JOZI, ARE YOU READY?
YOU South Africa|9 December 2021
Joburg’s mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse talks about her new job, her family and her plans to fix the City of Gold
SIPHOKAZI ZAMA
JOZI, ARE YOU READY?
IT’S a wet and miserable afternoon and the newly appointed mayor of Johannesburg is at Randpark Golf Course, handing out prizes for the Joburg Open. The golf tournament is one of her first public events in office and Dr Mpho Phalatse, dressed in an allblack outfit with a pop of lip gloss, is taking it in her stride.

People line up to congratulate her, ask for selfies or just to say hello, and she graciously responds to each one.

She admits she’s still getting used to the attention, though. “I miss being able to just throw on my gym clothes and wear no makeup to go buy a loaf of bread,” Phalatse says.

“But this is something I’ve been working towards for the past 11 years, so I’m not complaining.”

Phalatse was handed the keys to SA’s largest metro when as the DA’s candidate she recently beat the ANC’s Mpho Moerane by 144 votes to 121 and became the first woman to be appointed mayor of the city.

Now the 44-year-old, who spent six years studying service-delivery models, plans to get stuck in to making Joburg a better place for all. The sprawling metro has been beset by problems – potholed roads, erratic water supply, poor service delivery to the underprivileged, inadequate infrastructure and electricity problems that can’t only be blamed on Eskom.

Coalition talks following the chaotic local government elections are still underway when YOU meets the new mayor, and members of her mayoral committee still need to be appointed.

Once she has her chiefs in place, the real work will begin, she says.

“There’s a lot to be done in the City of Johannesburg,” Phalatse says. “I want to make people proud to be residents again.”

Esta historia es de la edición 9 December 2021 de YOU South Africa.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición 9 December 2021 de YOU South Africa.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE YOU SOUTH AFRICAVer todo
BALLON IN THE BAG
YOU South Africa

BALLON IN THE BAG

Manchester City midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante says his Ballon d'Or win is a victory for Spanish football

time-read
4 minutos  |
14 November 2024
IT WAS ALL A LIE
YOU South Africa

IT WAS ALL A LIE

A new doccie exposes the Grey's Anatomy writer who fabricated her life story

time-read
5 minutos  |
14 November 2024
'I WILL NEVER GIVE UP'
YOU South Africa

'I WILL NEVER GIVE UP'

After her husband, anticorruption activist Alexei Navalny, was poisoned and murdered by the Kremlin, she became the public face of Russia's opposition. In this candid interview Yulia Navalnaya opens up about life on the run, her perilous family life and why she's continuing her husband's fight to save their country

time-read
10+ minutos  |
14 November 2024
AGREE TO DISAGREE
YOU South Africa

AGREE TO DISAGREE

Trevor Noah on how his childhood squabbles with his mother inspired his delightful new book

time-read
4 minutos  |
14 November 2024
PAUSE THE CLOCK
YOU South Africa

PAUSE THE CLOCK

Researchers have discovered that the ageing process spikes at 44 and 60. Here's what you can do to slow it down

time-read
5 minutos  |
14 November 2024
MPOOMY ON TOP
YOU South Africa

MPOOMY ON TOP

We chat to SA's most popular female podcaster about love, loss and her booming success

time-read
4 minutos  |
14 November 2024
MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME
YOU South Africa

MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME

Tinus Drotské says his sibling, ex Bok Nǎka, is the victim in the brawl with a neighbour that landed up in court

time-read
4 minutos  |
14 November 2024
MATT THE RECLUSE
YOU South Africa

MATT THE RECLUSE

A year after his friend's tragic death, the actor continues to shun the spotlight

time-read
4 minutos  |
14 November 2024
A LEAP OF FAITH
YOU South Africa

A LEAP OF FAITH

After her husband tried to kill her by tampering with her parachute she thought she'd never trust a man again-but now she's found love

time-read
5 minutos  |
14 November 2024
THEY'RE MY KIDS!
YOU South Africa

THEY'RE MY KIDS!

This West Coast woman treats her monkeys as iftheyre humans and animal activists are not happy about it

time-read
4 minutos  |
14 November 2024