Young, eager and in charge

Walking the talk. Getting his hands dirty.  Putting his money — or the city's, really — where his mouth is. On Wednesday morning, he arrived in a hybrid Toyota Prius in time for a clean up at nearby Joe Slovo Park. After urging residents to work with city teams to keep their communities clean — and he promised to do this every week of his five-year tenure, if necessary — he bent down to pick up a grubby tissue. His gloved hands filled a garbage bag with litter in just 20 minutes. Cape Town’s 35-year-old mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, gives new meaning to the old clichés as he breaks the stereotype of a privileged white male. ​

Hill-Lewis has spent his first 100 days in office working to help more Capetonians have the safe and nurturing type of environment that he did growing up in Edgemead, a suburb across Table Bay from the mountain.