Experts: South Africa’s leadership deficit is stalling economic progress
While policy reform and institutional overhauls remain critical talking points, a deeper challenge continues to undermine the nation’s socio-economic progress: a chronic leadership deficit at the heart of its public and private institutions. This was the stark warning delivered by TP Nchocho, former CEO of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), at an event hosted by Tuesday Consulting in Johannesburg.
“It’s not systems that save nations. It’s leaders,” Nchocho said. His address pointed to a dangerous cycle in which the same individuals are recycled through state institutions, weakening governance and eroding public trust. Strategic institutions, from state-owned enterprises to regulatory bodies, are often left rudderless, as underperforming leaders move from one failing role to the next with little accountability.
With a focus on values-based assessment, sector insight, and stakeholder alignment, Tuesday Consulting operates at the intersection of talent and national development, enabling institutions to make leadership decisions that carry lasting strategic significance.
The problem is not limited to the public sector. Nchocho also challenged the private sector’s role in building a more inclusive, partnership-driven economy since 2007, noting that business too must recommit to nation-building if South Africa is to change its course.
New leadership
Tsholofelo Nketane, director at Tuesday Consulting, a human capital consultancy and executive search firm, believes that fixing South Africa’s leadership pipeline is a national imperative: “It’s time to move beyond recycling familiar faces.”
“We need leaders who are not just technically capable, but who bring a deep, personal commitment to South Africa’s future. Patriotic, ethical, and courageous leaders who can reform and strengthen the institutions that hold ‘SA Inc.’ together.”
“At the heart of every successful institution is a leader who inspires trust and drives sustainable impact,” says Nketane. “If South Africa is to alter its trajectory, we must place leadership and not policy at the center of our national recovery strategy.”
National Development Plan
As South Africa nears its 2030 development deadlines, the message from the two talent experts is clear: Only the right leaders can restore the integrity, efficiency, and trust required to build a South Africa that achieves inclusive economic growth - in line with the National Development Plan (NDP) goals to create 11 million jobs, get 61% of adults into employment and achieve gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5.4% - to transform the economy by 2030.
The NDP underscores the importance: “South Africa needs leaders throughout society to work together. Just as the transition from apartheid was a win-win solution rather than a short-sighted power struggle, the fight against poverty and inequality will have benefits for all – black and white, rich and poor.”
“Given the country’s divided past, leaders sometimes advocate positions that serve narrow, short-term interests at the expense of a broader, long-term agenda. It is essential to break out of this cycle, with leaders (who) are willing and able to take on greater responsibility to address South Africa’s challenges.”
Nketane emphasizes the task at hand for hiring managers at organisations, and recruitment firms such as Tuesday Consulting. “We support institutions in making leadership appointments that carry national significance. In a country where trust, reform, and delivery remain critical, leadership is not only an organisational lever, it is central to restoring confidence, accelerating progress, and realising the NDP’s vision.”
