Mpho Phalatse

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Councillor
Mpho Phalatse
Mpho Phalatse.jpg
Phalatse in 2021
Mayor of Johannesburg
Assumed office
22 November 2021
Preceded byMpho Moerane
MMC for Health and Social Development of Johannesburg
In office
2016–2019
MayorHerman Mashaba
Member of the Johannesburg City Council
Assumed office
since 2016
Personal details
Born
Mpho Phalatse

(1977-11-07) 7 November 1977 (age 44)
Hebron, Pretoria, Transvaal Province, South Africa
NationalitySouth African
Political partyDemocratic Alliance
Children3
Alma materMEDUNSA (MBChB)
Sefako Makgatho University
Occupation
  • Medical doctor
  • politician
  • legislator

Mpho Phalatse (born 7 November 1977) is a South African medical doctor and politician serving as the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. A member of the Democratic Alliance, she was elected to the position on 22 November 2021, becoming the first woman to serve as mayor of the metropolitan municipality, which was established in 2000. She is the first black woman to serve as mayor of the city of Johannesburg and the second female mayor of the city after , who served from 1945 to 1946.

From 2016 to 2019, Phalatse had served as the member of the mayoral committee (MMC) in Johannesburg for Health and Social Development.

Early life and career[]

Phalatse was born on 7 November 1977 in Hebron, Pretoria. She lived with her grandmother in Hebron for the first few years of her life before she joined her parents in Mabopane. They were both educators. Phalatse matriculated in 1994. The following year, she enrolled at the University of the Witwatersrand to study Chemical Engineering. During her second year at Wits University, Phalatse decided that she wanted to become a medical doctor and enrolled at the Sefako Makgatho University and MEDUNSA, from which she graduated with an MBChB. She became a doctor in 2005 and interned at Tembisa Hospital. She then did community service in Hammanskraal before she offered services at the Jubilee Hosipital.[1]

Phalatse began studying project management studies at the Cranefield College [1]during her community service year. She later achieved an advanced diploma and postgraduate diploma in Project Management and Programme Management. In 2011, she enrolled for a Master of Medicine at Wits University.[1]

Phalatse is a Certified Independent Medical Examiner (CIME) with the American Board of Independent Medical Examiners (ABIME). She was a casualty officer at the Alexandra Community Health Centre as well as sexual assault care practitioner at the Far East Rand Hospital, while she was a member of the Professional Conduct Committee of the Health Professions Council of South Africa.[1]

Political career[]

Phalatse joined the Democratic Alliance and was elected to the Johannesburg city council in 2016. Newly elected mayor Herman Mashaba appointed Phalatse as the member of the mayoral committee for Health and Social Development.[2][3]

On 12 June 2018, Mashaba suspended her after she said that the "city [Johannesburg] and herself were now friends of Israel".[4] She was reinstated on 26 June.[5] Phalatse served in the Mayoral Committee until Mashaba resigned as mayor in November 2019.[5]

Mayoralty[]

Election[]

On 23 August 2021, DA leader John Steenhuisen announced that Phalatse had been selected as the DA's mayoral candidate for the City of Johannesburg for the local government elections on 1 November 2021.[6] No party won a majority of seats again and the DA's support in the city declined by nearly 12% in the election.[7]

At the first council meeting on 22 November 2021, Phalatse was elected as the Executive Mayor of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. She received 144 out of the 265 votes in the mayoral vote in council, defeating the ANC's candidate, incumbent mayor Mpho Moerane, who received only 121 votes. Phalatse was elected with the help of smaller parties, such as the Economic Freedom Fighters, the Freedom Front Plus and ActionSA.[8][9][10] She is the first woman to serve as mayor of the metropolitan municipality (established in 2000), the first black female mayor of Johannesburg and the second woman after who served from 1945 to 1946.[11][12]

Tenure[]

On 26 November 2021, Phalatse issued a moratorium on the filling of vacant positions and the extension of employment contracts in the City of Johannesburg.[13] During Phalatse's acceptance speech as mayor on 3 December 2021, ANC councillors disrupted it and demanded that she retract previous comments she made in support of Israel. Phalatse did not give in to their demands.[14]

