Gauteng Metro Mayors promise speedy service delivery to citizens

- By Political Reporter

Gauteng’s three metro municipalities finally have political heads for portfolios in their councils after the newly elected DA mayors appointed their long-awaited members of the mayoral committees (MMCs) last month.

This comes after councilors from opposition parties raised concern during council meetings over mayors’ silence on the selection of new mayoral committees; a move they said was unprecedented.

Johannesburg Mayor, Dr Mpho Phalatse, quickly shut them down, saying her election as mayor was equally unprecedented and so would be the process to elect her team. She admitted to being in conversation with several parties in a bid to form a formal majority coalition government to run the city.

“These individuals must be willing to work hard to deliver basic services to communities and bring about stability for the next five years.

The reason it took a bit longer for the DA or for myself as the executive mayor, to announce the mayoral committee is exactly in recognition of the fact that we did not get an outright majority” she said.

This is how the Mayoral Committees were selected in three different Gauteng Metros:

JOHANNESBURG

City of Johannesburg Executive Mayor: Cllr Mpho Phalatse

The City of Johannesburg’s 6 million residents have their hopes of service delivery pinned on the newly sworn-in multi-party government.

The City’s Executive Mayor, Cllr Mpho Phalatse, said the residents expect all the 18 political parties represented in Council to work together.  The Mayor was speaking on Tuesday, 14 December 2021, at the Conny Bapela Council Chamber after she and 10 Members of the Mayoral Committee (MMCs) were sworn-in.

She told the newly installed MMCs that they have been forced to work together by residents despite their different political ideologies.

“From our development planning frameworks, to how we distribute resources, to our understanding and support of poor communities, and our enabling nature towards the business community. We have a mammoth task of understanding and managing the diversity that is before us. Each and every one of our 6 million residents is counting on that,” said Mayor Phalatse.

The Mayor and the MMCs come from the Democratic Alliance, Action SA, Inkatha Freedom Party, Freedom Front Plus and African Christian Democratic Party.

She said all the MMCs have to put their political parties’ hats aside and become members of one team.

“We are all from different political formations yet members of the same team. We have a natural inclination towards competition, with the view to eclipse or overshadow our colleague, but in this setting the co-dependencies between the different portfolios require of us to desire for our colleague to excel, in order for us to excel,” she said.

She urged all the incoming MMCs to collaborate, support each other and engage in the healthy competition for the benefit of service delivery.

“It is in this spirit that I would like to see the MMCs move into this term of office because a house divided amongst itself cannot stand. And as we stand here today, we’re all members of one team regardless of which political parties we come from. We are going to be building one city of Johannesburg and one legacy that we all together can hand over to the next generation,” she said.

The Chief Whip of Council, Cllr Tyrell Meyers, said the City is in great hands under the leadership of Mayor Phalatse and the MMCs.

City of Johannesburg Mayoral Committee

Executive Mayor Cllr Mpho Phalatse

Cllr Julie Suddaby (DA) - Finance

Cllr Leah Knott (DA) - Group Corporate and Shared Services

Cllr Funzela Ngobeni (ActionSA) - Transport

Cllr Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku (DA) - Development Planning

Cllr Mlungisi Mabaso (IFP) - Housing

Cllr Nkuli Mbundu (ActionSA) - Economic Development

Cllr Franco De Lange (FF+) - Health and Social Development

Cllr Ronald Winston Harris (ACDP) - Community Development

Cllr Michael Sun (DA) - Environment and Infrastructure Services

Cllr David Thembe (ActionSA) - Public Safety

EKURHULENI

MAYOR, MMCs and their portfolios in pictures

Ald Tania Campbell Executive Mayor of the City of Ekurhuleni

EXECUTIVE MAYOR TANIA CAMPBELL ANNOUNCES HER MAYORAL COMMITTEE

Ekurhuleni Executive Mayor Alderwoman Tania Campbell announced her mayoral committee members on 11 th December 2021.

“After careful consideration and broad consultation with our coalition partners, I am confident that the individuals appointed today will usher in a new era of service delivery and accountability in the City of Ekurhuleni,” said Mayor Campbell.

“Together, we have made a commitment to every single resident and every single business in Ekurhuleni.

that during this five-year term-of-office we will be focused on building a capable, service delivery driven city that will reposition Ekurhuleni as the economic hub the Gauteng.

“My multi-party Mayoral Committee’s combined institutional knowledge and skill set will map the way forward, and everything we do, will be in the best interests of the communities of Ekurhuleni. This multi-party democracy is the future, and we owe it to every resident who placed their trust in us, to ensure we deliver a responsive and accountable government that takes Ekurhuleni forward,” said the executive mayor.

“The 10-member Mayoral Committee are ready to go. While we are fully aware of the challenges and the mammoth task ahead, these capable individuals all share the same like-minded goal - and that is getting services to the communities, making sure that our budget is pro-poor and efficiently utilised, and rooting out the scourge of fraud and corruption in Ekurhuleni,” said the first citizen.

