During the City of Johannesburg’s 27th Extraordinary Council Meeting on Tuesday, August 10, Councillor Jolidee Matongo was elected unopposed as the CoJ’s new Executive Mayor.
According to a statement released on behalf of the Speaker of the CoJ, Councillor Nonceba Molwele, the Speaker of Council, Councillor Nonceba Molwele, had called the Extraordinary Meeting in terms of Rule 16 of the Standing Rules and Orders of Council.
Councillor Matongo, 46, who is the former Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Finance in the current term of office, takes over for the remainder of the term following the recent passing of Councillor Molantoa Geoff Makhubo.
The new mayor is a seasoned politician who holds various qualifications that include a BTech in Public Management, Project Management, Quality Assurance, as well as Public Management and Development certificates. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Public Administration.
Born in Soweto and having grown up in the streets of Dube, Councillor Matongo became a political activist at the tender age of 13. He subsequently joined the Soweto Students Congress (SOSCO) and the Congress of South African Students (COSAS), where he served in various capacities.
Councillor Matongo rose through the ranks as a youth activist until he became a member of the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League where he served as Regional Secretary, and later was elected the Regional Chairperson in the Greater Johannesburg Region.
He has served as a member of the Johannesburg ANC Regional Executive Committee (REC) for 18 years where he was the Region’s Head of Media and Communications, and elected the Region spokesperson for two consecutive terms.
Having formally joined the public service just over a decade ago, Councillor Matongo was first appointed as Operations Manager in the CoJ Housing Department. He later became the City’s Deputy Director of Youth Development – a function that prompted the municipality to prioritise programmes that were directed particularly at youth inclusion and empowerment.
He went on to become a councillor in the CoJ Council ahead of his appointment by the late Mayor Makhubo as the MMC for Finance in December 2019. Since then, he has been leading the Finance Department in striking a balance between the City’s coffers and the unusual service delivery demands amidst the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
On Wednesday, August 11 the new mayor confirmed his 10-member Mayoral Committee.
The new list of MMCs, which was a result of consultations with the ongoing Government of Local Unity (GLU) partnership in the City, contains no surprises as the majority of members remained in the portfolios they were assigned by the late Executive Mayor.
The choice of MMCs is in support of the theme of continuation with the implementation of the GLU’s priorities, which are aligned to the Joburg Growth and Development Strategy (GDS) 2040.
Only the portfolios of Finance and Economic Development were assigned new MMCs – Councillor Matshidiso Mfikoe and Councillor Thomas Mofokeng respectively.
Councillor Mfikoe returns as MMC for Finance after having served as an MMC for EISD under the former Johannesburg Mayor Parks Tau pre-2016. Councillor Mofokeng replaces MMC Lawrence Khoza in the Economic Development portfolio.
The Environment and Infrastructure Services Department (EISD) MMC Mpho Moerane; Housing MMC Mlungisi Mabaso; Transport MMC Helen Makhuba; and Health and Social Development MMC Eunice Mgcina remained unchanged.
Also retained in their portfolios are Group Corporate Shared Services MMC Loyiso Masuku; Community Development MMC Margaret Arnolds; Development Planning MMC Thapelo Amad; and Public Safety MMC Mally Mokoena.
