Jolidee Matongo Joburg Mayor faces criticism because of being Zimbabwean
Hardly 24 hours into his tenure, Jolidee Matongo is faced with a barrage of convictions from the majority of Joburg residents who do not approve of his being the new Joburg Mayor.
Jolidee Matongo was elected unopposed as new executive mayor of the City of Johannesburg, the metro announced on Tuesday.
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The 269 councilors in the metro did not submit any other names and as per the Municipal Structures Act, in the case that there was only one nominee, that person automatically assumed the position.
In his acceptance speech, Jolidee Matongo made sure he reminded everyone that he is the son of a Zimbabwean migrant.
South Africans however did not take lightly the appointment and took to social media to start a trend. #WeRejectMayorOfJoburg soon gained momentum.
Recently Ike was so vocal about this hostile takeover of foreigners in our, he even got arrested after being failed by the same government who is meant to protect us.#WeRejectMayorOfJHB pic.twitter.com/8iRv6g1HiD
— Top Dog!!!🇿🇦 (@TopThestreets) August 10, 2021
Jolidee Matongo was born in 1975 in Soweto, Gauteng, south Africa. He matriculated at Orlando West High School where he joined the Soweto Students Congress (Sosco) and Congress of South African Students (Cosas).
He becomes the third mayor in the City since local government elections in 2016, with the City first being led by former DA member Herman Mashaba, followed by Geoff Makhubo, who died last month from Covid-19-related complications at the age of 53.
The ANC, with 124 seats in the council, required an additional 12 votes from other parties to install Matongo.
Matongo is expected to announce the members of his mayoral committee during the next council meeting.
Matongo’s name was the most preferred by the ANC in the province after the selection of three names, including Salphina Mulaudzi and Mpho Moerane, for a mayoral candidate.
The 46-year-old is a Soweto-born former student activist. He served as the MMC for Finance under Makhubo.
