Clean governance a test for new Joburg mayor Jolidee Matongo

The fact that the new mayor of the City of Joburg, Jolidee Matongo, was elected unopposed to the position is an interesting development in the normally dog-eat-dog world of municipal politics in the richest city in the country.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) decided not to field a candidate in the election and the party’s caucus leader, Leah Knott, went as far as damning Matongo with the faint praise that he “does have the background to be able to do the job, which we hope he will do efficiently”.

She added: “He is probably the best of the not-great basket of ANC candidates.”

But the city’s website, no doubt controlled by the ruling ANC, is gushing in its praise of the new mayor, praising his “record of insight and ongoing commitment to serve with the utmost efficiency and accountability.”

Let us hope that the website hagiography is not without foundation – because the mayoral post in the past has, to put it kindly, seen a fair amount of controversy.

Matongo’s predecessor, Geoff Makhubo (who died earlier this year), had an unsavoury odour about him, having banked millions through his links to Gupta-connected Regiments Capital firm, which also did lucrative business with the city.

He said he did not see any conflict of interest.

Knott claims that corruption in the award of tenders for personal protective equipment in the Covid crisis had, effectively, been “whitewashed” by the finance portfolio committee, then headed by Matongo.

The new mayor, then, has to prove, not only to the sniping DA, but to all of the citizens and ratepayers of this city, that he is not only capable of leading, but that he is also committed to clean governance.

We have enough corruption in our country without breeding more in our city.