He told THEM to get used to saying, "I LOVE YOU" because that does not make them weak or any less of a man!

APART from being a Municipal Manager for the Greater Kokstad Municipality, Mr. Sipho Raymond Zwane also plays a pivotal role in advocating for stronger family bonds in the society of Kokstad.

He promotes love among families and champions that families build and develop, hearts of gold, and for fathers/husbands to love their children and wives no matter how their background and situations are. Zwane said that it is important to love their families and learn to sound out how much they love them and look them straight in the eyes when they do so.

Mr. Zwane further told a tear-jerking story that some fathers are lucky to have experienced raising their sons and have an opportunity of engaging with them daily. "But in my case, I was very unfortunate to grow up without having spent any time with my father...I could only look at him for the first time, quietly from his coffin" said Mr. Zwane.

He urged that fathers who have an opportunity to stay with their families should be grateful.

"Use that opportunity as fathers to embrace families with love rather than becoming monsters in your homes," he said.

Mr. Zwane was speaking during a fathers and sons social evening programme organized by the Nomzamo Primary School in Shayamoya. The programme was meant to encourage parents, especially fathers, that they should fully become part of the school projects and attend meetings regularly.

Just before the event started, the fathers entered the venue in style by walking and holding hands with their sons as a sign of showing love.

Mr. Zwane cautioned men to refrain from being absent fathers because in some instances their sons wish their dads had stayed in the shebeens or at their workplaces because they (Kids) do not want them to come back home because of the way they disrupt the home when they are around.

"Our kids should want us to spend the longest time with them but based on our tendencies of becoming monsters at home, they wish we could no longer come back home. Let us not create a space where our sons will adopt celebrity fathers as their role models, they must love us the way we are," said Mr. Zwane.

He said he understood that life is tough these days as some fathers are suffering from depression since they are not working but to give love to your family is effortless and very important.

He said he understood why most fathers find it difficult to tell their wives that they love them: "it is because of our background, we were raised by our parents, and it was not normal back then to show love to your wife in front of children".

He said parents should learn to be role models to their children, to fill the void where their children choose celebrities to be their role models instead of them.  "You must see a queen when you look at your wife and not see punching bags..." said Mr. Zwane.

Fathers that were part of the occasion appreciated having such a fruitful engagement. 

By Andile Moshoeshoe