​Bongiwe Mtshali, a Committee Coordinator for Group Governance, has called on the City to use its large pool of highly qualified staff more effectively, in order to achieve optimal results.

Mtshali is responsible for coordinating meetings for the Executive Management Team (EMT), the Inner City Technical and Inner City Sub-Mayoral Committees.

“My work is demanding as it requires I write and pay attention to detail," she says.

Mtshali hails from Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal. She is a qualified Social Worker and a mother of three-year-old Okuhle and 12-year-old Kimberly.

“As demanding as motherhood can be, I have never neglected my responsibilities in the City and never has my work been rejected by any committee because of errors," she says.

Mtshali joined the City in 2009 as a young Social Worker. She left the profession in 2014 in a bid to expand her horizon and give her life a new lease. “I went into something totally different," she says.

She became a Programme Administrator at Group Strategy Policy Coordination and Relations (GSPCR); she later took up the role of Committee Coordinator for the Extended Management Team (EMT) and the Inner City Committee under Group Governance.

“I get to work with the City's humble and highest and get to understand the engine that drives the municipality," she explains.

Mtshali recently took a risk and registered at two universities simultaneously to study two different qualifications; a post-graduate diploma in Corporate Governance through Monash University, completed in October last year and a master's degree in Social Sciences specialising in Community Development from the University of Johannesburg (UJ), conferred earlier in the year.

“When I look back, I really do not know how I survived all of this with a small baby. I am currently writing a proposal for a PhD. Who knows, I might just register for two PhDs," she says in jest.

Mtshali holds a BA in Humanities from the then Rand Afrikaans University, an Honours in Social Work from UJ, a certificate in Employee Wellness from Unisa and a post-graduate Diploma in Management specialising in Corporate Governance, Risk and Compliance from Monash University.

She loves all kinds of music, especially Umbhaqanga. “I am a rebel and do not conform, but I am also extremely funny," she says.​

She's passionate about advocacy work, particularly for the underprivileged. “I want to influence public policy because I am fascinated by the politics of this country."