​Liziwe Ntshinga-Makoro credits her success in life to her willingness to get her hands dirty, which always puts her at the right place at the right time. Ntshinga-Makoro is returning for a second stint as the Acting Group Head for Citizen Relationship and Urban Management in the City of Johannesburg. On the verge of completing a Master’s degree in Development Planning and with no work experience, a young but confident Ntshinga-Makoro pounded the streets of Braamfontein knocking on doors in search of work over 25 years ago.

She landed herself voluntary work at the South Africa Research and Development Trust, an NGO on De Korte Street in Braamfontein and would do her shift after or before lectures at the nearby University of the Witwatersrand.

Little did she know that her volunteer work would prepare her for bigger things in her next career move.

“I put my heart and soul into my work and after six months, my boss who became my mentor, started paying me the princely sum of R1 500, which was a lot of money for a student then. I was rich, rich,” Ntshinga-Makoro bursts out in laughter from her second floor office at Traduna House on Jorissen Street.

Before her mentor passed on, he gave her the numbers of a newly founded consultancy that operated in the community development space.

“When I placed a call, I was told to send my CV as they were looking for a receptionist. The next day, I got a call to after 11:30am to say I must come for interviews in Pretoria by 1pm.

“My friend broke all traffic rules to get me to the interview on time and I was hired on the same day after passing the touch-typing test following a successful interview.”

Ntshinga-Makoro says her duties were not confined to answering and transferring calls. She’d write reports, make tea and stand in for the directors in managing projects in far off places like Mpumalanga. “This is where I got most of the exposure and experience and all the support I needed.”

The Eastern Cape-born mother of two, Seba (19) and Paballo (14), says her parents, who were teachers, inculcated a love for education and excellence in all endeavours. “All five children at home did chores. There were no special chores for girls or boys. My brothers and sisters were not treated differently,” says Ntshinga-Makoro. She says all her siblings’ degree certificates adorn part of the wall in the family’s living room.

“My parents stretched their meagre salaries to ensure that we all get an education, especially my dad who had to take up extra work to top up his salary.”

In 2007, after having served as the Director Development Planning, Ntshinga-Makoro become one of the youngest Municipal Managers in Gauteng at the age of 31, served under the then MEC Qedani Mahlangu in Randfontein Municipality on the West Rand. “My NGO and consultancy work equipped me with all the resources to enable me to assume this huge responsibility. Of course, my late dad drummed into my head that I can reach the stars.”

Although it was an exciting and energy-sapping experience on the West Rand, the job took a toll on Ntshinga-Makoro’s new family. She then joined the City of Johannesburg in January 2009 as the Regional Director for Region E, which encompasses Alexandra and Sandton, amongst others. “A regional director basically does the job of a municipal manager with lesser powers. The exciting part, though, is the fact that you’re at the coalface of service delivery. You’re constantly networking, establishing relations and interacting with stakeholders on a daily basis.

“Now as Acting Group Head for CRUM, I oversee all the seven Regional Directors from Region A to Region G and continue to serve our communities to the best of our abilities to make Joburg a truly world-class African city.”

As the country brings down the curtain on Women’s Month, Ntshinga-Makoro has nothing but praise for the City’s women empowerment efforts. However, she feels more can be done, especially around maternity benefits. “The City has a policy that states mothers who have less than a year’s service with the municipality do not qualify for paid maternity leave. I experienced that first hand when I joined the City in January and gave birth to my daughter Paballo seven months later. I was forced to cut short my maternity leave to two months because I wasn’t getting paid. This policy needs to be looked into.” As a parting shot, Ntshinga-Makoro says girl-children should grab opportunities and make the best of it. “Know that everyone has to start somewhere. Do not wait for things to happen. Go out and grab them. And once you’ve been given an opportunity, work twice as hard and smarter to make your presence felt and leave a legacy.”