Joyce Bila
{{short description|South African politician (born 1966)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| honorific-suffix = MP
| image_size =
| office = Member of the National Assembly
| term_start = 14 June 2024
| term_end =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|4|6|df=y}}
| citizenship = South Africa
| party = African National Congress
| spouse =
| partner =
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| residence =
| education =
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| website =
| honorific_prefix = The Honourable
| constituency_AM = Limpopo
| office1 = Mayor of Collins Chabane Local Municipality
| termstart1 = August 2016
| termend1 = December 2018
| predecessor1 = Municipality established
| successor1 = Moses Maluleke
}}
Tintswalo Joyce Bila (born 6 April 1966) is a South African politician from Limpopo. She has represented the African National Congress in the National Assembly of South Africa since June 2024. She was formerly the inaugural mayor of the Collins Chabane Local Municipality between August 2016 and December 2018.
During Bila's term as Collins Chabane mayor, the municipality illegally deposited R120-million with VBS Mutual Bank, an amount it forfeited after the bank collapsed. The ANC removed Bila from her mayoral office during the ensuing scandal.
Early life and career
Mayor of Collins Chabane: 2016–2018
She rose to prominence after the 2016 local elections, when she was elected as mayor of the newly established Collins Chabane Local Municipality in northeastern Limpopo. Initially referred to only as LIM345, the municipality was established by merging portions of the Makhado Local Municipality and Thulamela Local Municipality to create a new subdistrict that included Malamulele, Hlanganani, and Vuwani; in Vuwani in particular, the move was vociferously opposed.{{Cite web |last=Myambo |first=Rivalani |date=19 August 2016 |title=New municipality named after late minister Collins Chabane |url=https://www.news24.com/news24/new-municipality-named-after-late-minister-collins-chabane-20160818 |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=News24 |language=en-US}} A member of the African National Congress (ANC), Bila was elected as the inaugural mayor after the election in August 2016, and she was formally inaugurated in a ceremony on 29 October 2016.{{Cite news |date=5 November 2016 |title="New mayors must deliver now" |url=https://www.limpopomirror.co.za/articles/news/39563/2016-11-05/anew-mayors-must-deliver-nowa |access-date=22 July 2024 |work=Limpopo Mirror}}
In October 2018 City Press reported that Bila's tenure in the mayoral office was insecure.{{Cite web |last=Modjadji |first=Ngwako |date=14 October 2018 |title=Limpopo mayors face the axe |url=https://www.news24.com/citypress/news/limpopo-mayors-face-the-axe-20181014 |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=City Press |language=en-US}} A month later, the VBS Mutual Bank was liquidated amid a major political scandal; the bank had become insolvent after defrauding its depositors, who included several Limpopo municipalities. After an investigation concluded that the municipal deposits had been illegal under public finance law, the Provincial Executive Committee of the ANC in Limpopo announced on 11 December 2018 that it would remove seven mayors from office in affected municipalities. Bila was one of them; under her leadership, Collins Chabane had deposited and lost an investment of R120 million.{{Cite news |date=15 December 2018 |title=Mayors get the boot over VBS scandal |url=https://www.limpopomirror.co.za/articles/news/48919/2018-12-15/mayors-get-the-boot-over-vbs-scandal |access-date=22 July 2024 |work=Limpopo Mirror}} Bila's municipal manager and chief financial officer were suspended from their positions.
Shortly after the ANC's announcement, the Hawks confirmed that it was pursuing a criminal investigation into Bila and the six other sacked mayors, amid indications that some Limpopo politicians had received kickbacks in exchange for keeping municipal money deposited at VBS.{{Cite web |last=Correspondent |first=Russel Molefe |date=13 December 2018 |title=VBS saga: Hawks investigating 7 former Limpopo mayors |url=https://www.news24.com/news24/vbs-saga-hawks-investigating-7-former-limpopo-mayors-20181213 |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=News24 |language=en-US}} According to the Limpopo Mirror, Bila denied that she had approved the Collins Chabane investment, saying that the decision had been taken by the municipal manager and chief financial officer.{{Cite news |date=10 April 2021 |title=Golden handshake for former MM of Collins Chabane |url=https://www.limpopomirror.co.za/articles/news/54073/2021-04-10/golden-handshake-for-former-mm-of-collins-chabane |access-date=22 July 2024 |work=Limpopo Mirror}}
Moses Maluleke was elected to replace her as Collins Chabane mayor in December 2018.{{Cite news |date=14 December 2018 |title=Moses Maluleke elected Collins Chabane mayor |url=https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/moses-maluleke-elected-collins-chabane-mayor/ |access-date=22 July 2024 |work=SABC News}} Bila returned to the municipality as an ordinary councillor in the November 2021 local elections.{{Cite news |date=29 November 2021 |title=Sacked VBS-linked mayor elected ANC councillor again |url=https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/south-africa/2021-11-29-sacked-vbs-linked-mayor-elected-anc-councillor-again/ |access-date=22 July 2024 |work=The Sowetan}} She later moved to the council of the Vhembe District Municipality, where in November 2023 she was appointed to Mayor Tsakani Nkondo's Mayoral Committee as Member of the Mayoral Committee for Local Economic Development and Planning.{{Cite news |date=23 November 2023 |title=New Vhembe mayor promises clean water and proper sanitation |url=https://www.limpopomirror.co.za/articles/news/59419/2023-11-23/new-vhembe-mayor-promises-clean-water-and-proper-sanitation |access-date=22 July 2024 |work=Limpopo Mirror}}
National Assembly: 2024–present
In the May 2024 general election, Bila stood as a parliamentary candidate, ranked 15th on the ANC's party list for the Limpopo constituency. She was elected to a seat in the National Assembly, the lower house of the South African Parliament. She was appointed as a member of Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts and Standing Committee on the Auditor-General.{{Cite web |title=Tintswalo Joyce Bila |url=http://www.pa.org.za/person/tintswalo-joyce-bila/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=People's Assembly |language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{People's Assembly (South Africa)|id=tintswalo-joyce-bila|name=Tintswalo Joyce Bila}}
- [https://www.parliament.gov.za/person-details/5257 Tintswalo Joyce Bila] at Parliament of South Africa
- [https://www.ancparliament.org.za/wpm-team/tintswalo-joyce-bila/ Tintswalo Joyce Bila] at African National Congress
{{Current MPs of South Africa}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bila, Joyce}}
Category:21st-century South African women politicians
Category:African National Congress politicians
Category:Mayors of places in South Africa
Category:Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2024–2029
Category:Politicians from Limpopo
Category:Women mayors of places in South Africa
Category:Women members of the National Assembly of South Africa