Thomas Mxolisi Kaunda (born 13 September 1972) is a South African politician from

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

serving as the Mayor of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality since 2019. He was the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison from 2016 to 2019 and a member of the

KwaZulu-Natal Legislature The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. It is unicameral in its composition and elects the premier and the provincial cabinet from among the leading party or coalition members i ...

from 2009 to 2019. Kaunda is a member of the ruling

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

(ANC).

Early life and education

Kaunda was born on 13 September 1972, in the town of Inanda outside

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

in the

Natal Province The Province of Natal (), commonly called Natal, was a province of South Africa from May 1910 until May 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. During this period rural areas inhabited by the black African population of Natal were organized into ...

. He became involved in politics at the age of fifteen, as he joined 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). He matriculated from Intshisekelo High School and then went on to study at 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 ...

, where he achieved a Diploma in Governance and Leadership. He later studied at the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

and obtained an Advanced Diploma in Advanced Governance and Public Leadership.

Political career

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, Kaunda was elected as a ward councillor of the newly established

eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality created in 2000, that includes the city of Durban, South Africa and surrounding towns. eThekwini is one of the 11 districts of KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The majo ...

, a position he held until the 2006 municipal election when he became a PR councillor of the municipality. He served on the municipal Economic Development and Markets Sub-Committee. He was deployed to the

following the 2009 general election. In his first term as an MPL, he served as Chairperson of the Transport Portfolio Committee. He was a member of the Finance, Community Safety and Liaison committees. Kaunda was also an alternate member of the Co-Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs committees. Following his re-election in 2014, he remained Chairperson of the Transport Committee and became a member of the legislature's Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, and Community Safety and Liaison committees. In June 2016, newly elected Premier

Willies Mchunu Willies Mchunu (born 11 May 1948) was the 7th Premier of KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. He was previously a Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for the Department of Transport, Community Safety, and Liaison in the province. He is a memb ...

appointed Kaunda as the MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison.

Sihle Zikalala Sihle Zikalala (born 6 August 1973) is a South African politician from KwaZulu-Natal who has been a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since 2023, representing the African National Congress. Before his redeployment to the National P ...

was elected Premier in May 2019, and he retained Kaunda in his post. In addition to holding public office, Kaunda has also held multiple ANC party leadership positions. He was elected to the post of ANCYL Provincial Secretary in 2004 and served until 2008 when he was appointed ANCYL Provincial Chairperson, a post he held until 2010. He has been a member of the ANC's Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) since 2012. Kaunda is also a Provincial Working Committee (PWC) member.

Mayor of eThekwini (2019–present)

In August 2019, after months of legal challenges and infighting controversies, the ANC KwaZulu-Natal branch officially recalled

Zandile Gumede Zandile Ruth Thelma Gumede (born 12 May 1961) is a South African who has been serving as a Member of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature since 2020. She served as the Executive Mayor of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality from 2016 unti ...

as Mayor of eThekwini on 13 August 2019. Kaunda was seen as one of three frontrunners for the post alongside

Nomusa Dube-Ncube Nomusa Dube-Ncube is a South African politician and former diplomat who has been the 9th Premier of KwaZulu-Natal since August 2022. A member of the African National Congress, she is the first woman to hold the office. Previously, she served as ...

and Nhlanhla Ngidi. Kaunda was ultimately selected for the post on 22 August 2019. Gumede tendered her resignation as mayor on 26 August 2019, but withdrew it on 29 August 2019. This move from Gumede resulted in the monthly council sitting, which was supposed to elect new leadership, being delayed. Gumede officially resigned on 3 September 2019. Kaunda was elected Mayor of eThekwini on 5 September 2019.New eThekwini mayor elected
Retrieved on 6 September 2019.

References

External links

Thomas Mxolisi Kaunda at People's AssemblyThomas Mxolisi Kaunda, Mr – South African Government
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaunda, Mxolisi 1972 births Living people Zulu people University of South Africa alumni University of the Witwatersrand alumni People from Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal African National Congress politicians Members of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature Mayors of Durban