
I use to work in the bank, I use to be a banker. We started Ecobank Limbe, those who know me will attest. I later moved into local governance. I have been in local government for about 8 years now.
I went to the Local Government Training Center -CEFAM at the time between 2013 and 2015. 1 graduated and started a career with Limbe 3 Council as Chief of Administration.
I worked there for 2 years and was appointed General of the Tiko Council.
What is your day-to-day routine like as Secretary General?
The Secretary General is the person that brings life to the Council, coordinates all activities and ensures that the vision of the Mayor is realized for him to be satisfied.
We SGs are appointed to work with politicians. They come with their vision and views and as a Secretary General, you must make sure you guide it to fall within the regulations in place and the law.
The SG of the Council, is not like others you will find in other services. At the Council, you are like the manager, you bring in all the innovations, projects and so on to make sure they are matured for realization before you present it to the Mayor...
It is true that there is a Communal Development Plan where you have projects and others which concerns the Municipality but once a Mayor comes into office, as SG you have to actualize the plan.
What is the staff strength here the Tiko Council?
Hero, at Tiko Council, we have a staff strength of 87 workers. Among them, 33 senior staff between Category 7-11 while others are decision workers ranging between Category 3-6.
For decision workers, their employment is signed by the SDO while for the senior staff, their contract is signed by the Minister of Decentralization and Local Development.
Among the staff we have 33 females and 55 males. I am also happy that a lot of staff members are taking interest to go back to school, it is important for personal growth as well. For the staff of Tiko Council, I do not look at them as subordinates. I look at them as friends and collaborators.
Be it a cleaner or whosoever, I treat them like my children so that all can excel...though we also discipline and sanction when the need arises.
How challenging is your job as a woman and how do you surmount these difficulties?
The Secretary General might have it all from knowledge to training and experience but if the Mayor is not ready to listen to you, there shall be no change and impact. The SG must be in good collaboration with the Mayor.
How do you distract yourself from work pressure?
Everybody knows the SG of Tiko is a workaholic but I try to get the maximum fun from my job. I get it because anything 1 do as the SG,I try to give life to it. I spend all my life at the job side.
I have just 28 days in a year to take my annual leave. In a typical working day, I come to work at 7:30am working and leave at times at 6:00pm. During the day, as SG once the Mayor is not there, you are next.
In other cases, if the Mayor is receiving a visitor you are part of it to facilitate the meeting or be part of a particular project from inception.
You receive visitors, attend to staff and so on... One of my strength here is the collaboration I enjoy with my workers. We have our weekly meetings and I track all of their activities on a weekly basis.
They have their their task and at the end of the month, I brief the Mayor. Naturally I love local government, I love the local man. I'm passionate about local government.
So, the ideas just come because I love what I do and maximize the time I have spent here. I love to travel, I love to attend parties and to dance.
What are are some of of the major projects that Tiko Council is currently implementing which needs community participation?
For Tiko Council, if we want to talk of community collaboration, I think we are on top because since 2019, with the coming of the law on decentralization and local authorities, which stipulates that citizen participation is a primordial requirement for the development of any Municipality.
The Mayor, cannot do anything without the citizens as they must have their say in any activity that has to do with the day to day running and functioning of the Council.
On the strength of that, we had to use this law which i presented and interpreted to my Mayor which is that the Council, must go closer to the population.
To facilitate this, we came up with a deliberation in 2020 where we carved Tiko into 17 zones. These zones are called development zones. It is different from the Quarters and Villages in Tiko.
The objective is for effective citizen participation and development. It is true that we have more than 80 quarters in Tiko but we had to go like in Mutengene and map out quarter 1, 2, 3 and combine them to make one zone.
It is the 2019 law that empowers us to do this and of recent, the Minister of Decentralization and Local Development came up with a Decree.
Challenges It is very difficult to be the SG of a Council. We are Secretary Generals that are not like the other SGs you will find in other services.
We work with politicians and it is not easy to work with politicians. You need to understand him like a baby you gave birth to. It is your role to even understand his temperament so as to manage certain situations.
At times also, some Mayors look at the SG as though they want to boss it over them whereas you are just there to interpret the law for his attention.
The state is not stupid to appoint a Secretary General that is trained.
It is different, in those days we use to have SGs with First School Leaving Certificate who go to CEFAM at the time, Today it will be difficult for them to fit in, that is why even at NASLA, the basic qualification is the Advanced Level Certificate.
I am not challenging those who never attended these specialized institutions but the difference is clear.
How do you see Tiko in the next five years?
Tiko in the next five years if we continue in this footing,I don't want to take the side of the politician it will be an Eldorado.
This is because I am so proud of the Mayor that God blessed me with. I met a humble Mayor that is ready to listen, who knows the role of a Secretary General. My Mayor will not do any anything in this Council without consulting me.
What message do you have towards your fellow colleagues?
My advice to my colleagues is that they should buy the vision of their Mayor. S.G, submit yourselves to your Mayors.
It is true some poople may say I am lucky with the current Mayor but you need to have some level of humility to be able to have a good relationship with your Mayor. I don't think there is actually a difficult Mayor but we SG should learn to do our job.
The Mayors are just politicians, you the SG is the administrator of the Council. I am not criticizing some of my colleagues but there are some who go to work only the day the Mayor is at work. Whether the Mayor is there or not, the Council has to function normally.
The Mayor can even decide to discontinue the work of the SG. Once the Ministry of Decentralization and local Development do their findings and have a good profile, you may be replaced.
So, for you to keep your job and for you to be happy, work with your Mayor. At times some people even say your Mayor's enemies should be your enemies and his friends your friends.
They are politicians and very sensitive too. I wish to also advise that SGs should not compare themselves with Municipal Treasurers. We have seen some SGs trying to compare with MTs.
The Mayor's relationship with the MT should not be your issue. Do your job only. Thank you. Its been a pleasure
Interview conducted by Solomon Agborem
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Tiko Council’s SG, Mme Tatason Eri née Ita
Tiko Council’s SG, Mme Tatason Eri née Ita speaking to KNews in an exclusive interview with Solomon Agborem
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