Jolidee Matongo (1974 – 18 September 2021) was a South African politician who served as the

mayor of Johannesburg The Mayor of Johannesburg is the chief executive of the City Council and the highest elected position in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. List of mayors * Johan Zulch de Villiers (1897–1900) Appointed by South African Republic Executi ...

from 10 August 2021 until his death on 18 September 2021. Prior to his election as mayor, he served as the member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for finance under his predecessor, Geoff Makhubo, who died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

complications. Matongo was a member of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

Personal life

Matongo was born in

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

, south of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

, his father was a Zimbabwean migrant. He held a diploma in public management, a B-Tech degree in public management from the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

, and a post-graduate diploma in management from Milpark Education. At the time of his death, he was studying for a master's degree in public management through the Management College of Southern Africa. Matongo lived with his family in

Lenasia Lenasia, often called Lenz, is a suburb south of Soweto in the Gauteng province, South Africa, originally created to house Indians. It is part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Lenasia is approximately 35 kilometres sout ...

Political career

Matongo became involved in politics at the age of 13. He was a member of the Soweto Student Congress and the

Congress of South African Students The Congress of South African Students (COSAS) is an anti-apartheid Student Organisation established in 1979 in the wake of the June 16 Soweto Uprisings in 1976 in South Africa. Background COSAS was formed in June 1979 after the South African Stu ...

(COSAS) before he became the regional head of communications of the

for eight years. Matongo worked for the

City of Johannesburg The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local governance of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is divided into several branches and departments in order to expedite services for the city. Z ...

's housing department before he became deputy director of youth development in the municipality. Matongo was also chief of staff for multiple Gauteng Members of the Executive Council. In 2011, he was appointed a strategic support advisor in the office of the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Finance. He was a member of the ANC's regional executive committee (REC) in Johannesburg for 18 years where he served as spokesperson. Matongo was appointed MMC for Finance following Geoff Makhubo's election as mayor in December 2019, replacing the Democratic Alliance's Funzela Ngobeni, who was defeated by Makhubo in the race for mayor. In July 2020, Matongo denied allegations of political motivation for removing members of the city's organisations. In April 2021, he announced a new debt rehabilitation programme for people affected by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

and struggling to pay their mortgages. In May, Matongo promised increased spending on the

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

and informal settlements of

Ivory Park Ivory Park is a densely populated residential suburb of Midrand in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It is located in Region A of the City of Johannesburg. Ivory Park is occupied by more than 182 000 black people and is located in the town of ...

Kliptown Kliptown is a suburb of the formerly black township of Soweto in Gauteng, South Africa, located about 17 km south-west of Johannesburg. Kliptown is the oldest residential district of Soweto, and was first laid out in 1891 on land which form ...

and

Orange Farm Orange Farm ("Farma") is a township located approximately from Johannesburg in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. It is the southernmost township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Its name, a misnomer given that orange ...

, and gave 19.9 billion rand to the City Power company for infrastructure improvement.

Mayor of Johannesburg

Geoff Makhubo died from

complications in July 2021. On 3 August 2021, Matongo was one of three candidates whose names were submitted to the ANC provincial executive committee and the ANC national executive committee by the ANC's regional executive committee to replace Makhubo as mayor. He was considered the frontrunner. On 5 August he was formally endorsed by the ANC's national leadership. Matongo was elected mayor unopposed on 10 August 2021 as he was the only candidate nominated for the position.

Death

Matongo was killed in a car accident on 18 September 2021. He had been travelling on the R553 route (also known as ''The Golden Highway''), and two other people were killed in the crash. He had served as mayor for slightly more than a month. Earlier that day, he had campaigned in

with

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...

and Gauteng Premier

David Makhura Manemolla David Makhura (born 22 February 1968) is a South African politician. He served as the 6th Premier of Gauteng following his election in 2014 until his resignation in October 2022. He was also a member of the Member of the Gauteng Provi ...

ahead of the

municipal elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

scheduled for 1 November 2021. His funeral was held on 21 September.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Matongo, Jolidee 1975 births 2021 deaths African National Congress politicians Mayors of Johannesburg Mayors of places in South Africa People from Soweto Politicians from Gauteng Road incident deaths in South Africa South African people of Zimbabwean descent