This article proposes to reflect on the patterns of service delivery in South Africa and the attendant leadership challenges that go with these trends. This article further argues that, contrary to popularly held beliefs, leadership is possible at all levels of the organisation. In addition, this article posits that there is a need for a strategic orientation of leadership in so far as service delivery is concerned. Local government in South Africa has in the recent past been embattled, in several ways. The strategic leadership orientation postulates that leadership needs to be always alive to the needs of the people on the ground, rather than imposition of interventions for political expediency. This article is an invitation to the strategic leadership imperatives for effectiveness and efficiency in service delivery in South Africa. This entails a perpetual analysis of both the internal and external contexts of the organisations, wi