Q&A: Age of mayors South Africa

Berkowitz: Short answer, no. There are many stereotypes around age and there are good candidates of all ages. However, you do want a competent and experienced person for such an important job, and people expect a mayor to have qualifications and a job history. The bias is towards older candidates.

Pillay: It shouldn’t. We have a political culture in South Africa that denies capable young people the opportunity to serve their communities at these levels simply because we dismiss them on the basis of their age and what we think that implies about their level of experience. A mayoral post isn’t one that requires someone to work alone, it requires a team of people who are capable of managing a municipality. Giving young people the opportunity to serve their communities in this way, and providing them with a capable team who can support their work, is crucial in fostering greater youth participation and representation in our councils.

Berkowitz: (Many of these ideas are informed by the same prejudices and stereotypes I spoke about above. There are always exceptions.)

A young mayor could bring new ideas and would be closer to the average South African and their concerns. They would probably be more idealistic and less politically captured / corrupt. The drawbacks would be their lack of experience and qualifications.

The reverse would be true for an old mayor. They could be more jaded and less motivated to push for service delivery. They could be more experienced and have developed better networks and negotiating skills.

Pillay: Young people bring fresh ideas and perspectives to any space they occupy. Additionally, in a time where youth participation in formal democratic processes is on the decline, having more young people in positions of power gives representation to other young people and provides much needed legitimacy and power to a cohort that is often sidelined. Young people do have a lack of experience, however, this is part of a seemingly endless cycle where young people have to “wait their turn” to progress in the political sphere, which results in them not getting the requisite experience when they’re in their youth. Young people are more open to learning, therefore the opportunity to grow their capacity and breathe new life into city councils is large. Older mayors, though potentially full of experience, are seldom open to new ideas and ways of doing things. They can be seen to frustrate younger staff because of the growing generational gap. The solution, however, isn’t an either/or situation. In an ideal society that prioritises youth leadership, older people and younger people sharing space and power can yield the best results.

Berkowitz: I think a mix of ages is ideal. The median age in South Africa is under 30, I am in favour of supporting younger candidates (i.e. aged 30-45) so that government is more representative and in touch with the majority of the population.

Pillay: No. I think members of government should reflect the age demographics of the country/province/city they serve. The diversity of experiences and perspectives are really important for effective governance and representation. In the same way we create indicators around race ans gender, we should be more assertive about diversifying the ages of our political leaders so that they more accurately reflect our society.