Matongo elected new Joburg mayor
Councillor Jolidee Matongo has been elected mayor of Johannesburg unopposed.
Jolidee Matongo (46) was elected unopposed as the new mayor of Johannesburg on August 10 at the City of Johannesburg’s 27th extraordinary council meeting.
The speaker of council, Nonceba Molwele, called the meeting in terms of Rule 16 of the Standing Rules and Orders of Council.
Matongo, who is the former MMC for Finance in the current term of office, takes over the remainder of the term following the recent death of mayor Moloantoa Geoff Makhubo because of Covid-19.
The new mayor is expected to announce members of his mayoral committee on August 11.
Matongo is a seasoned politician who holds various qualifications, including a BTech degree in public management, project management, quality assurance, as well as public management and development certificates. He is pursuing a master’s degree in public administration.
Born in Soweto and growing up on the streets of Dube, Matongo took up political activism at the age of 13. He subsequently joined the Soweto Students Congress (Sosco) and the Congress of South African Students (Cosas), for which he served in various capacities, respectively.
He grew through the ranks as a youth activist until he became a member of the ANC Youth League, where he served as regional secretary and was later elected regional chairperson in the Greater Johannesburg Region.
He also served as a member of the Johannesburg ANC regional executive committee for 18 years, where he was the region’s head of media and communications, as well as a spokesperson for two consecutive terms.
Having formally joined the public service just over a decade ago, Matongo was first appointed as 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 Makhubu 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 amid the ongoing pandemic.
Matongo is married and lives with his family in Lenasia.
