Pappas & Mnikathi: Energetic duo is getting the job done in uMngeni

uMngeni mayor Chris Pappas and his deputy, Sandile Mnikathi, are unusual among South African politicians because they don’t seek out the media spotlight.

They don’t chase the media

They don’t chase the media; on the contrary, if you want to cover what they’re doing, you’d better be prepared to keep up with their frenetic pace.

That’s what our reporter discovered when he was rushed off his feet on a recent visit to the municipality (which includes the town of Howick and its surrounds).

uMngeni was wrested by the Democratic Alliance (DA) from the ANC in the local government elections last year … largely because of the efforts of Pappas and Mnikathi.

ANC tried to paint Pappas as a white exploiter

Despite virulent efforts by the ANC to paint Pappas as another white exploiter, his mainly black constituents listened intently as he campaigned in a mixture of English and isiZulu.

The vote, in the end, was as much one of no confidence in the ANC, which had mismanaged the municipality into near-collapse, then it was in favour of the DA.

Since November, Pappas and Mnikathi have busied themselves sorting out the financial mess, cracking down on corruption and delivering the services residents expect.

People can now see potholes and awful dusty gravel roads in the township being repaired and even see the municipal tractor loaned to people who have no other way to plough.

They are young – Pappas has just turned 32, and Mnikathi is just 26 – and bring the energy of youth (and perhaps the sort of idealism which has long since been lost in South African politics) to the business of not only running a town but of repairing it and saving it.

In doing so, they reinforce the DA’s argument that wherever it governs, life is much better than in places where the ANC is in charge.

Perhaps, this is the wind of youthful change this country desperately needs.

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