UMngeni Mayor named in TIME Magazine 100 emerging leader

uMngeni Local Municipality mayor Christopher Pappas has been named by Time Magazine as one of 100 emerging leaders for 2023.

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HOW TIME MAGAZINE CHOSE THE EMERGING 100

Time Magazine has recognised Pappas for the impact he has had in the almost two years he has been in office.

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According to the magazine, creating a list like the TIME100 Next, which was launched in 2019, requires research and reporting from across TIME’s global network of editors and correspondents.

“We sift through hundreds of suggestions and then meet each week to debate who belongs on the list” says Cate Matthews, a TIME editorial director.

The 32 year old mayor assumed office in November 2021 and quickly implemented cost-cutting measures to balance the municipality’s books for the first time in over a decade.

One of these measures includes a pinch of the municipality’s growing wage bill by reducing the hiring process.

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DA CONGRATULATES PAPPAS

In the first year in office, the municipality was able to recover R25 million in outstanding debt and with a positive bank balance, service its debt to Eskom, one month in advance.

The little known municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands, is the gateway to the Drakensburg, 15 minutes away from Pietermaritzburg and home to two of South Africa’s most expensive schools, Michaelhouse and Hilton College.

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The Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-Natal has congratulated Pappas and says its immensely proud of one of its youngest leaders.

“He is a fine example of how the DA gets things done, with effective service delivery at the forefront” says provincial leader Francois Rodgers.