Johannesburg's mayor is on the shortlist for the World Mayor Award, aimed at promoting strong and prosperous cities and good local governance.

Johannesburg's executive mayor, Amos Masondo (Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg)

AMOS MASONDO, Joburg's first citizen, is one of the top 50 mayors in the world - and he has been short-listed for the 2008 World Mayor Award.

The award is organised by City Mayors, an international network of professionals working together to promote strong and prosperous cities as well as good local governance.

Of the top 50 finalists - selected on the number of supporting nominations and the persuasiveness of supporting statements - 11 mayors are from Asia, 10 are from North America, 11 are from Latin America, 15 are from Europe, and three from Africa. The other nominees from Africa are Cape Town's Helen Zille and Omar El Baharaoui from the Moroccan capital of Rabat.

The annual World Mayor Award honours those who have served their communities selflessly and made significant contributions to the wellbeing of their cities. The spokesperson for Executive Mayor Masondo, Nkhensani Makhobela, said the project was aimed at encouraging mayors to perform better.

"The World Mayor project seeks out mayors who have the vision, passion and skill to make their cities amazing places in which to live, work and visit."

It was first held in 2004 and a mayor from Africa has yet to win. To date, more than 100 000 voters from all over the world have nominated 820 mayors for this year's award.

Among the qualities that city residents looked for in a mayor were:

• Good administrative skills;
• Ability to provide safety and security; and
• Ability to foster good relations between communities from different cultural, racial and social backgrounds.

To be in the running for the award, a citizen of a city needs to submit a motivation why that particular mayor stands out above the rest. Votes can be cast on the World Mayor website; voting closes on 30 June and the winner will be announced in September.

Previous winners include John So, the lord mayor of Melbourne, in Australia; and Dora Bakoyannis, the mayor of Athens, in Greece.

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