Meet the new mayor of the City of Ekurhuleni
He joined public service in 2011 and that was the beginning of his political career, where he started as a PR councillor in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality.
The City of Ekurhuleni’s newly elected Mayor Nkosiphile Xhakaza is not new to the political scene.
He has been active since his teenage years.
Xhakaza was born and bred in Thembisa, Lebeong section. He attended Inxiwemi and Masiqhakaze primary schools.
He holds a National Diploma in Cost and Management Accounting (cum laude) from the Vaal University of Technology and a postgraduate diploma in Public Management from Regenesys Business School.
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He has over seven years of experience in the private sector, where he served as the business unit controller at Siemens.
Xhakaza’s political background dates back to COSAS. He later moved up the ranks to SASCO and then the ANC Youth League.
He joined public service in 2011, and that was the beginning of his political career, where he started as a proportional councillor in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality.
He later became the deputy chief whip for the ANC caucus, contributing to municipal affairs and service delivery.
He has also served on key Section 79 committees, including the transport planning and provision oversight and the oversight committee on the Mayor’s Office and Legislature, overseeing institutional and governance performance.
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As a MEC for Water and Energy, and later for Finance, Economic Development, and ICT, he provided strategic direction on critical infrastructure and financial sustainability, leading to significant achievements such as a clean audit opinion for the 2019/20 financial year.
His most recent tenure was as the MMC for Corporate and Shared Services and Service Delivery Coordination.
