Biography

Cllr Colleen Makhubele is a Giyani-born South African businessperson, politician, and leader. She is the newly-elected Speaker for the City of Johannesburg.

Colleen is the City of Johannesburg’s Chair of Chairs of Section 79 Oversight Committees. She has served in private and government-owned companies.

The leader won the election to the role on Wednesday, January 19, 2022, under the Congress of the People (COPE). She works at the Metropolitan Trading Company in Johannesburg in the Department of Economic Development.

Makhubele works as the Company Secretary for YellowTrain Investments. She co-founded the Mzumbe Group of Companies and is a Trustee for the HCL Foundation Trust. She served as the chairperson and non-Executive Director of the South African Post Office.

Colleen Makhubele
Colleen Makhubele biography
Colleen Makhubele celebrates becoming the new speaker at the Joburg council sitting on Wednesday September 28.
Quick Facts
Full Name:Colleen Makhubele
Born:Giyani
Nationality:South African
Education:Business Administration
Alma mater:University of South Africa
Occupation:Businessperson, Politician
Political Party:Congress of the People
Position:Speaker for the City of Johannesburg
Marital Status:Married
Children:2
Profiles:Twitter • Instagram

Early Life

Colleen Makhubele was born in Giyani in the Northeastern Limpopo Province, South Africa. She grew up and attended primary, high school, and tertiary schools in South Africa.

Education

Cllr Makhubele holds a Business Administration diploma and a Project Management Certificate from the University of South Africa. The leader holds three certifications from Stellenbosch University:

  • Chartered Financial Analyst
  • Investment Foundation Certification
  • Finance for Non-Financial Managers Certification

Colleen ran a Master’s Degree program in Business Administration at Milpark Business College. She studies a doctor of philosophy degree in innovation and technology management at the Da Vinci Institute.

She also obtained an honors degree in IT (Bachelor IT: Information Systems Engineering) from Multimedia University in Malaysia. Colleen is a certified Prince 2 practitioner. 

Career

Colleen Makhubele party
Cllr Colleen is passionate about empowering women.

Makhubele is a member of the nonprofit company Institute of Directors South Africa. She is a trustee of the HCL Foundation Trust.

She served as the chairwoman of the Metropolitan Trading Company in the City. She was also the Chairperson and Non-Executive Director of the South African Post Office.

Cllr Colleen is a founding member of the Mzumbe Group of Companies. She is the first Chief Executive Officer of the company, founded in 2009. Her role was overseeing its portfolios in ICT, Energy, and Manufacturing.

The politician has held many notable positions and led several projects. She has led many Project Management Office (PMO/PMU) establishments. She has invaluable experience in the private and public sectors.

Colleen represented SA women in business at the USA Fortune 500 Global Women Mentorship Programme founded by Hillary Clinton. She is an advocate for women’s empowerment.

She is passionate about empowering women and has spoken at many events for women. She has inspired many through her words of motivation and taught many to achieve their dreams despite their circumstances.

Colleen Makhubele is the new Speaker for the City of Johannesburg. She emerged as the winner after an election defeating DA’s Alex Christian for the position. She is also the chair of chairs in the legislature. 

Politics

The prominent politician has been in politics for some years and has been successful. She has many visions for her city, Johannesburg, and wants to make it a place people want to live safely, work, learn, and play. For her, Jo’burg city needs professionals, not politicians.

Makhubele served as chair of chairs of the council for the city of Johannesburg for seven months. She also acted as Deputy Speaker.

After an election held in 2022, she became the new speaker of the City Council. According to EWN, Councilors in the city were present at the council chambers in Braamfontein.

They smiled in approval as she emerged winner with 141 votes defeating Democratic Alliance councilor Alex Christians. The ruling party, African National Congress, supported the newly elected leader and pledged their continuous support.

Colleen Makhubele is a member of the party Congress of the People and was the party’s Mayoral candidate for the City of Johannesburg in 2021. She became the Speaker of the City Council in Johannesburg.

Personal Life

When she is not carrying out her duties, she reserves her time for her husband and children. She is a mother of two. Colleen enjoys reading and is a Christian.

Apart from reading to pass the time, she studies to broaden her knowledge on many topics.

Social Profiles

Colleen Makhubele has accounts on various platforms on social media. 

She is on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. She campaigns and posts her political views on several topics and her achievements.

Political Party

As a party politician, she belongs to the Congress of the People. She was a COPE candidate for various political positions.

Colleen emerged as the winner of the Speaker for the City of Johannesburg position.