Tomorrow, millions of South Africans will go to polling stations in every corner of the country to vote for a better, fairer, ultimately more prosperous future. Though these are local elections, whose outcome will usher in some new municipal administrations, along with the promise of improved services where people live, they are also much more than that.When we mark our ballots tomorrow we will also be making a plaintive plea to those who wield power to make South Africa great again, to put us back on the winning path charted by Nelson Mandela.We will do so despite the efforts of some of the present crop of mediocre leaders, who insult our intelligence by appealing to our basest instincts in an effort to tear us apart and drag us back into racial laagers.That is the path to ruin.Yes, Madiba's administration set the bar incredibly high, but the problems we faced in 1994 were even greater than today's - and we prevailed then.We have every right today to demand of our leaders that they live up to the promise of a united, progressive South Africa, with a bright future, that has been frittered away by uninspiring men and women long on self-interest and short on patriotism.Though local in nature, this election, the most closely contested of our young democracy, is of national importance.Its outcome will be a significant marker for the political choices people are likely to make in 2019, when some of today's ANC leaders are expected to bow out.The shape of our politics has changed forever from a democracy dominated by one party to a more open-ended contest, which could result in some cities and towns being governed by coalitions or loose alliances.This prospect has served as a spur to the ANC to raise its performance in metros such as Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay.If this is the whip needed to improve the lives of voters, then it must be wielded more often...