The City of Cape Town has reappointed current City Manager Lungelo Mbandazayo.
This follows the City Council’s support for the appointment at the sitting on 27 October and the completion of related administrative processes.
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“It was my pleasure to recommend that Council appoints Mbandazayo as City Manager,” said Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis. “In the 11 months I have worked with him, he has distinguished himself as a person of principle, courage, and firm values.”
“In a country where basic spinal rectitude is sorely lacking in the state, with so many people who simply refuse to stand for anything, he stands apart.”
Hill-Lewis said that Mbandazayo took over as city manager at a time of great instability.
“He has succeeded in stabilising the organisation, even when this has required dispensing bitter medicine.”
“Now past that phase, the City is well positioned to move into a new phase of higher ambition and to deliver on the priorities this government has set.”
The mayor added that this would require a shift in internal culture in the administration – to an internal culture that is focused on a shared purpose to bring people out of poverty over time and to build a city that is an example of progress in a country in decline.
“While it was not defining in the decision to appoint him, it is nevertheless wonderful and inspiring to see a candidate who grew up in the rural Eastern Cape, who received his first pair of shoes at the age of 11, rising to be the City Manager of South Africa’s greatest city.”
Mbandazayo has an extensive legal career spanning over three decades, which includes serving as an acting magistrate in Bloemfontein and running a law firm in the Eastern Cape. In 2005, he joined the city as a Director of Legal Strategy, with one of his first priorities being the rationalisation of the city’s various legal services (which then included forensics), bringing them together into a centralised service. He was appointed acting director of the consolidated Legal Services Department in November 2006 and director in May, the following year.
This led to his involvement in almost every major city decision-making process, giving him the foundation for his current job.
In August 2016, he was appointed Acting Executive Director: Corporate Services, which led to his permanent appointment as Executive Director: Corporate Services in January 2017, occupying the position for a year before being appointed City Manager in January 2018.
“I’m a public servant, it is a wonderful thing to be able to play a part in improving the lives of the millions of people the City serves in so many ways,” said the City Manager after his reappointment. “It is a tremendous privilege to be in this position and it is also an enormous responsibility.”
“’It is the greatest privilege of my life to lead the talented people that together form the finest public service in South Africa.”
“There is more to achieve as part of our commitment to innovation and creativity; our drive to collaborate with stakeholders; our love for public service; and our deep respect for each other and for the residents we serve.”
“From here on, my focus will be on a range of new goals. We are going to scale our performance together to meet the outcome of our ambitious new Integrated Development Plan.”
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Picture: City of Cape Town