Democracy, at its most beautiful, is when the people are truly seen, heard, and served.
Today, on June 23rd, I was reminded of that beauty as I tuned into Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa’s interview with Tessa Dooms on Power FM. Though I wasn’t able to watch the full COGTA stakeholder meeting due to my civil society engagements with youth in the province, hearing him speak was enough.
His calm strength, his vision, and his sincerity echoed through every word. I knew immediately: this was a leader who was sent to us for such a time as this. Sekukudala sikulindile Tata.
As the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) and President of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Minister Hlabisa stands like a pillar of integrity in a crumbling house of governance. We’ve seen him visit flood-ravaged villages in the Eastern Cape, not with cameras and speeches, but with compassion and resolve.
He didn't just show up—he showed care. And today, he did it again, leading a critical sitting on the White Paper on Local Government, engaging with stakeholders not from a place of power, but from a place of service. Inene, ubukho bakhe yi oxygen.
For many South Africans, the White Paper might sound like just another government document. But it’s far more than that. First introduced in 1998, this paper shaped how local government should operate in our young democracy. It laid out ideals—people-centred service delivery, development-oriented municipalities, cooperative governance. But ideals must be tested against lived experience, and the cracks in our local governance have become canyons.
Minister Hlabisa knows this. That’s why he is driving this review—not as a box-ticking exercise, but as a rescue mission for democracy itself.
He spoke today of going door-to-door with all political parties that govern at local level—not to campaign, but to listen. To bring the heart of leadership back to communities. He boldly called out municipalities that fail audit standards, and he did so with both honesty and empathy.
He is the rare kind of leader who doesn’t use failure as a weapon, but as a mirror—reflecting both the brokenness and the potential for healing.
Minister Hlabisa is a soft-spoken man with a lion’s heart. He commands not by force, but through faith. When he speaks, he does not seek applause—he seeks change. His leadership is deliberate, principled, and deeply human. That is why he stands tall not just as a minister, but as a president-in-waiting. A man who embodies ubuntu. A man who does not see leadership as power over others, but as responsibility toward them.
And in all of this, how can we not feel the presence of uMntwana wakwaPhindangene, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi? Surely, he is watching, dancing in the spirit realm, proud and protective. His legacy lives on—not as history, but as breath, as blueprint, as blessing. Minister Hlabisa is expanding the dream that Shenge dared to dream. He is not filling his shoes—he is walking beside them, step for step, vision for vision.
So yes, let us weep. Let us weep because in Minister Hlabisa, we are witnessing what true leadership looks like. Let us cry because we have waited so long to feel this kind of hope again. And then, let us rise. Let us vote for the IFP. Let us vote for leadership that listens. For a movement that mourns with us and rebuilds with us.
This is not about party politics. This is about people. This is about the woman who waits for clean water. The child who studies under a broken roof. The father who died waiting for an ambulance that never came. This is about restoring faith that has long been lost.
The White Paper is being rewritten, yes—but so is the story of South Africa. And Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa is holding the pen with honour.
The people still matter. The future still holds promise. And with the IFP at the helm, we might just find our way home again.
Camagu Bulawayo!!!
