You May Not Be Interested in Politics. But Politics Is Interested in You.

On elections, the power of questioning, and why our voices matter.

I have been following the recent local government elections with great interest. Not necessarily because of who won or who lost, but because of what the results represent. People have spoken. And whether we agree with what they have said or not, we must acknowledge that they have exercised their democratic power. There is something profoundly important about that.

Elections are not simply about political parties competing for power. They are also moments of reflection. Moments when citizens get to assess leadership, question promises, express satisfaction or dissatisfaction, and decide what they believe should happen next. And watching all of this unfold took me back to a very interesting chapter of my life.

A little trip down memory lane

Many people may not know this, but during my university days at the University of Johannesburg, I served on the Student Representative Council (SRC). And let me tell you, I was not always the most popular person in the room! 😂 I questioned things. A lot.

I challenged decisions, including conversations around the renaming of student residences. I wanted to understand the reasoning behind decisions, who was being consulted, whose interests were being represented, and whether we were addressing the issues that mattered most to students. Naturally, that did not always sit well with everyone.

But looking back, I realise that those experiences taught me some of my earliest and most valuable lessons about leadership, governance and accountability. Leadership is not about being surrounded by people who agree with you. It is about creating an environment where people are allowed to question you. And perhaps even more importantly, being willing to listen when they do, because the moment leaders become uncomfortable with being questioned, we should start asking ourselves what leadership has become.

"I'm not interested in politics."

I hear this statement often, and every time, I find myself wondering what people actually mean by it, because whether you follow political debates, attend rallies, belong to a political party or have absolutely no interest in any of those things, the reality is that politics is deeply embedded in our everyday lives.

The price of electricity. The roads we drive on. The water coming out of our taps. The quality of education our children receive. The public healthcare system. The regulations governing our businesses. The taxes we pay and how public resources are allocated. These are all influenced, directly or indirectly, by political decisions and public policy.

As someone who spends a great deal of time working with entrepreneurs, I see this connection every day. A small business owner struggling with electricity interruptions is not simply dealing with an operational inconvenience. There are broader questions about infrastructure, investment, governance and service delivery.

An entrepreneur navigating municipal permits, compliance requirements or unreliable infrastructure is experiencing the practical consequences of decisions made in public institutions. Of course, not every challenge is caused by politics. Markets, individual choices and economic conditions also play significant roles.

But the point remains: politics is not confined to parliament, council chambers or election campaigns. It finds its way into our homes, our communities and our businesses. You do not have to be politically affiliated to be politically aware and I think that distinction matters.

The danger of unquestioned power

One of the biggest lessons I took from my SRC experience is that power needs accountability. Not because everyone in a position of authority has bad intentions, but because even well-intentioned leaders can make poor decisions and sometimes, the people who challenge those decisions are not enemies of progress. They are necessary participants in making progress possible.

I have carried that lesson into my professional life. In business, we speak extensively about governance, oversight, advisory boards, transparency and accountability. Why? Because we understand that no organisation should depend entirely on the judgement of one individual, without room for scrutiny or challenge. We expect business leaders to account for their decisions, explain their strategies and demonstrate results. Why should our expectations of public leadership be any different? Accountability should not be interpreted as an attack on leadership. It is one of the responsibilities that comes with leadership. And this applies regardless of who occupies the position.

The ballot is powerful. But it is not enough.

What has fascinated me most about these elections is the reminder that citizens have a voice. A vote can affirm a direction, challenge an incumbent, or create an opportunity for different leadership. But I also believe we need to be careful not to reduce democracy to what happens on election day because democracy does not end when the votes have been counted. In many ways, that is when another important part of the work begins. We must continue asking questions.

What commitments were made? What is being implemented? How are public resources being used? Are communities seeing meaningful improvements? Are leaders being held accountable for their decisions? And perhaps we must also ask ourselves a more uncomfortable question: Are we as engaged in demanding accountability between elections as we are in debating election results?

It is easy to have an opinion about leadership. It requires more effort to remain informed, participate constructively, and hold institutions accountable over time. Democracy needs both.

A lesson beyond politics

There is something else that these elections have reminded me of, and it applies just as much to business as it does to public leadership. The position you hold today is not a permanent guarantee of the confidence people will place in you tomorrow. In business, customers make decisions every day about whether we continue to deserve their support.

A strong brand, an established reputation or years of market leadership may create an advantage, but they do not guarantee continued loyalty. You must keep delivering value. You must listen when customers raise concerns. You must adapt when expectations change. And you must never become so comfortable in your position that you stop paying attention to the people who put you there.

Public leadership operates in a different environment, but the underlying lesson about trust and accountability remains relevant. Trust is not something you inherit indefinitely because it is something you must continually earn. And so, what have these elections taught me?

• That people's voices matter.

• That questioning authority is not always disrespect.

• That leadership comes with responsibility.

• That participation matters, even when the outcome is not the one we personally hoped for.

• And that democracy is strengthened not only by the right to choose leaders, but also by our willingness to hold them accountable.

  
  

My SRC days may be long behind me, but the curious young woman who questioned decisions and challenged the status quo is still very much here. Perhaps a little more diplomatic these days. Perhaps. 😂 But still convinced that we should never stop asking questions because whether we are talking about government, business, institutions, or communities, progress requires people who care enough to participate and courageously question what can be done better.

So, the next time someone tells me they are not interested in politics, I will probably smile and ask, "Are you sure? Because politics has a remarkable way of showing up in the things you care about most." And as we move beyond the election results, I hope we remember that making our mark is not only something we do with a ballot paper. It is something we do through our everyday participation, our willingness to question, and our commitment to building the communities and institutions we want to see.

Our voices matter. But what we do with them between elections matters just as much.

Yours in leadership and accountability,

The Business Doctor Keitumetse Lekaba