The City of Johannesburg’s 27th Extra-Ordinary Council Meeting on Tuesday, 10 August 2021, elected Councillor (Cllr.) Jolidee Matongo, 46, unopposed, as the new Executive Mayor.
The Speaker of Council, Cllr Nonceba Molwele, had called the Extra-Ordinary Meeting in terms of Rule 16 of the Standing Rules and Orders of Council.
Cllr Matongo, 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 the Executive Mayor, Cllr Molantoa Geoff Makhubo, due to Covid-19.
The new Executive Mayor is expected to announce members of his Mayoral Committee (MMCs) on Wednesday, 11 August 2021.
Cllr Matongo is a seasoned politician, who holds various qualifications that include a B-Tech degree 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, Cllr Matongo took up political activism at a tender age of 13. He subsequently joined the Soweto Students Congress
(SOSCO) and the Congress of South African Students (COSAS), which he served in various capacities, respectively.
Cllr Matongo grew through the ranks as a youth activist until he became a member of the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League wherein he served as a Regional Secretary,
and he was later elected the Regional Chairperson in the Greater Johannesburg Region. He has further served as a member of the Johannesburg ANC Regional Executive Committee
(REC) for 18 years – wherein 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, Cllr Matongo was first appointed an Operations Manager in the Housing Department of the City. 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 Johannesburg 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.
Cllr Matongo is married and lives with his family in Lenasia, south of Johannesburg.
ENDS
Issued on behalf of Speaker of the City of Johannesburg, Cllr Nonceba Molwele
For more information
Office of the Speaker
Spokesperson
Sipho Masigo
Cel. 068 040 9431
Email. SiphoMasi@joburg.org.za
