The Members of the Mayoral Committee (MMCs) which will assist the recently elected Mogale City Executive Mayor, Councillor Tyrone Gray in managing the municipality during this term have been named.
MMCs are directly appointed by the Mogale City Local Municipality (MCLM) Mayor and chosen from among the recently elected ward and proportional representation (PR) councillor pool. The ten MMCs whom Mayor Gray appointed on December 9, 2021 – two weeks after his appointment as mayor – are each responsible for one of the ten portfolios which make up local governance, and their job is to assist and advise the Executive Mayor in executing his duties.
This Mayoral Committee will prioritise service delivery, address development backlogs and improve the lives of the residents of the whole of Mogale City. I believe that the committee is well balanced and has the necessary skills to take the City forward. Everyone here has over five years’ experience in local government and they are well versed in matters regarding our City,” said Mayor Gray.
“We run the whole finance, expenditure, income, budgeting and procurement side of MCLM. I have a BCom in Accounting and a Wits Municipal Management Diploma,” said MMC for Finance, Jaco Holtzhausen.
MMC for Social Development, Lesego Lekoto explained that, “As a department we have a number of core functions, namely to develop and manage support programmes at a local level; address stigmatisation and discrimination; communicate on municipal efforts to address the needs of people living with HIV/ Aids; support regional offices in addressing the needs of people with HIV/Aids; allocate free basic services through our indigent system to qualifying beneficiaries, and monitor and control those systems; optimise the use of community facilities and provide space for the promotion of activities in various sectors; and provide education through campaigns on health issues. I have served in the portfolio since 2017 when I became the councillor.”
MMC for Local Economic and Rural Development, Zillah Maguire explained that she is responsible for town planning, land use management (rezoning), building control, outdoor advertising, sustainable rural development, agricultural business, enterprise development, tourism and property development. “I’ve been sitting on the Local Economic Department Council for the past five years,” she concluded.
MMC for Corporate Support Services and Strategic Planning, Aletta van Loggerenberg explained that it is her responsibility, ” … to provide political oversight and guidance of the systems to support business operation through productive use and management of human capital and corporate facilities. I have served in the CSS portfolio in the past.”
MMC for Community Safety, Lydia Sokwang said, “My portfolio covers traffic, by-laws, licences and law enforcement in Mogale City. I previously served in Public Safety Section 80, which deals with departmental need.”
MMC for Roads and Transport, Whitey Moleba said his focus is on maintenance, resurfacing, municipal-owned buildings and transport services. “Time and time again, as a ward councillor, I was involved with this portfolio in the previous term.”
MMC for Utilities, Kagiso Lekagane said his role is to oversee the utility management services; the water, sanitation and sewer system; transformers; and bulk supply services. “In the past I served on the portfolio and worked on ground level.”
MMC for Sports, Recreation, Arts, Culture and Heritage, Bongani Nkosi said, “I oversee the interns of the department and my duty as MMC is to assist our youth skills development. I did not serve in Sports before, but I have big plans for this department going forward.”
MMC for Integrated Environmental Management, Edwina Mahne said, “My responsibilities are oversight, waste management, biodiversity and environmental management. My experiences have been in the DIEM portfolio for five years.
I know that the residents are concerned about the grass not being cut in parks and cemeteries, and at major road intersections. We are in the process of arranging that the Parks Department will be given money to pay contractors to cut the foliage in parks and at the road verges. We should all work towards keeping our environment healthy, to take care of our indigenous plant species and animals, and not to participate in littering and illegal dumping,” Edwina added.
MMC for Human Settlement, Danny Thupane said, “I am not new in the field of human settlement. I served in said portfolio at the West Rand District Municipality during the 2000 to 2006 term, and I was trained in city planning in the People’s Republic of China.”
