The article argues that South Africa has a very useful weapon for strengthening democracy in the form of the izimbizo public forums but that this weapon is not being utilised appropriately. In fact, the izimbizo forums, in their present form, are a travesty of the good they should be. Besides being state-led, they are a microcosm of challenges within the administration of government. These challenges include poor coordination, delays, lack of consultation, poor follow-up on issues and political party posturing. Besides being encumbered with bureaucratic inefficiency, the izimbizo forums in their current form also disclose the subjugation of society by an elite-led neo-liberal state. Government calls the shots throughout and people are expected to obey. In fact, izimbizo are supposed to be society-led, not state-led. The state is supposed to play a catalytic role as a primary partner. The article argues for the need to re-invent izimb