UCLG Africa names Johannesburg Mayor Dr. Mpho Phalatse Mayor of the Month: Outstanding leadership determined to bring Johannesburg back to life

Elected in November 2021 as the first female mayor of the municipality of Johannesburg (South Africa), Mpho Phalatse has taken the time to make her mark and to give the city a new dynamic. In office for a five-year term, she is the first black woman to head the Johannesburg City Council and the first woman since 1946.

On April 21, 2022, five months after taking office, she gave an overview of the situation in her municipality and presented the priority sectors to bring her city, which is the economic powerhouse of South Africa with 15% of the GDP, to a new standard.

Speaking in the council chamber of Braamfontein, she outlined the new vision of her team, entitled: "The Golden Start". With seven (07) priorities, the mayor is committed to giving residents, visitors, businesses and civil society: A city that meets basic needs; A safe city; A caring city; A business-friendly city; An inclusive city; A well-run city; and A smart city.

Grateful to be the pioneer

Being the first woman mayor of Johannesburg honors her and emphasizes her sense of responsibility: "I am very grateful to God, I feel it is an honor. It could have been any other woman, you know, the fact that God chose me to be this woman. I really don't take it lightly. I'm very grateful to have this title. But I'm also aware of the responsibility that comes with this title, because it means that you are a pioneer, that you have opened the door for other women to follow you."

Johannesburg, the city of golden opportunities according to Phalaste

In short, to make Johannesburg a "city of golden opportunities: A dynamic, safe and resilient city where local government offers a quality life to every inhabitant", supports Ms. Mpho Phalatse. For her, it is time for her municipality to regain its true status: "The city of Johannesburg... attracts visitors from all over the world: 55% from other parts of Gauteng, 36% from other provinces and 9% from beyond our borders. They all come in search of golden opportunities, synonymous with the city's golden promise. However, after years of neglect, mistreatment and abuse, our city is now in ruins. To rebuild, the physician by training calls for the involvement of various stakeholders. "It would be a profound mistake to assume that the council and its city administration alone can fix the city. Partnership is often lacking internally. Departments and entities must cooperate. Residents need to get real answers and not be pushed from pillar to post. The entire municipality must work as a team."

From medicinal sciences to political leadership

It was while caring for vulnerable communities that Mpho Phalatse realized there were problems she could not solve with medicine, but rather with leadership: "As a doctor, I was trained to bring things back to life that are almost dead. I think a lot of the skills in medicine are transferable. The city is like a patient, it's sick and needs to be brought back to life, so you use the same approach as in medicine, the history, the diagnosis, and you propose a treatment plan," she said.

In the context of her country this is a real challenge. "It's a challenge because South Africa is very diverse, even the socioeconomic status of people in Johannesburg. So you have the billionaire on the one hand, looking forward to this first world city, and then you have someone in an informal settlement saying, 'Just give me a toilet.' You have to be able to meet the needs of both," says Phalatse.

Biography Express

Dr. Mpho Phalatse spent the early years of his life with his maternal grandmother in Hebron, northwest of Tshwane, before moving with his parents to Mabopane. The ethic of diligence and resilience was instilled in her from an early age, as she was born to Komane and Moshe.She was born to Komane and Moserwa Phalatse, both of whom were educators in what was then Bophuthatswana. Dr. Phalatse graduated from Loreto Convent School in 1994. After enrolling in chemical engineering, she turned around in her second year to pursue a doctorate in medicine at Sefako Makgatho University of Health Sciences, formerly known as MEDUNSA. She received her MD degree in 2005 and completed her medical training at Tembisa Hospital. She then did community service in Hammanskraal, North Tshwane, where she performed services at Jubilee Hospital as well as various clinics in the area. Dr. Phalatse enrolled in a project management course at Cranefield College while doing community service. She now holds a graduate degree and post-graduate diploma in project management and program management. She is also a Certified Independent Medical Examiner (CIME) with the American Board of Independent Medical Examiners (ABIME). She returned to Wits University in 2011 to enroll in a Master of Medicine (Mmed) in Public Health Medicine, a decision that saw her move permanently to the Golden City. Since then, she has worked as an emergency manager at Alexandra Community Health Center and as a sexual assault care practitioner at Far East Rand Hospital in Springs, while also serving on the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) ethics committee. She was appointed as a member of the Mayor's Committee (MMC) for Health and Social Development between August 2016 and October 2019. In her role as MMC, Dr. Phalatse has championed the expansion of service hours at city clinics, as well as the city's multi-faceted drug prevention and treatment strategy, among many other initiatives.

Source: /lemondelocal.com/