DURBAN - NEWLY appointed head of communications for the eThekwini municipality, Lindiwe Khuzwayo, says she aims to be the bridge between the city and its community.
Khuzwayo was officially introduced to councillors during an executive committee meeting this week.
Municipal spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said Khuzwayo had a long career in the media as she has worked in newsrooms and in the corporate sector.
The position was vacant for some time following the resignation of the then head Tozi Mthethwa.
“Her aim is to ensure that the unit acts as a bridge between the city’s residents, stakeholders, leaders and even investors," said Mayisela.
Mayisela said Khuzwayo believed that as a service delivery organisation, the city needed to have smart ways of communicating with its residents in support of service delivery.
As she gets acquainted with the unit, Khuzwayo plans to “listen and learn”, engage with key stakeholders and then look at the core deliverables of the municipality.
“She also sees her role as including internal advocacy, in terms of bringing to the attention of City leadership issues that continuously plague the public,” he said.
Mayisela said Khuzwayo has vast experience working as a communications director, a communications manager, a human resources manager and a sustainable development manager.
Khuzwayo has spent the past 12 years at SAPREF.
Her roles there spanned communications, sustainable development and human resources management.
She has also worked for Absa, as communications manager for KZN.
Before Absa she worked for the KZN Department of Health as communications director and also worked at Independent Newspapers before that.
Khuzwayo holds multiple qualifications, including a BA, BA Honours in Media and Communications, a Bachelor of Education, all three from the University of KwaZulu- Natal, a Bachelor of Technology in Management from the Durban University of Technology and a postgraduate Diploma in Leadership from Stellenbosch University.
THE MERCURY