South Africa is not suffering from a lack of resources. The country currently faces a leadership shortage at all government levels on municipalities, provinces, national and SOEs among others.

The water storage in our dams reaches maximum capacity, yet numerous families throughout the communities remain without access to drinking water.

The government distributes funds through its budget system, yet the infrastructure shows signs of deterioration.

People make promises but never follow through with service delivery.

The Auditor-General continues to show that most municipalities fail to get clean audits while their communities face deteriorating infrastructure, unstable service delivery, and increasing public discontent.

People usually exchange their optimism for political campaign phrases during voting elections.

Politicians use gift-giving and short-term rewards to win votes, but they fail to consider the duties which will affect their future. Leadership has evolved into a competitive struggle for power rather than its original purpose: for people to take responsibility for leading.

This article begins a weekly reflection on leadership — not political leadership only, but human leadership.

Every voter needs to expect this type of leadership, which all officials must demonstrate and all communities must require.

Leadership is not a position, it is a responsibility.

Leadership is a separate concept from authority, which people often confuse.

Power originates from authority, yet leadership provides vital direction to people.

The process of obtaining authority involves three possible methods: receiving it through inheritance, obtaining it through appointment, or winning electoral contests.

Leadership requires daily achievement through maintaining integrity, demonstrating expertise, and helping others.

A true leader would never ask about what they can obtain from their position. They want to know what responsibilities they need to take on. Leaders who practice responsible leadership demonstrate their commitment through their daily actions. • showing up consistently • telling the truth, even when it costs • finishing what was started • using public resources with care • admitting mistakes and correcting them.

The failure of leadership causes an entire system to collapse completely.

Leadership which pursues individual benefits enables corruption to spread throughout the organisation.

Leaders who believe they deserve special treatment rather than taking responsibility have a negative impact on their communities.

The costs of inadequate leadership affect ordinary members of society. Leadership failures lead to specific, quantifiable outcomes that influence human behaviour in everyday work activities.

It has faces and names. It is the elderly person waiting days for water. The child who walks dangerous roads to school.

The clinic lacks all the medical equipment which doctors need to perform their work. The business closes because the infrastructure cannot be trusted.

Poor leadership first creates damage to the state. It harms families. Leadership exists as a moral matter which goes beyond its political aspects.

What should we expect from leaders?

The essential matter voters need to decide before local elections is who the candidates are, not their campaign declarations.

Here are non-negotiable qualities every leader should demonstrate:

Integrity: Leaders must always maintain honesty in their actions because they have no one to witness their behaviour when they are alone. People show integrity by keeping their words and actions aligned.

• Competence: Good intentions are not enough. Leadership requires both fundamental knowledge and hands-on experience, as well as a commitment to learning from various educational resources. It’s not a weakness to say: “I don’t know…”, “Please help me.” The role of municipal administration requires more than appreciation, as it is a dedicated career path.
• Accountability: Leaders need to take complete responsibility for their choices and all results which emerge from their decisions. Blame-shifting is a sign of weak leadership.
• Productivity: Leadership must produce results. The actual execution of plans, speeches, and meetings holds greater value than their initial creation.
• Humility: True leaders listen. They recognise their knowledge limitations because they want to acquire new information from others.
• Service orientation: Leadership exists for the benefit of the people, not the enrichment of the leader.

Servant leadership: an alternative worth recovering

Servant leadership is the top leadership approach because it shows leaders how to serve their team members rather than pursue personal gain.

Servant leadership does not mean weakness.

According to this concept, people use their power to establish benefits for their community.

A servant leader: • listens before deciding • protects resources rather than exploiting them • builds others rather than competing with them • understands leadership as stewardship.

The method creates trust while encouraging active participation, resulting in sustainable positive outcomes. The practice brings back dignity to leadership, which our nation requires currently.

Why this matters in South Africa

South Africa is a deeply religious society.

The population of citizens identifies as Christian at 85%.

The practice of faith needs to advance past identifying oneself as a believer. Leadership which emerges from moral conviction, compassion, and responsibility needs to be recognised as a fundamental requirement for society rather than a matter for religious institutions.

Faith should affect the operation of power systems, resource distribution, and social treatment of community members. Leadership without moral principles transforms into a practice of taking advantage of others. Faith without public responsibility becomes empty.

A call to voters and leaders alike

This weekly column is not written against leaders — it is written for leadership.

To voters: Do not sell your vote cheaply. Ask challenging questions—demand track records, not slogans. Look for character, not charisma.

To current and future leaders: Leadership functions as an independent power system which does not depend on individual claims of authority. The concept unites the responsibilities of duty with the need for assistance while requiring people to take responsibility for their conduct.

The community exists as a trust you must protect, rather than as your target audience.

South Africa requires leaders who possess adequate abilities rather than flawless leadership.

The organisation needs leaders who will help others through their honest conduct, ability to perform tasks, commitment to learning, and acceptance of responsibility.

Leadership reaches beyond the limits of official power to affect all areas. Leadership exists to serve human needs—the public needs better treatment than what exists at present.

This column is the opinion of the writer and does not represent the views of Witbank News.

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