John Mpe: The Leadership Limpopo Deserves

As the ANC’s Limpopo provincial conference draws closer, the name of Makoro John Mpe is increasingly echoing through the corridors of party branches and regional structures across the province.

This is by no accident, as Mpe has throughout the years built a solidified political profile since the 1980s as a young activist from the dusty streets of Ga-Molepo outside Polokwane, Limpopo. If elected as provincial leader, he would be the first person to lead the ANC in Limpopo from the Peter Mokaba region where Peter Mokaba himself hails from in Mankweng.

Like many young people disillusioned by the brutality of the apartheid regime, he became a stone-thrower against an unjust system after he and his peers heeded a clarion call issued at the beginning of the 1980s by one of the ANC’s most popular and longest-serving presidents.

He realised that the only viable mechanism to directly challenge the status quo was to pursue education, which would prepare him to be part technocrats in the new government because apartheid would not survive for a long time.

He became a fierce and energetic student leader at the then Technikon Northern Transvaal, known today as Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), with the likes of the household names in the ANC, such as China Dodovu, Supra Mahumapelo, Miles Nzama, Max Theka, and many others of their generation. It was this exposure and experience that brought him closer to the people at the grassroots level. 

While several cities in the country are regressing in terms of economic and infrastructural development, it is quietly different from Polokwane, which is visibly one of the few growing, beautiful, and developing cities. It was under the sterling leadership of Mpe that Polokwane became on par with the country’s major metropolitan municipalities following the achievement of Grade 6 status.

He and those he leads have been able to promote and advance Polokwane as the investment destination, especially in the side of property investment sector, which has created business and employment opportunities for the locals. 

The audits are often underscored as an important evaluation tool to weigh the effectiveness of systems. Mpe’s administration made history as it broke the bad record of qualified audit outcomes, as it clinched three consecutive unqualified audits, which is evident that he has been able to make some major changes in the organisational and political outlook of the Polokwane municipality which plays a critical role in reviving the staff morale which have shown to have a direct impact on the quality of service delivery in the Polokwane jurisdiction.

Besides scoring a prestigious award called the ZK Matthews Award in 2025 during the ANC’s 113th anniversary, he also managed to score 6 other awards from SALGA for his visionary leadership. It is not difficult to believe that he can achieve his dream of turning Polokwane into a Smart City. 

Understanding the importance of the role of graduates in the economy of Polokwane, he scrapped the nonsensical conditions of requiring experience from graduates, which was a victory for both the municipality and the potential employees. This has since seen some 150 youth benefitting from this transformation.

We have heard President Cyril Ramaphosa complaining about the dirtiness of cities such as Mahikeng and Johannesburg. Ramaphosa declared Polokwane to be one of the cleanest cities in the country. It should be remembered that in the same year, Polokwane won the 2023 National Arbor Award and the Greenest Municipality Competition Award. 

Skyrocketing levels of corruption remain a major headache for most South Africans. In this context, we have seen how Mpe has consistently demonstrated the political will to institute forensic investigations, which have produced concrete recommendations aimed at dealing decisively with corruption. These recommendations have been directed at responsible authorities for implementation, signalling a serious commitment to accountability and clean governance.

We have also witnessed how corrupt tenderpreneurs and their colluding political allies often fight back when they are denied the opportunity to plunder the public purse. They resort to twisting the truth, presenting corruption fighters as the real culprits.

This has been the case with Mpe. Those who are no longer unduly benefiting from his leadership have embarked on a deliberate campaign to tarnish his name, hurling insults and unfounded accusations in an attempt to discredit him.

It is therefore likely that the ANC in Limpopo will rally behind Mpe, who is widely viewed as a future premier of the province.

The governance successes and accolades associated with his leadership in Polokwane are expected to be expanded across Limpopo, creating meaningful economic, educational and social opportunities for ordinary men and women.

This is a leader Limpopo has never truly had, and one the province deserves — a leader capable of changing the fortunes, fate and future of its people.

Kgwadi is a political writer.