COPE one-seat councillor Colleen Makhubele has been elected Speaker of the Johannesburg Council following a special sitting on Wednesday.
Makhubele defeated the DA’s Alex Christians, who had also been nominated for the position. She received 141 of the 270 votes while Christians received 129.
Makhubele, who also serves as chair of chairs in the legislature, was nominated by the ANC and supported by the EFF.
Makhubele’s election comes after the ousting of DA Speaker Vasco Da Gama this month in a moyion of no confidence.
Addressing the media shortly after being elected, Makhubele said that she is humbled that the multi-party coalition in the council chose her as their new Speaker.
“I am truly humbled and grateful and thank these great leaders standing next to me. These are the minority parties that joined hands and said unless we win, it is not a win for the City of Johannesburg,” Makhubele said.
In the runup to the special sitting on Wednesday, minority parties wanted the DA to agree to a Speaker from the Inkatha Freedom Party but the DA would not concede to the demands of its coalition partners.
The multiparty coalition led by the DA consists of ActionSA, COPE, the FF+, IFP, PA, ACDP, UIM and ATM. However, the Patriotic Alliance jumped from the DA-led coalition and voted for Makhubele.
Makhubele, who joined active politics barely a year ago, is currently studying towards a doctor of philosophy degree in innovation and technology management at the Da Vinci Institute and also holds an honours degree in IT (Bachelor IT:
Information Systems Engineering) from Multimedia University in Malaysia.
She completed a Business Administration diploma and a Project Management Certificate at UNISA.
She is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Investment Foundation Certification holder, has a Finance for Non-Financial Managers Certification from Stellenbosch University and also holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Milpark Business College.
She was selected to represent South African women in business at the USA Fortune 500 Global Women Mentorship Programme founded by Hillary Clinton.
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