New Joburg mayor Jolidee Matongo praised for leadership capabilities

Newly-elected City of Johannesburg executive mayor Jolidee Matongo is seen as the best candidate to fill the mayoral shoes, following the death of his predecessor Geoff Makhubo.

With the Johannesburg mayoral election having taken place a few months before the local government polls, the Democratic Alliance (DA) yesterday preferred not to field a candidate – and abstained from voting in support of
Matongo.

But while unhappy about the ANC’s track record in governing the city, DA caucus leader Leah Knott reserved some qualified accolades for the incoming city boss.

“Jolidee does have the background to be able to do the job, which we hope he will do efficiently. We are not looking at a clean sweep but a reshuffling. He is probably the best of the not-great basket of ANC candidates,” said Knott.

Matongo has risen through the political and government ranks to reach the most senior position at local government level, with his last role having been member of mayoral committee (MMC) for finance, making him responsible for oversight on spending by the city.

The City of Johannesburg website painted a glowing picture of Matongo’s “record of insight and ongoing commitment to serve with the utmost efficiency and accountability in the local government sphere”.

This, it said, saw him being appointed as a strategic support adviser in the Johannesburg office of the MMC for finance in 2011.

“This was the role that saw him become part of the Johannesburg leadership that prioritised socioeconomic transformation in the city through partnerships with communities, business, academic institutions and civil society in the delivery of municipal services.

“The same leadership team led to the municipality scoring positive ratings by both Moody’s and Fitch for its good financial health amid financial difficulties experienced at national government in 2015,” said the city website.

It said his return as the political head of finance came after his stint in the Gauteng provincial government where he served as the chief-of-staff responsible for running the offices of the Gauteng MEC for sport as well as economic development and agriculture respectively.

But while praising Matongo’s leadership capabilities, Knott has not forgotten what she has described as “an unsatisfactory explanation given by the city” last year in the multimillion-rand personal protective equipment (PPE) tender.

Appointing an internal audit team, which the DA viewed as “a whitewash”, the city defended itself against allegations of tender fraud regarding PPE contracts worth R80 million, saying it had conducted internal investigations. The DA said the fraud could amount to as much as R600 million.

Knott said: “Jolidee led the finance portfolio when the exorbitant PPE spending was uncovered. We are still awaiting answers.”

To the ANC and other minority parties, Matongo has emerged as a well-respected leader, with Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula describing him as “capable”.

Born in Dube in Soweto, Matongo became an activist at the age of 13, serving as a member of the ANC Youth League and later rising to the position of regional chairperson.

He has served as a member of the Johannesburg ANC regional executive committee for 18 years, becoming head of media and communications.

He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Administration and holds qualifications that include a BTech degree in public management, project management, quality assurance as well as public management and development.