Tag: ethical leadership

In 2023, Reuel Khoza unsealed a letter to the future, which he had written in 1999 when he was chair of Eskom, at the time recognised as the best power utility in the world. It was an optimistic letter, expressing hopes that have since been dashed by corruption and maladministration – by a failure of ethical leadership.

Comair returned to the headlines by advising on 1 June that it was voluntarily suspending its flights until the funding necessary to resume operations had been secured. What has got customers hot under the collar, though, is that it had advertised a one-day sale on the previous day (31 May).

"Behold the turtle; he only makes progress when his neck is stuck out" This proverb, included in Bonang Mohale’s best-selling first book, Lift As You Rise, sets the tone for his second book, which includes fresh insights and wisdom from one of South Africa’s best-loved leaders.

South Africa is limp wristed from unclear definitions and objectives that are used at different moments to drive ambiguous agendas. South Africa lacks a clear definition for transformation, and thus every other organ of change abdicates their role in shaping the country in a progressive direction.

South Africa has faced many crises before, but the one we are now in has convoluted our collective thinking about what true leadership is all about. The political atmosphere in the country has deepened the leadership question and has resulted in creating a tense and protest-filled environment.

The furore around the awarding of a contract to a politically connected individual’s company shows that government has not yet accepted its role as custodian of good governance for South Africa Inc, and the extent of public disenchantment with perceived corruption.

An interview with David Lapin, Chief Executive Officer, Lapin International Inc, and Dr Ivor Blumenthal, CEO, ArkKonsult, discussing how the implementation and operationalisation of ethics is not just about compliance, its about a philosophy of value-based and value-centred leadership, and by building it into the DNA of a business, will create a natural outcome of ethical business practice which in turn results in improved performance.

The recent announcement of President Ramaphosa’s new cabinet provides a good opportunity to reflect on the critical role of ministers in the governance of the public sector. The work we have done in the public sector over the years revealed some common governance challenges.

According to recent research conducted by the Small Business Institute of South Africa, local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are still economically fragile, with approximately 70% of emerging small businesses failing within the first two years of operation.

The need for ethical leadership is much clearer and more urgent now than it has ever been since the dawn of the new South Africa. Unfortunately, it took massive corruption to elevate the importance of ethical leadership in the public consciousness, and so the cost has been high to get us to this level of awareness.