How this White Gay Zulu Speaking Mayor Is Transforming South African Politics
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On Thursday, The Economist featured the white, gay, Zulu-speaking mayor who is shaking up South African politics.
They describe Chris Pappas as an unlikely but effective trailblazer.
The mayor of uMngeni, in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province (popularly known as the Zulu nation), Pappas recently spoke about the process of being elected, the incredible things going on in the municipality as well as what they’ve managed to accomplish in the short time he’s been in office.
Above: Nelson Mandela Capture Site, Howick, South Africa Photo by Ashim D’Silva on Unsplash
The region is fondly know it as the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. It is home to some 110,000 people, 75% of whom are black, 20% are white, 4% Indian and 1% Coloured, stretching for 1,500 square kilometres over the rolling interior mist belt of the KwaZulu-Natal interior.
Pappas says: “The area is 15 minutes from the capital Pietermaritzburg, and in 25 minutes, we have access to direct flights to Johannesburg. During the 1840s, travellers moved north from Pietermaritzburg and got to the uMngeni River, where they established a settlement just north of where current-day Howick is. In 1850, a proclamation came out in the Government Gazette offering for sale 36 village allotments along the uMngeni river. So marked the beginning of the town known as Howick. In choosing a name for the town, government officials decided to name it after the Secretary of State of the Colonies in London. So it’s a very colonial history. They derived the name from his ancestral home of Howick because he was named Lord Howick. The Isizulu name for the area is KwaNogqaza, the place of the tall one, named after the 95-metre Howick Falls. The municipality is bisected by the N3 and is home to some of South Africa’s most prominent private schools. Michaelhouse, St Anne’s School for Girls, Madrasa An Noor, which is the largest school for the blind, which is also adjacent to St John’s Theological College, Cedara Agricultural University and Clifton Preparatory and of course, the best school in South Africa, Hilton College.”
Pappas: “I will start with a disclaimer. I’m not an expert. I am also not the spokesperson for my political party. I do not claim to know it all or have the solutions to all the problems. And I was also not brought up as a politician. What I am is a patriotic South African and a citizen of KwaZulu-Natal who has a passion for progress, a willingness to accept that compromise is not weakness. And understanding that leaders and politics in general in its current form have largely failed us. More evidently so in our local communities.”
Above: Howick Falls, Howick, South Africa According to local legend, the pool at the bottom of the falls is the residence of the Inkanyamba, a giant serpent-like creature. According to lore only sangomas can safely approach the falls and then only to offer prayers and other acts of worship to the inkanyamba, ancestral spirits and the ‘Great God’. Photo by Ashim D’Silva on Unsplash
He continues: “I’m an active member and leader of a political party that I still believe is best placed and with the best track record to represent the rational principles centred on present and future South Africa, not without its problems. And certainly I don’t agree with every decision. I’m the son of farmers who was given a head start in life far beyond many people in my generation, mainly because of circumstance, hard work and privileged access to opportunities. But today I want to speak about three things: politics, hope and the public institution.”
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On some of the successes in running the municipality he says: “I’d like to share a couple of our successes over the last nine months. Today in Council, which is currently taking place, in my absence we will settle one of the last of three loans of R10 million. This is the second loan we are paying off since December and will save ratepayers R450,000 in interest this year. We have increased the basket of services and the number of people that we are supporting who fall into poor and vulnerable households from 133, when taking over, to over 3,050 today. This also includes increasing the threshold that people can access. So from R3,500 being the threshold to R5,000. Free basic electricity has been increased from 50 units to 150 units. And now for the first time, poor families will receive free black bags so they no longer have to choose between R70 for black bags at Pick n Pay versus living in a clean environment and having to put food on the table. All residents over 60 now qualify for a rates rebate. And if you earn R13,500 or less, you qualify for a higher rebate. So it’s a great place to retire. We have completed the municipal property valuation process in record time and in doing so decreased rate randages by 25%, introduced a Covid relief rebate and a July rights rebate, all while prices increased throughout South Africa. For the first time, the municipality entered the new financial year with money in the bank and we were able to pay Eskom one month in advance. We have recovered R25 million in outstanding debt and by doing so we have been able to increase our expenditure on maintenance from 2.5% of our budget to 6%, and we aim for the 8% Treasury recommended amount in future. We’ve limited political interference in hiring by employing a temporary employees randomisation selection process, much to the dismay of the comrades. We have developed and adopted a number of policies. We have re-established a number of committees, including a municipal financial disciplinary board. And we have started to discipline councillors for misconduct. We have R24 million worth of equipment on its way, including four refuse compactors and excavator tip trucks, TLBs, rollers and a number of other pieces of equipment. The SPCA benefits by R250,000 a year from improved financial stability, something that has not happened for many, many years.”
Sources: Economist, BizNews
