EThekwini Mayor Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda has a rich socio-political activism background.
Over the years, he has distinguished himself as a committed cadre of the African National Congress (ANC). He has served in various leadership roles in both the ANC Youth League and in provincial structures.
Born in iNanda, north of Durban, Mayor Kaunda gained political consciousness at a young age and became active in politics at the tender age of 15. He was involved in student politics and youth political activism during the apartheid era.
Mayor Kaunda obtained his Diploma in Governance and Leadership from the University of South Africa and an Advanced Diploma in Advanced Governance and Public Leadership from the University of Witwatersrand.
- From 2000 to 2006, Mayor Kaunda served as the ward 57 councillor in Inanda.
- From 2006 to 2009, he was a Proportional Representation Councillor in eThekwini Municipality where he served on various Council portfolios such as the Economic Development and Planning Sub-Committee and Market Adhoc Committee.
- From 2004 to 2008 he served as the ANCYL Provincial Secretary.
- From 2008 to 2010 he served as the ANCYL Provincial Chairperson.
- In 2012 he was elected to the ANC Provincial Executive Committee (ANC PEC) and served on the Economic Transformation as well as Peace and Stability sub-committees.
- In 2018, he was re-elected to the ANC PEC and served as Chairperson of the Economic Transformation Committee.
- In 2009 to 2014 he served as a member of the Provincial Legislature and was Chairperson of the Transport Portfolio Committee.
- During this time, he served on the Finance, Community Safety and Liaison a Committee as well as the Co-Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Committee as an alternate member.
- Post the 2014 national general elections, Mayor Kaunda resumed his role in the Provincial Legislature as a Chairperson of the Transport Committee.
- He served on the Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, as well as Community Safety and Liaison committees.
- In 2016, he was appointed as the MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison.
- After the 2019 General Elections, Mayor Kaunda was reappointed to the same portfolio until he was redeployed to eThekwini Metro as the Mayor.
- In the Provincial Executive Council (Cabinet), he chaired the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster and the Public Protests Sub-Committee. He also co-chaired the Multi-Party-Political Intervention Committee which is responsible for promoting political tolerance among political parties in the province.
- In August 2019, Mayor Kaunda was elected as the eThekwini Mayor.
In September 2019, he was elected as Vice Chairperson for the C40 African Region, a network of 96 world cities actively engaged in climate change initiatives. He is also Chairperson of the Africa Forum for Urban Safety and in November 2021, he was re-elected to the position of eThekwini Mayor.
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