Bosa names Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster as their Joburg mayoral candidate

Build One South Africa (Bosa) has announced Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster as its Johannesburg mayoral candidate ahead of November 4 local government elections.

Hlazo-Webster is the party’s deputy national leader and also occupies its second seat in the National Assembly.

She will be leading Bosa’s campaign with the hope of providing Johannesburg residents with “principled and capable leadership focused on building a city that works”.

Party leader Mmusi Maimane said it was time for ordinary citizens to get involved in the public sector to build the country.

“When we started Bosa, we believed that politics did not need more politicians. Politics needed South Africans who were committed to be part of building a nation because it is far too important to be left only to politicians.”

“We need change and we need to start building. We need to build a South Africa of the future, and we need to build a Johannesburg of the future. Unless we stand up, no one will stand up on our behalf,” he said.

At an event in Bryanston to announce her candidacy, Hlazo-Webster spoke in great detail about the endless opportunities and possibilities that the city once presented.

However, she conceded that Joburg would not be turned around by attempting to restore and recreate what once was, saying that those versions of Johannesburg have served their time.

“I am not interested in rebuilding a Johannesburg that once existed 20 years ago, or even 14 years ago when I first arrived here. That city served its time. We cannot govern a future city by nostalgia. And we cannot solve present failures by trying to rewind the clock.”

Speaking of previous versions of the country’s economic hub, Hlazo-Webster said Joburg was shaped by a different moment, different pressures and different possibilities.

“The Johannesburg of today, of 2030, and of 2035 must serve the people of this time. That is the standard. And that requires something more than restoration. It requires reinvention. We are not building back. We are building forward.”

Hlazo-Webster said at her core, she believes in structure and systems, which is what Johannesburg needs, adding that is a pathway to strengthening foundations.

“At the heart of Johannesburg’s crisis is a lack of coordination. Too often the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. Many parts of the system operate in silos. This is most felt in the exhaustive list of agencies and entities within Johannesburg.

“City Power, Johannesburg Water, Pikitup, Johannesburg Roads Agency, Johannesburg Development Agency, Johannesburg Property Company, Johannesburg Social Housing Company, Metrobus and so on.”

She said each of these city entities has separate governance structures, with boards, management committees and full staff bureaucracies.

“Each of these has separate governance structures — boards, management committees and staff bureaucracies. This allows too many decisions to be delayed because responsibility is unclear. In turn, too many failures persist because accountability is diffused across structures that do not move together."

Should she get elected, Hlazo-Webster pledged that she will build a skills-led city government, streamline and integrate city government, ignite economic growth through township enterprise, make Johannesburg Africa’s logistics capital, restore financial integrity and root out corruption and build a safe Johannesburg through crime prevention.

Hlazo-Webster holds a BPhil Honours degree and several postgraduate business qualifications. She is reported to also sit on various boards and is involved in numerous community initiatives.

Her party described her as a respected leader in business consulting and in media industries.

“Ms Hlazo-Webster has led numerous development and advocacy organisations including the Businesswomen’s Association of SA as chairperson, the International Women’s Forum as president of its youth chapter and the KZN Youth Chamber of Commerce as regional chair and as provincial secretary-general.

“She is an alumnus of Future-Elect, the United States IVLP, and an International Women’s Forum fellow. She has been recognised with numerous accolades from the Businesswomen’s Association of SA and the department of economic development — to name a few.”

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