Former President Kgalema Motlanthe.
Former President Kgalema Motlanthe delivered a blistering and remarkably candid assessment of South Africa's governance crisis at the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation's Legacy Fundraising Breakfast Series, warning that unchecked corruption, institutional decay, and the reduction of politics to factional battles are actively "stopping development" and eroding the public trust on which democracy depends.
Speaking at the event, titled The State of South Africa Today and held at Rooftop Café and Padel in Lenasia, Motlanthe addressed an audience of civil society leaders, business figures, and community representatives in what organisers described as a candid reflection on the health of the country's democracy.
"We are witnessing a dangerous weakening of accountability mechanisms," he told a silent room, pointing to a widening disconnect between elected officials and the lived realities of ordinary South Africans.
To illustrate the depth of the crisis, Motlanthe drew on a deeply personal anecdote. During one of his regular morning walks, he spotted a severe water leak pushing through the tar surface of a road. He called the Mayor of Johannesburg directly, a privilege, he acknowledged, that few South Africans possess, provided the exact coordinates, and was assured a repair team would attend to it immediately.
