2009-06-12: Announcement of members of the mayor
STATEKMENT by the Executive Mayor of Johannesburg, Councillor Amos Masondo at the media briefing on the announcement of members of the mayoral committee and their portfolios, Committee room C, Braamfontein – Johannesburg
The Speaker: Nkele Ntingane
The Chief Whip
Members of the Mayoral Committee
City Manager: Mavela Dlamini
The Media
We are today, presenting to you an assembled team of men and women who now constitute the Members of the Mayoral Committee. I believe that these men and women will help inject a sense of urgency to our work, lift the bar and take the City to higher plane. We will be seeking to do our work in a more efficient and effective manner. We will be seeking to ensure that our vision of building Johannesburg into a World Class African City continues apace and that Joburg becomes the ideal City in which to work, live and play.
In choosing these Members of the Mayoral Committee, one has had to balance a variety of factors. These include, amongst others, gender, geographic spread, the national question, youth and political experience.
We have retained the majority of the Members of the Mayoral Committee who were appointed after the 2006 Local Government Elections. It is important to note, however, that most will now be heading different political portfolios. We are also adding new faces.
The portfolios to be filled by Members of the Mayoral Committee are as follows:
Finance, Economic Development, Infrastructure and Services, Housing, Community Development, Health, Safety, Development Planning and Urban Management, Corporate and Services: and Environment and Transport.
Some of the portfolios have changed – Finance has been separated from Economic Development whilst Corporate Services has added onto Environment.
Through the Finance portfolio, we will continue to strongly focus on achieving financial sustainability, while economic growth and development remain a major priority to stimulate not just job creation but also seek to ensure additional revenue generation.
Portfolios for Infrastructure and Services, Housing and Community Development, suggest and emphasis on the ongoing focus of improving service delivery, targeting the poor and the previously disadvantaged communities.
The maintenance of existing infrastructure and its extension to those areas where none is in place.
The Health portfolio shows our commitment to addressing primary health care, locating clinics as close as possible to where people are and addressing, amongst others, the scourge of HIV/AIDS. Through the safety portfolio we will be seeking to consolidate efforts made in the past seven (7) years to make Johannesburg a safer place to work and live.
The Development Planning and Urban Management portfolio, demonstrates our commitment to transforming and integrating the City. The need to ensure greater efforts at addressing urban management and turning dormitory townships like Soweto and Alexandra into viable sustainable settlements.
The urban management component of the portfolio will especially ensure the continuation of the inner city regeneration in the Johannesburg, Randburg, Roodepoort and other similar central business districts.
The Environment and Corporate Services portfolios have been merged and they are headed by one Member of the Mayoral Committee. The Environment portfolio ensures that communities have access to the green open space, parks, well-kept watercourses, biodiversity and planting of trees that make for a better quality of life. The Corporate Services portfolio will create the internal platform for advancing good and efficient government over this term of office.
A lot of work has been done in regard to transport even though more work still needs to be done in order to reduce congestion and bring affordable and accessible public transport to all through the City's project Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). The portfolio also deals with issues of roads construction, maintenance, traffic lights as well as storm water drainage.
In the remaining term of office, this political team will continue to lead the City in undertaking and completing major programmes/projects of development and delivery. Their work will start immediately and these portfolios will be tabled at the Council meeting of 18th June 2009.
The new Members of the Mayoral Committee and their portfolios are as follows:
Speaker: Retained, Clr Nkele Ntingane
Chief Whip: Clr Nonceba Molwele
Community Development: Clr Bafana Sithole, former Chief Whip
Development Planning and Urban Management: Clr Ros Greeff
Economic Development: Clr Oupa Monareng
Environment and Corporate Services: Clr Matshidiso Mfikoe
Finance: Retained, Clr Parks Tau
Health: Clr Bengeza Mthombeni
Housing: Clr Ruby Mathang
Infrastructure and Services: Clr Christine Walters
Public Safety: Clr Elginah Ndhlovu
Transport: Retained, Clr Rehana Moosajee
I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that at the beginning of the political term, all the ANC Councillors signed the code of conduct which says the following and we still stick to that commitment:
"I stand to serve the community. I solemnly declare that I stand to be elected as a representative of my community, without motives of material advantage or personal gain. As a councillor of the ANC I will place my energies and skills at the disposal of my community, and carry out the tasks given to me. I will work side by side with the whole community as we strive to build a better life for all South Africans.
I will fight against corruption in any guise or form. I will listen to the views of the community and hold a public meeting with all community members to report back on my work, at least four times a year.
I will live in the community that has elected me. I will do my best to build and develop my community.
I will uphold the policies of my organisation, the African National Congress."
On behalf of this collective leadership appointed today, allow me to say that we will serve the people of this great City with dedication and demonstrate even greater levels of commitment.
I would also like to thank the outgoing Members of the Mayoral Committee for their dedication and commitment.
In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Ms Nandi Mayathula-Khoza, our former Councillor, former Speaker of Council and a former Member of the Mayoral Committee responsible for the Community Development portfolio for her appointment as a Gauteng Member of the Provincial Legislature and Member of the Executive Council (MEC) responsible for Agriculture and Rural Development.
Thank you
For more information please call:
Nkhensani Makhobela
Spokesperson for the Executive Mayor
Cell: 0824617075
Issued by:
Nthatisi Modingoane
Deputy Director: Communications
CITY OF JOHANNESBURG
Tel: (011) 407 7354
Fax: 403 3494
Cell: 082 467 9228
E-mail: nthatisem@joburg.org.za