Members of the Mayoral Committee

The Executive Mayor heads up a mayoral committee of 10 members, each representing and heading up a portfolio:

•  Finance and Economic Development – Finance and Economic Development departments

•  Infrastructure Services – Real Estate, Roads and Storm-water, Enterprise Project Management Office

•  Transport Planning – Public Transport, Brakpan Bus Company, Fleet and Licensing departments

•  Water, Sanitation and Energy – Water and Sanitation, Energy and ERWAT

•  City Planning – City Planning and Land Parcels

•  Community Services – Health and Social Development, Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture and Customer Relations Management departments.

•  Human Settlements – Human Settlements and EDC .

•  Environment and Waste Management Services – Waste Management, Environmental Resource Management, and Parks and Cemeteries departments..

•  Community Safety – EMPD, Disaster Emergency Management Services, Security and Safety Services.

Ald Andre du Plessis (DA) Environment and Waste Management

Tel: 011 999 0861

Waste Management Services, Environmental Resource Management, Parks and Cemeteries

TSHWANE

City of Tshwane Executive Mayor: Cllr Randall Williams

The Executive Mayor of Tshwane, Alderman Randall Williams, announced the City of Tshwane's new Mayoral Committee on Tuesday, 14 December 2021. While introducing the Members of the Mayoral Committee (MMCs), Alderman Williams said that the election results have indeed reinforced the need for stable coalitions to drive quality service delivery, and that it had been hard work to craft a coalition government that would ensure that the needs of residents are put first.

The Executive Mayor reiterated that core basic service delivery remains the focus, and that the day-to- day operations of the City must be enhanced and improved upon. This includes improving response times and the ability to manage electricity outages and water leaks, ensuring that potholes are repaired, maintaining open public spaces and repairing sewerage lines.

He said that the electricity and water infrastructure in Tshwane is ageing rapidly and that he will ensure the maintenance and refurbishment of critical infrastructure.

Another core priority is stabilising the City's finances to protect the institution and ensure the sustainability of the municipality.

The Executive Mayor indicated the following ten key focused interventions to achieve core service deliverables:

• Prioritise the electrical grid and water infrastructure

•  Provide stringent financial management and oversight

•  Promote employment and economic growth in Tshwane

•  Enhance city safety and emergency services

•  Maintain a clean and protected natural environment

•  Develop road infrastructure and advance mobility

•  Support the vulnerable and provide social relief

•  Modernise and digitise City processes

•  Promote good governance, accountability and transparency

•  Implement a robust COVID-19 management strategy 

Members of the Mayoral Committee & their Contact Details

​Environment and Agriculture Management: Cllr Dana Wannenburg Tel: 012 358 1384 Cell: 082 442 3400 Email: DanaW@tshwane.gov.za	​Finance: Cllr Mare-Lise Fourie Tel: 012 358 1010 Cell: 083 457 7919 Email: Mare-liseF6@tshwane.gov.za​	​​Economic Development and Spatial Planning: Cllr Bruce Lee Tel: 012 358 8721 /8607 Cell: 082 339 8777 Email: BruceL@tshwane.gov.za
​​Health:  Cllr Sakkie du Plooy                   Tel: 012 358 3326 Cell : 083 448 9473 Email: Sakkied2@tshwane.gov.za	​Community Safety: Cllr Thabisile Vilakazi Tel: 012 358 3326/5449 Cell : 067 963 0639 Email: Thabisilev@tshwane.gov.za	​​Housing and Human Settlement: Cllr Mpho Mehlape-Zimu Tel:012 358 5074/0276 Cell: 079 732 1077  Email: SelloMaimane@Tshwane.gov.za
​​Human Capital Management and Shared Services: Cllr Sylvester Phokoje                   Tel: 012 358 4600  Cell: 082 573 6965 Email: SylvesterP@tshwane.gov.za	​​Utility Services: Cllr Phillip Nel Tel: 012 358 2964 Cell: 084 400 6037 Email: PhillipN@Tshwane.gov.za	​​Roads and Transport: Cllr Dikeledi Tel:012 358 7589 Cell: 081 382 7964 Email: Email: Dikeledi.s2@tshwane.gov.za
​​Community and Social Development Services: Cllr Thabisile Tel: 012 358 3461 Cell: 067 963 0639 Email: Thabisilev@tshwane.gov.za

 The new MMCs are as follows:

​Portfolio	​Name	​Political party
​Finance	​Peter Sutton	​DA
​Environment and Agriculture Management	​To be announced in January 2022	​DA
​Economic Development and Spatial Planning	​Andre le Roux	​ActionSA
​Health	​Rina Marx	​FF Plus
​Community Safety	​Umberto Theunissen	​FF Plus
​Housing and Human Settlement	​Abel Tau	​ActionSA
​Human Capital Management and Shared Services	​Kingsleys Wakelin	​DA
​Utility Services	​Philip Nel	​DA
​Roads and Transport	​Dikeledi Selowa	​DA
​Community and Social Development	​Granny Peggy de Bruin	​ActionSA

Additional Information by : City of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni &Tshwane