City of Johannesburg to elect a new Mayor on Friday

By the end of Friday, 1 October 2021, the City of Joburg will have a new mayor as the council is set to convene a special sitting to elect the economic hub’s first citizen.

Proceedings are scheduled to get underway at 10:00 at the Council Chambers.

The City of Johannesburg’s MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services Mpho Moerane has been endorsed as the next mayor.

The ANC’s Johannesburg regional executive committee announced earlier this week that they would be backing Moerane as the party’s candidate for the mayoral post, which will be filled for the second time in two months. It was left vacant following the sudden death of Jolidee Matongo, who lost his life in a car accident on the Golden Highway earlier this month.

Moerane was unanimously endorsed at a committee meeting on Tuesday, 28 September 2021 after it received advice from the legal teams of the ANC in Johannesburg and provincial Cogta department.

Matongo’s death came a little more than a month after he assumed office. At the time, he had taken over Geoff Makhubo, who himself had died in July, succumbing to COVID-19.

ANC Gauteng chairperson David Makhura acknowledged the grief the party has had to deal with, particularly over such a short period, but says despite this, there is still an obligation to serve its people.

“Even as we go through grief, we have to respond to the task of installing new leadership and the ANC in Gauteng and Johannesburg are ready to ensure that there is continuity of governance, continuity of leadership and continuity of service delivery, including addressing those pressing issues affecting the people of the city.”

Since Matongo’s passing, the city has been under the leadership of the Speaker and the city manager.

“There is [an] urgent need for the City to have, in the intervening period between now and 1 November, a mayor and an executive committee who will continue to provide services to the people,” said Makhura.