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Johannesburg, Where Mayors Last Just Months, or Even Only Weeks
New York TimesNOW HIRING: A mayor of Johannesburg.
DUTIES: Managing fickle governing partners. Dodging insults from opposition parties. And cleaning up piles of garbage.
LENGTH OF TERM: Likely very short.
This was once a city of dreamers, a gold town that seduced prospectors from all over hoping to strike it rich. Lately, though, Johannesburg has been something of a political punchline, a metropolis where many residents’ spirits are as dark as the streetlights.
This month, after days of brinkmanship and arm twisting, the city inaugurated its sixth different mayor in 22 months: Kabelo Gwamanda, a first-term city councilor from a political party that got just 1 percent of the vote in the last municipal election.
DUTIES: Managing fickle governing partners. Dodging insults from opposition parties. And cleaning up piles of garbage.
LENGTH OF TERM: Likely very short.
This was once a city of dreamers, a gold town that seduced prospectors from all over hoping to strike it rich. Lately, though, Johannesburg has been something of a political punchline, a metropolis where many residents’ spirits are as dark as the streetlights.
This month, after days of brinkmanship and arm twisting, the city inaugurated its sixth different mayor in 22 months: Kabelo Gwamanda, a first-term city councilor from a political party that got just 1 percent of the vote in the last municipal election.