CDE MAKORO JOHN MPE IS REVOLUTIONISING LEADERSHIP: FROM SRC TO MAYOR, THE CREATED LEADER OF OUR TIME TAKES THE ANC TO UL
- Mpho Dube
- 6 hours ago
- 4 min read
ANC Limpopo Deputy Chair rallies students at University of Limpopo with delivery, discipline and vision — “The community is very impressed”
By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief
The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
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POLOKWANE — The sound of drums, the chanting of students, and the presence of a leader who once sat in their chairs filled the University of Limpopo in Mankweng today.
ANC Limpopo Deputy Provincial Chairperson and Executive Mayor of Polokwane, Cde Makoro John Mpe, arrived not with a motorcade and speeches from far, but with a team and boots on the ground. Together with the national and provincial leadership of the ANC Youth League, he led a door-to-door campaign across residences, engaging students face to face.
It was more than a campaign. It was a homecoming. A former SRC President returning to remind the next generation that leadership starts on campus and that the ANC is still the home of young leaders.
Cde Mpe spoke plainly. He said he understands the pressures students carry because he once carried them too. He told them that democracy is not something you watch from the side. It is something you enter, shape and lead. His message was that young people must not only vote but must prepare to govern, to serve, and to take responsibility for their communities.
What made the engagement powerful was that he did not come empty handed. He came with proof. As Mayor of Polokwane, Cde Mpe spoke about the work happening in the capital city under ANC leadership. He spoke about additional solar Apollo lights that have been installed to make communities and routes around campus safer at night.
He spoke about the dedicated interventions to resolve water challenges that have frustrated residents for too long. And he spoke with pride about the municipality’s decision to donate land to the University of Limpopo for the construction of a Medical School, a project he described as an investment in the doctors of tomorrow who will serve Limpopo and the country.
“Polokwane is a city on the rise,” he told students. “And it is rising because we are putting people first, because we are delivering services, and because we are creating space for young people to lead.”
Cde Mpe is fast becoming the face of a new kind of ANC leadership. As Deputy Provincial Chairperson he carries the responsibility of the organisation. As Mayor he carries the responsibility of delivery. People in Polokwane say what sets him apart is that he does both without losing touch with the ground.
The community response today and in recent weeks has been clear. Residents and students say they are impressed by a leader who shows up, who listens, and who delivers.
Mma Kgotso from Ga-Mashane who met the Mayor during a recent community visit said, “We have seen Mayors before, but this one comes to us. He explains, he answers, and then we see the lights and the water trucks. We are impressed.”
Thabo, a third year student at UL and former SRC member said, “To see someone who was SRC now a Mayor and Deputy Chair tells us it is possible. He did not forget us. He came back and spoke to us like comrades.”
Gogo Maphuti from Mankweng said, “My grandchildren walk home late from library. Since those solar lights went up I sleep better. That is a leader who thinks about us. The community is very impressed with him.”
This is why many in the ANC now refer to Cde Mpe as the created leader of our time. Created in the structures. Tested in student politics. Matured in government. And still loyal to the values of the movement. He is revolutionising what it means to be both an ANC leader and a Mayor. He is showing that the two roles can walk together. Party leadership and government delivery do not have to be separate. They can reinforce each other.
In his address to students he reminded them that the ANC has always been about opening doors for the next generation. He said the organisation continues to create opportunities for young people to lead and to succeed, and that the upcoming election is a chance to continue building.
“On the 4th of November, let us vote ANC and continue building a better future together,” he said.
As the door-to-door ended, students surrounded him for pictures and questions. About internships. About how to access municipal programmes. About how to get involved. That is the point of the campaign. Not just to ask for a vote, but to invite young people into the work of building.
From SRC chambers to council chambers, from Mankweng to the Union Buildings one day, Cde John Mpe is showing what principled, disciplined and grounded leadership looks like.
A leader created by the people. A leader serving the people. A leader the community is very impressed with.
