For Ricardo Mackenzie, the road to becoming the new provincial minister for mobility was one paved by many years of public service.
Recently appointed to the portfolio by Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, the newly established directorate comes into effect from Saturday 1 April. It replaces former transport departments.
The position became vacant when former provincial minister Daylin Mitchell was appointed Speaker of the Western Cape Legislature last year, with the portfolio provisionally looked after by Dr Ivan Meyer, Western Cape Minister of Agriculture.
“Mr Mackenzie is a seasoned and dedicated public servant, passionate about transport-related issues. With him as the province’s new mobility minister he will drive the Western Cape Government’s commitment to transform public transport, ensuring it is safe, reliable, and affordable for our citizens,” says Winde.
Mackenzie comes with a wealth of experience in the transport sector and his work for the provincial legislature as chair of the Standing Committee on Transport and Public Works.
But his political career stretches a lot further than that.
“I have always been interested in politics, but my big break was when I joined the Presidency of then president Thabo Mbeki as an executive assistant,” he says.
“A highlight of my career was when I won the JP Morgan Chase Award as one of their best employees and the Director-general Award for Innovation at the Department of Sports and Recreation. Being sworn in as a Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL) in 2014 was also very special to me.”
Mackenzie completed his high school career at Kleinvlei High School and holds an NQF 7 Advanced Graduate Certificate from Wits University.
Until recently, Mackenzie was the MPL responsible for oversight of Mitchell’s Plain area, and although his mandate has now expanded, he looks forward to continuing to tackle important issues.
“I love public transport. I believe getting people to work safely is a top priority for me. My priority was to stop the taxi strike (set to have taken place last Wednesday), which was achieved. Now we need to work to strengthen the relationship with the taxi industry,” he says.
“I will be in Mitchell’s Plain every Monday and want to continue working with communities to strengthen public transport and public transport infrastructure.”
At the swearing-in ceremony on Monday 20 February, Winde said: “I look forward to working with Minister Mackenzie as we establish the new Mobility Department, which will be fully operational on 1 April 2023. Mobility is critical to our economy and I look forward to seeing him succeed.”
Mackenzie says public transport is a pillar of the economy.
“Public transport is key in building the economy. We need to do everything to get people to work safely. We need to protect and take care of our current public transport,” he says.
“My commitment to the people of our province is to get them to work and school safely and on time. Mobility must be an enabler for job creation and economic growth. I also aim to foster a good working relationship with role players in the mobility sector.”
