The Executive Mayor
Cllr. Mosema Makoro John Mpe
Mosema “Makoro” John Mpe belongs to the generation of young lions who heeded to the call by President Oliver Reginald Tambo in the 1980s to make the apartheid system unworkable and the country ungovernable.
His personal experience of poverty and inequalities compounded by the fact that his mother was a domestic worker, helped to propel his political conviction towards joining the struggle against apartheid.
Student Activist
Mr. Mpe began his political journey in student politics at the age 16 at Manoshi High School where he was elected SRC member and eventually part of the Sehlale Youth Congress which was instrumental in mobilizing society to fight against oppressive bantustan system.
He enrolled at the then Technikon Northern Transvaal for a Diploma in Accounting in 1990 and immediately joined South African National Student Congress (SANSCO) and subsequently elected the SANSCO Branch Publicity Secretary in same year (1990) followed by being elected Treasurer General of the SRC. He at the time worked closely with the team that was tasked with the responsibility of re-establishing the ANC Youth League structures in the Soshanguve area.
It was in 1992 that he was elected president of the SRC. During this time, he was also part of the generation of student leaders such as Hope Papo, China Dodovu, Miles Nzama, Max Theka, Supra Mahumapelo and many others who worked tirelessly for the transformation of institutions of higher learning in the then Pretoria region.
Upon his return back to Limpopo in 1997, he served the ANC in various leadership positions including the Regional Task Team of the ANC Capricorn Region, Regional Executive Committee (REC) member, and subsequently the Chairperson of the ANC in Peter Mokaba Region, a position he occupies since 2018.
Academic Achievements
He obtained the following academic achievements:
- A Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration with the University of the Free State in 2021.
- 2020 Bachelor of Management Leadership (BML) with University of Free State
- A Diploma in Local Government Management with LGSETA in 2014
- A Certificate Programme in Management Development (Municipal Finance) with Wits University in 2006
- An Intermediate Diploma in Administration and Commerce with Technikon Northern Transvaal in 1994.
Government Leadership Roles
In terms of government deployment, Mr, Mpe served as the Executive Mayor of Capricorn District Municipality from 2016 to 2021. It was during his tenure at CDM that he helped the municipality achieve several service delivery accolades including moving the municipality from grade 4 to grade 5, attaining clean audit opinion for two consecutive years from 2019 and 100% expenditure on grants.
Following the 2021 Local government elections, he was elected the current serving Executive Mayor of the City of Polokwane. He was recently elected the Limpopo Provincial Chairperson of SALGA.
In conclusion, Mr. John Mpe is the people’s volunteer and activist who is a loyal and disciplined member of the ANC with an unbroken track record of service to the people’s movement and communities since 1986.