MAYOR JOHN MPE IS THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB

Why Mayor Mpe Must Continue Leading Polokwane...

    Executive Mayor Cllr Makoro John Mpe. Administrator, Politician, Builder. Leading Polokwane with discipline and vision.

By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief

The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.  

AZANIAFROCOMEDIA – The Catalyst of Impact

POLOKWANE– A city is a house. You can repaint it every five years. You can hang new curtains before elections. But if the foundation is cracked, if the roof leaks, if the books are bleeding, the house will collapse on the people inside. 

Under Executive Mayor Cllr Makoro John Mpe, Polokwane’s foundation has been sunk in cement. The roof no longer leaks. And for the first time in a generation, the books do not just balance — they sing.

That is why, in this season of noise, faction and division, one fact is stubborn: Mayor Mpe is the right man for the job. He must continue.

History remembers leaders who carried two burdens at once: the burden of administration, and the burden of politics. Martin Luther King carried a dream and a plan. Steve Biko carried consciousness and discipline. Chris Hani carried conviction and humility. Malcolm X carried clarity and the will to build. 

Mayor Mpe does not claim their mantle. But he walks the same corridor. He understands what Biko taught: that leadership is service. What Hani lived: that ego must bow to organization. What King preached: that a city must be judged by how it treats the least of its people. What Malcolm demanded: that we build with our own hands, with our own money, on our own time. And build he has.

The Administrator  

This is where John’s financial mind shows. On 29 January 2026, Polokwane received its fourth consecutive unqualified audit. Clean. No qualifications. The Polokwane Housing Association mproved from qualified to unqualified audit opinion.

In a country where grants die in spreadsheets, Polokwane spent 100% of Water Services, Regional Bulk and Urban Development Grants. That money did not evaporate. It became pipes in Seshego. It became tar in Mankweng. It became houses for people who had waited decades.

Polokwane was also named Leading mSCOA Implementation Champion with a Grade 6 rating. It sounds technical. It is not. A city cannot run on candles when it aspires to be a city of stars. The books had to be fixed first. They are.

The Builder  

This week, Mayor Mpe stood with Minister Pemmy Majodina at the Seshego Hybrid Water Treatment Plant. Water is flowing. A resident, Maria Phiri, said what millions feel: “We no longer have to worry about clean water.” 

That is politics translated into dignity.

The country has noticed. President Cyril Ramaphosa named Polokwane the City of Cleanliness and City of Stars. COGTA Minister Hlabisa came twice and called it “spotless.” ANC PEC Convenor Sibongile Besani called it “a paragon of service delivery.”

Under Mayor Mpe, Peter Mokaba Stadium stopped being concrete and became an economy. CAF qualifiers. Betway Premiership. Gospel Festivals. Marathons. Hotels full. Traders counting cash. That is what happens when you treat sport and culture as infrastructure, not decoration.

The Statesman  

In July, Polokwane won the 2026 Special Achievement in GIS Award in San Diego — the first Limpopo municipality ever to do so. We now sit on the same list as Police Scotland. 

In March, Mayor Mpe took Polokwane to BRICS+ in New Delhi. He sold our story: digitalization, urban planning, sustainable ecology. From Seshego to San Diego to New Delhi. That is a mayor who thinks globally but delivers locally.

The Moment of Choice  

Yes, there is contestation. The Veterans League has nominated Soviet Lekganyane. Democracy allows it. But democracy must also be wise. 

You do not change pilots in turbulence. You do not demolish a house the moment the roof stops leaking. The GIS system must reach all 45 wards. The Seshego plant must be scaled. BRICS+ must become factories and jobs.

Polokwane needs continuity. It needs a man with a financial mind, a political heart, and a builder’s hands.

Mayor John Mpe has all three. 

He is administrator and politician. Accountant and visionary. Disciplinarian and unifier. 

In a time of noise, he gave us results. In a time of doubt, he gave us proof.

For the sake of the city we love, Mayor Makoro John Mpe is the right man for the job. He must continue.

Reaga Polokwane — Naturally Progressive.