By Johnathan Paoli
Political parties across the country commemorated Nelson Mandela Day on Saturday by undertaking a range of community service initiatives, from distributing winter care packages and handing over newly built homes to cleaning neighbourhoods, supporting food relief efforts, and engaging residents on local development.
The activities formed part of the annual Mandela Day observance, which encourages South Africans to dedicate at least 67 minutes of service in honour of the country’s first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela, whose legacy remains closely associated with community upliftment, dignity, and public service.
Democratic Alliance (DA) Leader Geordin Hill-Lewis spent the day in Ennerdale, south of Johannesburg, where he joined party members in distributing winter care packs to elderly residents while also assisting unregistered community members to register to vote.
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Hill-Lewis said the initiative reflected Mandela’s legacy of practical service and civic participation.
“We distributed winter care packs to elderly residents and we helped unregistered residents to register to vote. These are modest acts, but they speak to two important principles: every person deserves to be treated with dignity, and every citizen has the power to help determine the future of their community,” Hill-Lewis said.
The DA leader said Mandela Day should encourage South Africans to take responsibility for improving their communities.
“Building a better South Africa begins when each of us asks what we can do to serve our neighbours, strengthen our communities and leave our country better than we found it,” he said.
Hill-Lewis said communities deserved responsive government and improved municipal services.
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“The people of Ennerdale and communities across South Africa deserve reliable basic services, safer streets, clean public spaces and a local government that respects them and responds when they need help,” the DA leader said.
ActionSA President Herman Mashaba marked Mandela Day in Cosmo City alongside Gauteng Provincial Chairperson Funzi Ngobeni, where the party continued its “A Re Sebetseng”, or Let’s Work, community campaign.
The initiative focused on mobilising residents to participate in cleaning neighbourhoods and restoring public spaces, with ActionSA saying community participation remained essential to rebuilding Johannesburg.
The party said that should Mashaba return as mayor of Johannesburg, communities would once again be mobilised, as they were during his first term in office, to help keep streets clean and restore pride in the city.
In Tshwane, Executive Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya spent Mandela Day with elderly residents in Atteridgeville as part of the city’s “67 Acts of Dignity” initiative.
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“I believe that in the end that it is kindness and accommodation that are the catalysts for real change,” Moya said.
The programme focused on supporting senior citizens while promoting dignity and community care.
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party used Mandela Day to hand over five newly built homes to families across the uThukela District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.
MKP leader and former president Jacob Zuma, Secretary-General Sibonelo Nomvalo, Deputy National Chairperson Mokotjo Sebiloane, Provincial Task Team Coordinator Sibonelo Maphumulo, Youth League leadership and other party officials attended the handover programme held at the Ladysmith Indoor Sports Complex.
Houses were handed over across the regions three sub-regions.
According to the party, the project demonstrated its commitment to “restoring dignity, uplifting communities, and delivering meaningful change where it matters most.”
The MKP described the initiative as one aimed at changing lives through tangible community development, saying: “Five Homes. Five Families. Five Lives Changed.”
GOOD Party leader Patricia De Lille spent Mandela Day engaging with residents of the Burundi Informal Settlement in eMfuleni, where she listened to community concerns and discussed local development challenges.
The party said meaningful change required residents to be actively involved in shaping the future of their communities.
“Real solutions begin when people are heard and included in shaping the future of their communities,” the party said.
In Cape Town, GOOD’s mayoral candidate Brett Herron, accompanied by councillors Wesley Neumann and Lulama Benge, visited football clubs and sports facilities across Edgemead, Bothasig, Bonteheuwel, Athlone, Heideveld and Browns Farm.
The party used the occasion to highlight inequalities in sports infrastructure across the city.
“Football is more than a game, it is a pathway to youth development, social cohesion and crime prevention,” Herron said.
The party noted that approximately 135,000 registered football players depended on community sports facilities, arguing that many grounds remained neglected while investment continued elsewhere.
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“Every young person deserves a safe place to play, train and grow, no matter their postcode,” the party said.
Ahead of Mandela Day, Herron and GOOD members also partnered with FoodForward SA to pack food parcels as part of their 67 minutes of community service, saying the initiative honoured Mandela’s enduring legacy of compassion, dignity and service.
Across the political spectrum, parties used the annual commemoration not only to honour Mandela’s memory but also to promote their own approaches to community development, service delivery and civic participation through projects aimed at addressing local needs.
