Pretoria - Here they are - the new members of the City of Tshwane cabinet, under the leadership of executive mayor Stevens Mokgalapa.
The mayor yesterday axed at least four MMCs who served under his predecessor Solly Msimanga and replaced them with his own choices.
Darryl Moss, Ntsiki Mkhonto, Mike Mkhari and Randall Williams were left out when Mokgalapa named his new executive. The work of Msimanga’s committee was put in abeyance on February 11.
Four of the six MMCs who served under Msimanga retained their positions. They are Finance MMC Mare-Lise Fourie, Shared and Corporate Services MMC Cilliers Brink, Sheila Lynn Senkubuge (Roads and Transport), and Human Settlements MMC Mandla Nkomo.
Mokglalapa hailed Fourie’s return, saying she was an asset to the City. Similarly, he said, Brink, an admitted advocate, was well-equipped for the work at hand.
The mayor said Nkomo’s reappointment was a step towards ensuring he carried on the good work achieved so far.
Anniruth Derrick Kissoonduth, of coalition partner the ACDP, has been moved from Community Safety to Health Services. Freedom Front Plus member Sakkie du Plooy, who was the MMC for Health under Msimanga, now heads the Community and Social Development portfolio.
Newcomers are Richard Moheta, who replaces Mkhari as MMC for Agriculture and Environment Management, while Karen Meyer has taken over from Kissoonduth as Community Safety MMC.
Isak Pietersen is the new Economic Development and Spatial Planning and DA regional chairperson Abel Tau the MMC for Utility Services.
Mokgalapa praised Tau for his extensive experience in the engineering sector, saying he would bolster the work in the portfolio.
Moheta has a strong record of corporate experience and understanding of governance, while Meyer has a decade-long experience as DA councillor.
Mokgapa’s new charges were made to sign performance agreements, which will be reviewed in three months.
“Each MMC will today affirm their resolve to work towards building a prosperous city by signing their performance agreement contracts for the remainder of the 2018/19 financial year against which they will be monitored and evaluated,” the mayor said.
His administration would focus on service delivery such as the provision of water, electricity, transport and urban management services, he said..
“Over the coming months this will be our primary focus and I expect that every MMC, within their respective portfolios, will ensure that they put service delivery at the apex of their agendas and that all departments deliver better services to residents,” he said.
Some MMCs will be saddled with more responsibilities, in addition to overseeing work in their departments.
For example, Pietersen will provide political leadership and oversight to service delivery in Region 1, while Nkomo will do the same in Region 2. The others have also been assigned regions.
Mokgalapa did not entertain questions related to his earlier commitment to deal with the GladAfrica tender scandal within a week; saying he would deal with the matter today. “I am a mayor who wants to be more in the street than in the boardroom."