Should we question the caliber of leadership South Africa has in the public sector?

If the last three administrations in our country are to go by, we have a leadership crisis in our country. To resolve this the former state President Jacob Zuma called for the setting up of the (2018 – 2022) Zondo Commission to unpack the allegations of state capture and fraud in the public sector. In 2025, the current President Cyril Ramaphosa established the Madlanga Commission to look into criminality, political interference and corruption in the criminal justice system to help get to the root cause of this phenomenon, especially in government. I think it is important we evaluate how we got there and zoom in on some of the symptoms and root cause of the problem.

At the heart of the founding of the commissions is the resolve to expose and provide consequences to unethical leadership practices from public sector and government officials. This has also extended itself into the private sector through kickbacks and collusion, where you find private individuals doing business with the state in an unethical manner. Consequently, it has built a culture of unethical practice, becoming a norm or business as usual.

Discussion

When unethical practice finds a dwelling place

On the 4^th of May 2026, we heard through a media briefing of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) being put under administration by the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Buti Manamela, and the board being dissolved. This makes it the third time NSFAS has been placed under administration since 2018 due to a lack of governance and ethical leadership. The non-ethical leadership practice robs South Africa of the opportunity to blossom to its full potential, it could possibly be. Integrity and honesty have become things we hear about, rather than experiencing them in practice. Non-ethical leaders have taken the reins in steering the ship astray in service delivery on the most important pressing needs, such as Health Care, Education, Water, Infrastructure and the Policing Service.

The lack of ethical service delivery has brought much doubt in senior positions within the public sector. This has been exacerbated by a number of commissions of inquiry since the dawn of our democracy. These commissions are used as a vehicle to expose the kinds of leaders we have in senior positions who are not ethical, and most of the time, they’re appointed by political parties to serve communities. In response, we should question any leader’s ethical behaviour who holds a government office beyond vetting, but their leadership philosophy in practice, which can be measured through impact.

Rot in governance

The auditor general in 2024 found that many municipalities are not accounting adequately in their operations. Amongst others, they found that Municipal Managers (MM’s) and Chief Financial Officers (CFO’s) had no required background or experience in the positions they hold. This also resulted in four metros with a downgraded credit rating.

Supporting structures for ethical leadership

Though there are supporting structures that seek to bring ethical leadership within government, such as The Code of Ethical Leadership in Local Government, which was established to bring ethical leadership in local municipalities. Rather, from the research, local government leaders do not adhere to the ethical code based on the amount of corruption and unethical practices they find themselves in. The Municipal Structures Amendment Act (3 of 2021) sets out the Code of Conduct for Councillors, and the Municipal Systems Act (32 of 2000) sets out the Code of Conduct for Municipal Staff Members. Rather these remains a document that is yet to be lived out in practice.

While the Code of Ethical Leadership in Local Government is not gazetted, it is an extension of the municipal acts in that it requires personal integrity and stewardship in leading communities. Former Minister of CoGTA Thembi Nkadimeng said, “Department of Cooperative Governance fully supports the development of the Code for Ethical Leadership in Local Government. The Code is in line with the strategic objectives of the Local Government Anti-Corruption strategy, which puts specific emphasis on ethical leadership”.

The Zondo commission report implicated 1 400 people, including high-ranking officials and the Gupta family. Ranging from SOEs such as Eskom, Transnet, South African Airways (SAA) and its subsidiaries. Some of the findings include: (A) “A deliberate effort to undermine or render ineffectual oversight bodies and to exploit regulatory weaknesses so as to avoid accountability for wrongdoing”. (B) “The allocation and distribution of state power and resources, directed not for the public good but for private and corrupt advantage”.

Conclusion

The Code for Ethical Leadership in Local Government from The Ethics Institute (2023) states that “The Municipal Integrity Management Framework must acknowledge communities as the owners of municipalities and are therefore entitled to transparent and accountable government”. This underpins the importance of communities and how leaders should be community-centred. It is also referred to as the Ubuntu leadership philosophy, where the people are the cornerstone of every decision made. Malunga (2009) “points out that principles of Ubuntu as a leadership philosophy emphasise collectivism and relationships over material things, including ownership of opportunities, responsibilities, and challenges. At the core is consideration of the importance of human beings regardless of background”.

Attempts have been made to guide local government on ethical leadership practice by CoGTA and the Ethics Institute, amongst others. However, for the codes of conduct to be practical, they have to be absorbed by senior managers and officials, specifically in the public sector. Prof Deon Rossouw, past CEO of The Ethics Institute, said: “leaders in local government should lead with personal integrity. However, personal integrity cannot be legislated ”.

Leadership is a behaviour, ethics is an individual choice that cannot be enforced, and when it is embodied, it creates a culture of trustworthiness, servanthood and positive societal values, which has a spill over to communities.

Why is this important?

Leaders model ethical values and characteristics for others. One should not expect others to exhibit ethical behaviour if one cannot demonstrate it by themselves. The youth of South Africa should start making ethical leadership practice a norm within their communities through dialogue and lived experiences, because that’s where our leaders are groomed.

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Sources:

• LGELI-Code-for-Ethical-Leadership-in-LG.pdf
• Practising Ubuntu and leadership for goo.pdf
• Importance-of-Ethical-Leadership-in-achieving-well-functioning-municipalities-final.pdf (2024)
• https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/PARI-Summary-The-Zondo-Commission-A-bite-sized-summary-v360.pdf

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About the Author:

Themba Netshifira is a Cultural Policy Activist. Driven by a passion for community development that speaks to social and economic sustainability. As a contributor to Activate! Change Drivers, Themba uses creative arts as a form of expression through writing, speaking, and curating. He advocates for the Cultural and Creative Industries in its holistic form in order to build better communities.