To wear a chain – or not
"The first mayoral chain is being kept at the Roodepoort Museum and the chain the Roodepoort City Council mayor used, is being kept at Museum Africa,"
The mayoral chain was part of Roodepoort’s history for about 70 years – until the Roodepoort City Council was absorbed by the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council in 1996.
The first mayoral chains were commissioned in 1925 when the Prince of Wales visited the Roodepoort-Maraisburg area. The chain was made for the Mayor to wear to enable the visitors to identify him. Carolina Geldenhuys from the Roodepoort Museum said in the earlier years the Mayoral position was merely ceremonial and whenever he was in the public eye he wore the mayoral chain. His wife also had to wear her’s. A smaller, lighter chain was at hand, should a woman be elected as mayor. “The first mayoral chain is being kept at the Roodepoort Museum and the chain the Roodepoort City Council mayor used, is being kept at Museum Africa,” said Geldenhuys.
The Record approached the office for the Executive Mayor, Herman Mashaba to find out how he feels about the Mayoral chain and what it symbolises.
According to Mashaba he will not wear something similar to be recognised. He wants his new administration to be one of substance over style. He won’t spend millions of taxpayers’ money on lavish events, ceremonies and excessive, self-promoting advertising. He will focus on the enormous task of turning the City of Johannesburg around by working tirelessly to foster good relationships with communities through public engagement processes. He believes this, coupled with keeping the public informed of developments through the media, will be more than enough to ensure that people will know who the mayor is.
“Any further expenditure to give me any special public recognition will be wasteful. It could rather be going towards ensuring better services to our residents,” said Mashaba.
The Mayoral chain forms part of the City’s complex and meaningful past, and as Joburg’s 130th birthday is celebrated, it should be acknowledged. Even though a large part of this history is painful, it is rich with lessons of unity and diversity.
“No matter how terrible, traumatic, humane or heroic people’s experience of this city is – Joburg is our home and heritage. A city which does not preserve its past, cannot appreciate its future,” Mashaba concluded.
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