By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@GalloImages.
ANC councillor Jolidee Matongo has been elected the new executive mayor of the City of Johannesburg.
Council speaker Nonceba Molwele made the announcement a short while ago during a special council meeting on Tuesday morning. There were no other mayoral candidates nominated for the position.
Matongo takes over from former mayor Geoff Makhubo, who succumbed to Covid-related complications in July.
He is expected to complete Makhubo’s term in office, which will end either in October or early next year depending on the postponement of the local government elections.
The 269 councillors in the metro did not submit any other names and, as per the Municipal Structures Act, therefore in the case that there is only one nominee that person automatically assumes the position.
Matongo’s name was the most preferred by the ANC in the province after the selection of three names, including Salphina Mulaudzi and Mpho Moerane, for mayoral candidate.
The new mayor was endorsed by the ANC’s coalition partners, the African Independent Congress, Al Jama-ah, the Congress of the People, the United Democratic Movement, Inkatha Freedom Party, and the Patriotic Alliance.
The 46-year-old is a Soweto-born former student activist.
He had risen through the ranks, from serving as a member of the Soweto Student Congress and the Congress of South African Students (Cosas) before moving on to serve as the regional head of Communications in the ANC for eight years.
Matongo holds various qualifications from different institutions, including a Diploma in Public Management, a Post Graduate Degree in Public Management from Unisa, a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from Milpark Business School and is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Public Management with Mancosa.
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Video Courtesy of ENCA.