On 13 December 2021, Phalatse announced the formation of her ten-member multi-party mayoral committee. The DA secured only four portfolios on the mayoral committee, while ActionSA secured three portfolios. The African Christian Democratic Party, the Inkatha Freedom Party and the Freedom Front Plus secured one portfolio each. Phalatse said that the DA had managed to form a ten-party majority coalition government with a total of 136 out of the 270 seats in council, an outright majority in council.[15][16] In early-January 2022, Al Jama-ah withdrew from the coalition agreement due to the DA's support for Israel. This caused the coalition to lose its majority status in council.[17] On 17 January 2022, the Patriotic Alliance caucus leader in the City of Johannesburg, Ashley Sauls, announced that the party had entered into a power-sharing agreement with the DA in the metro. The coalition government now has 140 seats, a good majority of seats in council.[18] In February 2022, Sauls was sworn in as the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Health and Social Development, replacing Franco de Lange of the Freedom Front Plus who had voluntarily resigned to make way for Sauls to join the mayoral committee.[19]

On 17 January 2022, Phalatse and Giuseppe Sala, the Mayor of Milan, were elected as Vice Chairs of the C40 Steering Committee, the governing body providing tactical direction for the network of 97 cities dedicated to solving the global climate crisis.[20]

Personal life[]

Phalatse is a single mother with three children.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d "Get to know Mpho Phalatse". Democratic Alliance. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  2. ^ "Meet Mayor Mashaba's A-team". Citypress. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  3. ^ "'Diverse' mayoral committee surprised with appointment". Randburg Sun. 2016-09-01. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  4. ^ "City of Joburg MMC Mpho Phalatse suspended amid condemnation for her stance on Israel". Randburg Sun. 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  5. ^ a b "Joburg health MMC Mpho Phalatse reinstated after furore over comments on Israel". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  6. ^ Letshwiti-Jones, Pule. "LIST | DA announces its mayoral candidates to contest municipalities". News24. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  7. ^ Khumalo, Juniour. "Final Results | ANC the biggest loser as 5 out of 8 metros are hung". News24. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  8. ^ Sefularo, Masechaba. "It's a win for the DA as Mpho Phalatse is elected Joburg mayor". ewn.co.za. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  9. ^ Amashabalala. "DA's Mpho Phalatse is Joburg mayor — 'Tshwane next,' says Herman Mashaba". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  10. ^ "DA's Mpho Phalatse elected new executive mayor of Johannesburg". The Citizen. 2021-11-22. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  11. ^ Motha, Sibahle (23 November 2021). "ANC loses Johannesburg mayor race". JacarandaFM. Retrieved 30 December 2021. The city council chose Mpho Phalatse from the Democratic Alliance (DA) to lead the city, the first black woman to do so, and the first woman since 1946.
  12. ^ "General information Joburg Mayors". City of Johannesburg. Retrieved 30 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ Mahlati, Zintle. "Joburg mayor puts a freeze on appointments in City of Joburg". News24. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  14. ^ Nonkululeko, Njilo. "ANC disrupts Joburg council meeting over mayor's 'pro-Israel comments'". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  15. ^ Makoti, Noni (13 December 2021). "Joburg mayor Mpho Phalatse announces multi-party mayoral committee". Independent Online. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  16. ^ Mahlati, Zintle (13 December 2021). "Joburg Mayor Phalatse appoints multi-party coalition executive". News24. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  17. ^ "Al Jama-ah ditches DA in Joburg over Israel stance". The Citizen. 2022-01-10. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  18. ^ Nomazima, Nkosi. "PA inks power-sharing deal with DA". SowetanLIVE. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  19. ^ "PA's Ashley Sauls sworn in as new head of health in City of Joburg". SowetanLIVE. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  20. ^ "Mayors of Milan and Johannesburg elected to C40 Cities Steering Committee". C40 Cities. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
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