Lists plethora of reasons to back his decision

In a surprise announcement on January 5th, Mayor Pairat Suthithamrongsawat fired Pattaya City Manager Songsak Yomjinda.

The mayor announced his decision to the media at Pattaya City Hall.

Former City Manager Songsak Yomjinda was sacked by Pataya Mayor Pairat Suthithamrongsawat.

The Mayor said the main reason for discharging Mr. Songsak was his not responding to the Pattaya City Council’s policies which caused many adverse effects on the administration of the city.

Mayor Pairat stated that Mr. Songsak is his friend, and it was Mayor Pairat who invited him to become City Manager. The Mayor also stated that his ouster might not pass the city council, which would mean he would merely suffer censure.

Mr. Songsak has a Master’s Degree in Governmental Administration from the United States and lived there for many years. Pattaya’s form of government is modeled on the United States city charter form. This would give him an advantage over many people who know the Thai governmental system.

Songsak was heartily welcomed by the City Council when he took office 2 years ago. Two years before that, he impressed city officials with his work as Deputy City Manager.

When Mr. Manij Takraiklang was removed from office in 1996, Mr. Songsak took over. He was hired at a salary of 43,125 baht per month with a four year contract.

There was an ‘undercurrent’ of news that the City Manager would be removed from office in around November 1997, but the rumor dissipated. At that time, Mr. Songsak stated he thought that this was going to happen, and has since returned to Bangkok.

He said that if he should be removed from office for any reason, it would not cause him any great worry. The reason he was undertaking this office was that it was his home and he was proud to have the job.

He once said to the media that he worked in a methodical and correct manner. He also used reason and considered the general good. He said under no conditions would he work for his own advantage or that of any so-called ‘cronies’.

There are many waiting in the wings to assume Mr. Songsak’s job. Many interest groups with many agendas are ready to step in, including Mr. Nirand Wantansartsathorn, the Deputy City Manager. He is now studying at the Master’s Level at Burapha University, which selects its candidates by interview only. He has not answered the media’s question whether he is willing to make the sacrifice and take the office.

Mayor Pairat gave a brief summary of Mr. Songsak’s failures:

1. He could not get a milk budget for school lunches. This budget amounted to 2,622,300 baht (two million six hundred twenty two thousand three hundred baht.)

2. He did not consult with the Pattaya City Council on the reviving of Pattaya and the improvements on Dong Tan Beach.

3. He went to the USA from January 12-23, 1997 without notifying the mayor.

4. He bought computers in a ‘non-transparent’ fashion. This caused him to be criticized by the media.

5. He made disparaging comments about the Valentine’s Day celebration because he felt it should not be held. He also did not attend the organizing committee meeting which was the idea of HSH Princess Phansawali Kittiyakorn.

6. He did not supervise the Pier Bridge project and the community well cover project on Larn Island, even though the City Council requested it.

7. He did not respond to the call for the organizing of the beach volleyball games in the 13th Asian Games. He did not have the field built because it was on land belonging to a hotel.

7. He did not transfer two school district heads even though it was requested by teachers. This caused complaints to be sent to the provincial seat.

9. He did not join in the announcement of the 1998 ‘Pattaya Festival’.

10. He did not approve the budget for the Children’s’ Day festival in the Pattaya Schools, even though the City Council wished for it.

11. He covered up the matter of Mr. Pirayos Jaemkrajang, Principal of Pattaya School 4, being threatened by Mr. Aphichat about the false budget for the flagpole.

12. He could not find anyone to construct a sports field in Pattaya School 7, knowing that the budget would expire in 4 months.

13. He set up a committee to investigate the mayor of Pattaya concerning the ‘Pattaya festival’, 1997, without allowing the mayor to consult his lawyer.

14. He allowed construction work to be done on the Royal Jomtien Hotel.

15. He came to work late (10:00 a.m.) every morning.

16. He did not follow up on his work and did not respond to Pattaya City council policy decisions as much as he should in the following matters;

The Mini-bus project is not yet a concrete reality.

The traffic lights are not repaired.

The exercise and health park is not yet build and Dong Tan Beach has not yet been improved with the budget from the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

He does not join in city activities, festivals and parties.

He does not fix roads in an expeditious manner or rapidly repair power outages.