If leaders were truly invested in continuing with the service delivery goals of the country's democratic dispensation, they would publicly acknowledge the systemic flaws that make it difficult to deliver those services and they would come up with tangible solutions.

As Corruption Watch releases its annual report this week, South Africa stands on the brink of its seventh democratic elections, representing what some have described as a second shot at democracy. This implies that the ANC's 30-year rule has failed to produce a true democracy -- but even if it did at some point look like the right party to administer this huge task, there is no doubt public confidence in its leadership has decreased.

This 2024 election is the country's biggest yet, with more than 300 contenders on the ballot paper vying for the votes of about 27 million registered voters.

Many sectors of our society have clear intentions to change the status quo and lessen the influence of the ANC nationally and in the provinces. Whether the changes will happen at a notable rate remains to be seen.

It is not, however, difficult to put a cost to the crisis of leadership that besets the country. Local and provincial authorities haphazardly deliver basic services, with either collapsing or collapsed governance structures that no longer serve their purpose. The quality and strength of the police service and its ability to counter the high rate of crime have diminished....