Bongani Baloyi: age, qualifications, resignation, profiles
Bongani Baloyi is topping the headlines after he resigned from the Democratic Alliance. The decision sparked controversy from his fellow politicians as well as the public. Some sought to find out the reason behind the decision. Others were interested in knowing more about his next move and political journey. His biography elaborates that and more.
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Source: Facebook
Bongani Baloyi entered the political arena at a tender age. He set the record as the country's youngest mayor. His leadership was graced with impressive performance economically. He had admirable leadership skills crowned by a series of awards and an elevation of the Midvaal local council. During his tenure, he also championed youth empowerment.
Bongani Baloyi's profile
- Full name: Bongani Michael Baloyi
- Gender: Male
- Date of birth: 28th February 1987
- Age: 34 years as of December 2021
- Zodiac sign: Pisces
- Place of birth: Thokoza township, East Rand, South Africa
- Nationality: South African
- Eye colour: Brown
- Hair colour: Black
- Occupation: South African politician
- Political party: Democratic Alliance (2005–2021)
- Facebook: Bongani Baloyi
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Bongani Baloyi's biography
Unlike most leaders, Baloyi is passionate about public service, and he exhibits impeccable leadership skills. In 2020, he announced he would not vie as mayor. Recently, he declared his departure from the DA. What does he have in store for the future? Read on for more details.
Bongani Baloyi's age
Bongani Michael Baloyi was born on 28th February 1987 in Thokoza township in East Rand. Not much is known about his childhood. He is thirty-four years old as of December 2021.
Bongani Baloyi's qualifications
Source: Facebook
In 2011, at the age of twenty-six, he was elected member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) in charge of the Development, Planning and Housing Portfolio. His most significant achievements as MMC include:
- Drafting a robust LED Strategy.
- Reducing the turn-around time for land-use application.
- Heading the successful roll-out of community and homestead food gardening.
As the MMC, he championed initiatives such as establishing trade relations with a city in China and securing investment from Paramount Trailers. The initiatives had a significant economic impact on the Midvaal local council.
In August 2013, he took over office as mayor of the Midvaal Local Municipality. He also set the record as the youngest mayor in South Africa in 2021. He took up the task of maintaining the stability and continuity of the institution. He also constantly sought ways to improve its performance.
His tenure encouraged organizational performance by encouraging more management levels. It also grew the contribution of agriculture to Midvaal's GDP. During his tenure, Midvaal Local Municipality won several PMR awards and was ranked the top performing municipality in the Annual Municipal Financial Sustainability Index.
Political career
Former mayor Bongani Baloyi joined the Democratic Alliance in 2005. He has served as a member of the Provincial Executive Committee, the Vaal Region Executive Committee and a Federal Council member. He has also served as the chairperson of the Midvaal Youth Development Forum Board. Bongani also took part in the Democratic Alliance Young Leaders Programme.
Bongani Baloyi has championed youth development, building inclusive and equal societies promoting multilingualism throughout his political career.
In 2020, Baloyi announced that he would not be seeking a second term as mayor in 2021.
Bongani Baloyi's resignation
Source: Facebook
On Monday, 20th December 2021, Bongani Baloyi's Twitter post left the country in shock. The politician took to the platform to declare his exit from the Democratic Alliance. His tweet read,
My journey with the DA ends today. It has been an amazing 14 years, which I will always be proud of, and I will remain [grateful] to the DA for their support and opportunities afforded to me. I leave out of my OWN agency.
Another tweet read,
Like that, I leave on my time and terms with a clean track record in government and the party. Now it's time for me to focus on exciting opportunities before me. Good luck to the friends, colleagues and leadership of the DA. We will meet somewhere.
The Twitter account has since then been deactivated.
"I never said I'm retiring from politics."
Bongani Baloyi's resignation from the Democratic Alliance stirred confusion about his future in politics. However, he cleared the air in another tweet, stating he is not retiring from politics.
The Democratic Alliance leadership confirmed the legitimacy of the resignation and commended his leadership as the youngest mayor in South Africa 2021. Through a tweet, the party said,
The DA leadership has received Bongani Baloyi’s resignation this morning. Bongani has served the DA and the people of Midvaal Municipality excellently over the years. He became the country’s youngest mayor at the age of 26 back in 2013.
Since then, he has demonstrated the DA’s commitment to a clean and efficient government that serves people as its top priority. We have noted that Bongani is pursuing other opportunities after a decade-long career in politics. We wish him well and throw our support fully behind him,
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"It is sad he had to leave."
According to the Democratic Alliance Gauteng provincial leader Solly Msimanga, it was sad that Baloyi had to leave. He made the following remarks,
He was a great asset, and the expectation was that he would still contribute. It came to us as a surprise, he had said he wanted to take some time out for the sake of relaxing after his term of office, but it was never that he wanted to leave the party,
Tweeps also applauded him for the seven clean audits, indicating the council's stability in financial management. They also recognized how his sound leadership ranked the council fifth from the sixteenth position nationally.
Bongani is the third prominent young politician to leave the Democratic Alliance in 2021. James Selfe retired from duty as an active party member, the former head of governance and DA's key strategists. He had served as the party's federal council chair for more than two decades.
MP Phumzile van Damme retired from the party in May 2021
Bongani Baloyi has not announced what his next political move will be. However, he confirmed he has not retired from politics. Be on the lookout for updates about his next move.
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Source: Briefly News
