Labour Agrees to Massive Pay-Off
The Newham website states the following.
“Following the conclusion of a comprehensive recruitment process, Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz OBE is delighted to announce that Abi Gbago has been recommended for appointment as Newham Council’s permanent Chief Executive, subject to approval by members at a meeting of Full Council on Wednesday 19th July 2023.”
She was, we were assured, “an exceptional leader … with a strong record of accomplishment in driving excellence in public service delivery and for the public good.”
The honeymoon didn’t last long.
After two years, minus two days since they agreed to appoint her, Newham Council made the decision to award a sum in the region of £239,000 to say goodbye to Ms Gbago.
The official line is that Ms Gbago resigned. Quite why the council would pay close to a quarter of a million pounds to a member of staff who resigned is a question that would puzzle anyone. The truth is that this huge sum comes with a gagging clause, an NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement).
This is merely the latest in a long line of NDAs that have been approved to save the embarrassment of Mayor Fiaz, which have now cost the residents of Newham millions and kept residents in the dark about how their borough is being run.
It seems that sitting Labour councillors have been told that if they want to stand as candidates at the next election they had better agree to the payout. What secrets are so bad that they’re worth £239,000?
This is the way your councillors voted.
Caroline Adaja - Yes
Aktharul Alam - Yes
Musawwar Alam - Yes
Zulfiqar Ali - Cabinet (Did Not Vote)
Jennifer Bailey - Not Present
Syed Bashar - Not Present
James Beckles - Yes
Nur Begum - Not Present
Stephen Brayshaw - Yes
Rita Chadha - Cabinet (Did Not Vote)
Areeq Chowdhury - Not Present
Carolyn Corben - Not Present
Liz Cronin - Yes
Rohit Dasgupta - Not Present
Mariam Dawood - Not Present
Ann Easter - Not Present
Femi Falola - Yes
Shantu Ferdous - Yes
Mohammed Gani - Not Present
Joshua Garfield - Not Present
Stephanie Garfield - Not Present
Lewis Godfrey - Not Present
John Gray - Yes
Alan Griffiths - Yes
Belgica Guana - No
Zuber Gulamussen -No
Imam Haque - Not Present
Nate Higgins - No
Dina Hossain - Yes
Lester Hudson - Yes
Anam Islam - Not Present
Sabia Kamali - Yes
Danny Keeling - No
Mumtaz Khan - Yes
Joy Laguda - Yes
Carleene Lee-Phakoe - Yes
Jane Lofthouse - Yes
Pushpa Makwana - Not Present
Susan Masters - Not Present
Anthony McAlmont - Yes
Jemima McAlmont - Not Present
Charlene McLean - Cabinet (Did Not Vote)
Mehmood Mirza - No
Shaban Mohammed - Not Present
John Morris - Yes
Sophia Naqvi - No
Thelma Odoi - Not Present
Melanie Onovo - Yes
Miraj Patel - Yes
Salim Patel - Not Present
Terry Paul -Yes
Muzibur Rahman - Yes
Rohima Rahman - Yes
Sarah Ruiz - Cabinet (Did Not Vote)
Simon Rush - Yes
Madeleine Pontin - Yes
Lakmini Shah - Not Present
Rachel Tripp - Yes
Winston Vaughn - Yes
Amar Virdee - Cabinet (Did Not Vote)
Harvinder Singh Virdee - Yes
John Whitworth - Cabinet (Did Not Vote)
Neil Wilson - Cabinet (Did Not Vote)
Tonii Wilson - Not Present
Blossom Young - Cabinet (Did Not Vote)
Larisa Zilickaja - Yes
We cannot imagine circumstances in which this is not a plank in the platform of every opposition group and it is an error entirely of Labour’s own making.
As an afterthought, we recall that Mayor Fiaz spent something in the region of £200,000 when she came into office on her own truth commission, a commission which she hoped would spill the beans on the previous incumbent, expose corruption and reveal the brutal treatment of staff.
Every member of staff was contacted. And the result was nada, nothing, zilch. We don’t suggest spending anything like that, but the new mayor might like to offer the same arrangement to staff who can submit their experiences under the Fiaz administration and those who have left the authority could be relieved of their duty of confidentiality.
It might be interesting to see the results.