MTN COMES TO POLOKWANE: MPE SECURES TELCO GIANT AS CITY BECOMES INVESTMENT MAGNET
- Mpho Dube
- 12 hours ago
- 3 min read
Under Mayor Mpe, Polokwane turns water crisis around, delivers clean audits, and unlocks land for R billions in investment
By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief
The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
AZANIAFROCOMEDIA – The Catalyst of Impact
POLOKWANE— They didn’t come to inspect. They came to invest.
Today, MTN South Africa Deputy CEO Yolanda Cuba led a high-level delegation to Polokwane Municipality for strategic talks with the city. The reason is simple: under Executive Mayor Cllr Makoro John Mpe, Polokwane has stopped asking for investment and started earning it.
Welcoming the delegation, Mayor Mpe painted a compelling picture of a city on the rise. "We are building a city that works," Mpe said. "A city with a long-term vision, with clean books, with water in the taps, and with space for business to thrive. Polokwane is South Africa's investment destination of choice."
The turnaround is tangible.Under Mpe’s administration, Polokwane has turned the tide on its water supply challenges through decisive interventions. Last week, water flowed from the Seshego Hybrid Water Treatment Plant, a project delivered with Minister Pemmy Majodina. Residents like Maria Phiri now say: "We no longer have to worry about clean water."
The municipality has also unlocked strategically located land for investment and is expanding service delivery, sporting and recreational infrastructure to support sustainable economic growth and improve quality of life for all residents.
That progress has been noticed. President Cyril Ramaphosa named Polokwane the City of Cleanliness and City of Stars. COGTA Minister Hlabisa, after two visits, called it “spotless.” ANC PEC Convenor Sibongile Besani called it “a paragon of service delivery.”
This is where Mayor Mpe’s financial discipline shows.On 29 January 2026, Polokwane received its fourth consecutive unqualified audit. Clean. The Polokwane Housing Association also moved from qualified to unqualified.
While grants die in spreadsheets elsewhere, Polokwane spent 100% of Water Services, Regional Bulk and Urban Development Grants. That money became pipes in Seshego. It became tar in Mankweng. It became houses for people who waited decades.
Polokwane was also named Leading mSCOA Implementation Champion with a Grade 6 rating. A city cannot run on candles if it wants to be a city of stars. First, the books.
Mpe is building for people too.Last week he unveiled the Thabo Makunyane Sports Complex in Ward 08 — floodlights, fields, and a safe space to pull youth off the streets and onto the field. "We are opening doors," he said. "Your future is in sport, in discipline, in community."
Peter Mokaba Stadium has become an economy under Mpe: CAF qualifiers, Betway Premiership, Gospel Festivals, marathons. Hotels full. Traders counting cash.
Globally, Polokwane won the 2026 Special Achievement in GIS Award in San Diego — the first Limpopo municipality ever. In March, Mpe took the city’s story to BRICS+ in New Delhi: digitalization, urban planning, sustainable ecology.
Business invests in proof, not promises.Proof of stable water. Proof of clean audits. Proof of infrastructure. Proof of leadership. "A seat at the table means nothing without a stake in the future," Mpe told Cuba. "In Polokwane, that stake is real. The land is ready. The services are improving. The people are ready to work."
With November local elections approaching, the choice is clear. You do not change pilots when the plane is climbing.
Under Mayor Mpe, the foundation is cement. The roof no longer leaks. And for the first time in a generation, the books don’t just balance — they sing.
Reaga Polokwane — Naturally Progressive.
Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
