Get to know Joburg’s new MMC of housing

The City of Johannesburg executive major, Thapelo Amad recently appointed eight members of the Mayoral Committee after being sworn in.

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One of the newly appointed members is Anthea Leitch, (38) who is serving as the MMC for housing.

Leitch was raised in the Western Cape’s Cape Flats before moving to Gauteng, where her political career is currently thriving.

Since she always wanted to be independent from a young age and help support her family financially, she says that she was required to develop and mature swiftly.

Leitch managed to balance her secondary studies and a part-time job. Due to her tenacity and ambition she started working when she was in matric and managed to juggle both work and school.

After completing her matric, she enrolled and obtained a degree in Travel and Tourism and is currently studying towards a degree in Political Science.

“Due to lack of funds to pursue my studies at the time, I applied for an internship at the British Airways in order to fund my studies.

“I was employed there for eight years until I left for maternity leave while expecting my daughter, at which point our party, the Patriotic Alliance (PA), was founded,” Leitch said.

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She added that the party was founded at her home in 2014 and having to know that she opened her doors to many people in the community who needed assistance at that time warms her heart.

“After the party was established, I decided to leave my day to day job and focus of serving my community. That is when my passion for community work grew immensely because we were able to become the voice for those who needed us.

“The transition from the corporate world to politics really changed my life because at that time I had almost the whole community looking up to me, regardless of how inexperienced I was at the time.”

She added that at first it was daunting having to sit among other politicians with more experience, but she started committing herself more in the political field and realised that it is not as complicated as it seems and it is doable for anyone.

Her political career then took a sharp turn as she was entrusted with more positions such serving as the PR councillor, the National Executive Treasure General position and now the MMC for housing.

“When I first started, this was not the vision or final product. Mine was just to advocate for my community and be there for them, but the love I have for serving has opened opportunities as I continue doing what I love the most- serving those in need.”

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Apart from her demanding job, Leitch enjoys speeding time with her daughter and visiting her family back in the Western Cape during holidays.

“Being away from my mother and brother has taught me the importance of family and having those you live close because there is nothing heart-warming than spending time and creating memories with those you love.”

Leitch encourages young people, especially women with passion for politics and want to make a difference in their communities to join and change lives.

“I cannot stop over emphasizing the importance of having love and a serving heart for communities.

“That tops having qualifications because as a leader one should be in a position where they are able to be approached by anyone and also listen to those in need.”

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