Born and raised in Hillside, Port Elizabeth, Horatio Hendricks completed his teaching qualification at the old Vista University. He became a teacher at Andrieskraal Primary School where he taught for 22 years and was principal for the last 12 years. It was during his tenure at this primary school that Horatio was confronted by the reality of poverty in South Africa’s rural areas, with most households serviced by the school not even having access to toilets or potable water.
His passion for bettering the lives of others caught the eye of the Democratic Alliance in 2008 and his first experience in government followed in 2009 when he became a councillor at the Sarah Baartman district municipality (SBDM). He served as chairperson of the district’s Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) from 2011 to 2012. During this tenure at SBDM, the municipality achieved successive clean audit opinions from the Office of the Auditor General.
Following the DA’s victory in Kouga municipality in the 2016 local government elections, Horatio was elected as speaker of the council. Horatio stated that he loves working as part of a team and describes his leadership style as “collective and consultative.”
After the tragic passing of Executive Mayor Elza van Lingen, Horatio picked up the baton and said his goal is to build a strong, disciplined and caring institution – dedicated to service excellence and the economic empowerment of those who were left behind.
Mayor Hendriks is especially passionate about township transformation and small town regeneration. Among his focus areas will be tourism, agriculture and the oceans economy as potential growth nodes.