{OPINION} – Officials pledge 67 minutes of doing their job
Officials use Mandela Day to fix what they neglect all year, raising questions about leadership and accountability.
Every year on July 18, South Africans are encouraged to dedicate 67 minutes to service in honour of Nelson Mandela’s legacy. It’s a beautiful idea, a call for compassion, community, and commitment to justice.
We, the taxpayers, pay municipal salaries to ensure that roads are maintained, public facilities are kept in order, and basic services are delivered – not just on Mandela Day, but every day of the year.
These are the fundamental duties of government, mandated by law and funded by our taxes.
If these acts are considered ‘special services’ for one day, what then are officials doing the other 364? The fact is, these services should be consistently delivered, so it appears that this is merely a PR exercise designed to suggest that they care.
Because if they were doing their job properly year-round, there would be no need for Mandela Day road repairs or infrastructure fixes.
This raises serious questions about accountability and leadership in our municipalities.
Why are basic services so unreliable that they become ‘special projects’ for a commemorative day? And why do we celebrate officials for doing what they are paid to do? This only highlights systemic failures and a disturbing normalisation of poor service delivery.
Madiba fought for dignity, justice, and equality – values that demand consistent action, not once-off gestures.
True respect for his legacy means holding those in power accountable every day, ensuring that communities receive the reliable, dignified services they deserve.
The real test of leadership is not how many minutes are given on Mandela Day, but how effectively officials perform their duties throughout the year.
Until then, these so-called good deeds remain a little more than symbolic acts that mask ongoing neglect.
