A sense of humor and love for his family showed that there is more to KwaDukuza mayor Ricardo Mthembu than meets the eye.
Jokingly saying that his one wife is equivalent to having 10, the father of five daughters enjoys spending time with his family and just like any other man – watching a good game of soccer or rugby is always time well spent.
Mthembu admitted that balancing his duties as a mayor and a family man was difficult.
“My wife is passionate and she drives me. She also takes the role of explaining to my children why I am hardly at home. Children of today make it hard. Would you believe that recently my six year old daughter said ‘I think you are exaggerating your job as a mayor dad?’ I do not know when she grew up so fast. It hurts that I miss some of their school events or that I am not there on a weekend to catch up with them but my job is also to help people and they are starting to understand that,” he said.
First elected in 2011, Mthembu is the first KwaDukuza mayor to complete has five year term and be re-elected for a second run.
Describing himself as a “simple man”, Mthembu grew up in and moved to KwaDukuza when he started high school. He became involved with the ANC in the struggle for freedom at the young age of 16.
“I grew up poor and that made me who I am today. My desire to help people inspired me to become a politician. I happened to meet some people who had returned from exile and who were doing underground work for the ANC. It was a time when violence was high and so I left school to get military training. I did not give up on my education as a went back to school in 1995 to complete my matric. I was in my twenties at the time,” he said.
Mthembu’s formal career in politics began as councillor in Ward 9 in Stanger. He went on to becoming a PR councillor in 2006.
“I feel honored by the support that the KwaDukuza community has given to me and I feel that I owe them so much.”
The mayor described his job as difficult, saying that he is often seen as a miracle maker.
“You need to be passionate about this job to get through it. It is a huge responsibility and often when people come to me with a problem, they go on with their life but I am left trying to find a solution. You have to learn to control your emotions and I do this by putting myself in people shoes. They swear at you and they do not want to hear that there are challenges, they only want to see results.”
When he is not working or with his family, Mthembu enjoys going to jazz concerts, church and playing soccer.
“Back in the day, I used to be a professional soccer player for a team in Stanger and I still enjoy a game of soccer every now and then. I enjoy going to church because that is where respect is emphasised.”
With this term being his last as mayor, Mthembu hopes to set high standards for future mayors to meet.
“KwaDukuza municipality has the potential to grow. I hope to see the municipality being number one financially and ethically. I want to see councillors being more passionate about their work. They should not do things for votes but because they want to serve the community and help people.
“People too should not relying only on government but help themselves by creating jobs,” said Mthembu.
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