KZN mayor Christopher Pappas makes TIME100 Next list

uMngeni mayor Chris Pappas has been included in this year’s prestigious TIME magazine’s TIME100 Next list.

Launched in 2019, the list forms part of TIME’s efforts to evolve how it tells stories. In a statement, the magazine said: “Traditionally, with efforts like Person of the Year and TIME100, we have used the power of our spotlight to draw attention to those who have achieved peak influence in their fields.

“But a great magazine and a great media company should not just reflect the present, it should push us forward, showing what is possible as well as what society’s future and future leaders will look like.

“That is our ambition for TIME100 Next, our annual franchise recognising the rising leaders in health, climate, business, sports, the arts and more.”

Pappas is one of 24 young people from around the world selected in the leadership category. TIME has recognised him for the positive changes he has made in the uMngeni Municipality since taking office in November 2021.

These include getting the municipality’s budget to balance for the first time in over a decade and adding 175 new homes to the electricity grid.

TIME said: “His election itself was an unusual feat, in part because he’s a white, gay, Zulu-speaking politician, in a municipality that is three-quarters black, in a country where most people vote along racial lines.

“But Pappas crossed those divides to speak to people in their own language, and won votes by emphasising small, but attainable, improvements to daily life and municipal services above standard political loyalty.”

Pappas said he was very proud to be chosen for the TIME100 Next list, adding that he believes there is a need to have more administrative politicians; people who focus less on giving speeches and more on delivering services to the people.