The Democratic Alliance (DA) led Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality has appointed Ndivhoniswani Lukhwareni as the new City manager.

The City said council approved the appointment following a recruitment process that started in September and was overseen by a panel.

“A number of excellent candidates emerged, however the panel was unanimous in their support of Dr Lukhwareni as the preferred candidate,” said the City.

“This panel was constituted on the basis of legislation, which included the executive mayor, an external independent expert, the EFF [Economic Freedom Fighters] caucus leader and an ACDP [African Christian Democratic Party] councillor.”

Lukhwareni served in various senior management positions at the City of Tshwane. He is the incumbent deputy city manager of Tshwane, responsible for service delivery and transformation management, a post he has held since 2012.

He holds a BSc Electrical Engineering from the University of Durban Westville, a Doctorate in Business Leadership from UNISA and a Competence in Municipal Finance Management Program from the University of Pretoria’s School of Public Management and Administration.

Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba described Lukhwareni as a “true civil servant”.

“During the process I was impressed by Dr Lukhwareni’s ability to grasp the project of delivering change to the people of Johannesburg,” said Mashaba, who was elected mayor in August.

“He possesses a keen mind, enormous experience and the ability to put our program of action into effect. He is true civil servant and the right person to take forward our drive to professionalise the civil service.”

Lukhwareni takes over from Trevor Fowler, who was appointed city manager in 2011 by former mayor, Parks Tau.