I observed social media commentary last week when the African National Congress (ANC) used its social media pages to congratulate the Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, David Mahlobo, on receiving his Master of Science Degree in Hydrology cum laude from the University of Zululand. In a country where citizens consistently call for leaders who are fit for purpose, many of the comments were unfair, misplaced, and deeply revealing of how quickly we dismiss merit when it does not fit our preconceived political narratives.
Too often in South African politics, individuals become prisoners of public caricature. David Mahlobo has long been reduced in some circles to the “rhino horn man” label, a nickname repeatedly weaponised to overshadow every other aspect of his public life and professional contribution. Whether fair or unfair, the persistence of that label has meant that his academic achievements, technical understanding and governance experience are frequently ignored or deliberately minimised.
What many people may not know is that Mahlobo did not simply arrive in the Department of Water and Sanitation through political convenience. He began his journey in the department as a young scientist. He worked his way up through the ranks, gaining practical institutional knowledge and understanding the sector from the ground up. That matters. It means he is not learning the department from briefing notes and media summaries alone. He understands the culture, the technical demands, and the lived realities of the people who work within it.
In fact, his story reflects something South Africans often say they want. Leaders with both technical understanding and institutional memory.
A Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation holding an advanced degree in Hydrology is not something that should be mocked. It should be welcomed. South Africa’s water challenges are not merely political but technical. The country faces ageing infrastructure, collapsing municipal systems, groundwater depletion, climate variability, water losses, pollution, and growing
pressure on supply networks. These are complex scientific and engineering challenges that require leadership capable of understanding both policy and technical realities.
And unlike many leaders who speak only in broad policy language, Mahlobo has increasingly positioned himself around practical institutional reforms aimed at fixing long-standing service delivery failures.
One of the clearest examples is his leadership around the establishment of the Vaal Corporation Water Utility, a new Special Purpose Vehicle created to restore full functionality to the water and sanitation systems of Emfuleni Local Municipality.
This intervention is not cosmetic politics. It is a structural reform designed to confront years of infrastructure collapse, weak governance, wastewater spillages, unreliable water supply, and catastrophic levels of non-revenue water. Through a partnership between Rand Water Services and Emfuleni’s Metsi-a-Lekwa, the SPV represents a decisive shift toward professionalised, accountable, and technically capable water services management.
Importantly, this initiative aligns with broader reforms contained in the Water Services Amendment Bill and Operation Vulindlela Phase 2, reforms aimed at creating capable and sustainable water institutions with modern technical standards and clear governance responsibilities.
Equally significant is his role, alongside Minister Pemmy Majodina and Deputy Minister Sello Seitlholo, in championing the establishment of the National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency. This reform has the potential to fundamentally reshape how South Africa finances, develops, manages, and maintains strategic water infrastructure. By championing institutional reforms of this scale, Mahlobo and the department’s leadership are attempting to create durable systems rather than temporary political fixes.
Mahlobo has also consistently recognised something many technocrats overlook: water governance in South Africa cannot succeed without meaningful engagement with traditional leadership structures and local communities.
His efforts to strengthen relationships with traditional leaders across the country are not ceremonial exercises. They are essential to building trust, facilitating development projects, and ensuring that communities become active partners rather than passive recipients of government decisions.
A most recent engagement session he led with Inkosi Ngubane of the KwaZashuke Tribal Authority in Pietermaritzburg reflected this approach. The discussions focused on strengthening partnerships to secure long-term water security in the region, particularly around the strategically important Upper uMkhomazi Bulk Water Supply Project
What stood out was not simply the project itself, but the manner in which Mahlobo approached community concerns. He directly engaged amakhosi on sensitive matters such as possible family relocations and assured communities that the Department would proceed with transparency, fairness, and respect for the rights and dignity of affected residents. That approach matters deeply in South Africa’s context.
Traditional leaders remain influential custodians of communities, land relations, and local social cohesion. Building respectful partnerships with them is not backward governance but smart governance.
But beyond the qualifications and policy interventions, there is another side to David Mahlobo that many commentators never see. And that is his humanity.
I have personally witnessed moments that revealed the kind of leader and person he is. Almost three years ago, when we lost a colleague in a tragic road accident, I saw Mahlobo supporting our unit during an emotionally devastating period. It was not performative politics. It was genuine compassion and presence at a time when people needed leadership that was human before it was administrative.
I have also witnessed him stand firmly against abuses of power in professional spaces. I have seen junior officials defended, supported, and treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. In environments where hierarchy often silences younger professionals, Mahlobo has consistently shown a willingness to listen and protect those who may otherwise feel voiceless.
This is also a man who identifies young talent, nurtures it, and allows people room to grow. He understands that developing professionals requires patience. He allows people to make mistakes, learn from them, and improve rather than humiliating them for every imperfection. That kind of leadership is increasingly rare.
He is soft-spoken, yet stern when necessary. Measured, but not weak. I have listened to him speak in both professional and relaxed spaces, and one thing that has always stood out is his insistence that he does not want to be surrounded by people who merely praise him. He encourages challenge. He wants people to contest his views, interrogate his ideas, and disagree with his politics when necessary. That openness to criticism is not the mark of an insecure leader. It is the mark of someone confident enough to know that leadership is strengthened by honest engagement, not blind loyalty.
None of this means he should be immune from criticism. No public figure should be. And I am not suggesting that we must praise a fish for swimming. But we must also learn to give credit where it is earned and deserved.
Perhaps one of South Africa’s greatest weaknesses is that we often wait until people are dead before we acknowledge their contribution. We become generous with praise only when someone is no longer alive to hear it. While people are living, growing, learning, and trying to contribute meaningfully, we too often reduce them to caricatures, slogans and political insults.
David Mahlobo is not a saint. No one is. But fairness demands that we recognise substance when we see it.
South Africa cannot continue to demand capable, technically informed, grounded leadership while simultaneously dismissing individuals who demonstrate exactly those qualities. David Mahlobo’s journey, from young scientist to Deputy Minister, from practitioner to hydrology graduate cum laude, reflects a seriousness about public service that deserves fair acknowledgement, even from those who may disagree with him politically.
By Lebogang Maseko – a Communicator at the Department of Water and Sanitation. She writes in her personal capacity.
