Revelations emerging from the Madlanga commission of inquiry have again shaken public confidence in South Africa’s justice and policing institutions. Allegations of misconduct, corruption, abuse of authority and institutional failure have reignited a question many South Africans have repeatedly asked over the past two decades: can trust in the justice system be rebuilt? The answer is yes. However, that is no longer the most important question. Rebuilding trust will require far more than replacing individuals, restructuring departments or introducing additional controls. While these measures are necessary, they are unlikely to produce lasting change unless they are accompanied by a deliberate effort to strengthen ethical culture throughout the public service and throughout society.The more important question is how we rebuild trust not only in the justice system but also across the public service.To restore trust in the public service, the solution cannot be to focus solely on immediate responses, such as identifying culprits who must be removed and replaced, in the hope that appointing new leaders will restore institutional integrity. This approach assumes the problem lies primarily with individuals and ignores societal and cultural factors that require attention as ethical failures. Therefore, the first step is to acknowledge the uncomfortable reality that the problems being exposed before the commission, and those seen across the public service, are not simply failures of governance. The challenge facing South Africa is that we have often attempted to solve ethical problems through procedural solutions. We introduce new policies, additional reporting requirements and more oversight mechanisms, but frequently neglect the underlying culture that shapes how people behave when no-one is watching. The problem with this is that high levels of apparent compliance may not necessarily reflect strong ethical decision-making or a strong ethical culture.One of the most important lessons from contemporary ethics research and practice is that compliance and ethics are not the same thing. In a high compliance-driven environment, people ask: “What am I allowed and required to do?” In a high-integrity environment they ask: “What is the right thing to do?” These two approaches generate different motivations and decision-making outcomes. An employee may comply with a rule while acting contrary to its spirit or purpose. A leader may operate within technical legal boundaries while violating fundamental principles of fairness, accountability and service to the public. This is why organisations that focus exclusively on compliance often struggle to prevent misconduct. Rules are essential, but rules cannot anticipate every situation. Ethical judgment fills the gap between what is legal and what is right.South Africa’s governance framework recognises this reality. The King V Code on Corporate Governance for South Africa places ethical and effective leadership at the centre of good governance, which begins with good ethics.As we reflect on the commission and other public service failures, it is important to recognise that public institutions do not exist separately from society. Institutions do not exist in a vacuum, and individuals are not born as public officials. They are recruited from society, bringing with them values, assumptions and attitudes shaped by their communities and experiences. When corruption, dishonesty, and self-interest become normalised in society, those tendencies inevitably find their way into public institutions. This is not to excuse misconduct. Rather, it highlights the broader context in which institutional failures occur.The weaknesses exposed by the Madlanga commission point to a deeper erosion of ethical values across society.One driver of ethical decline is the way society defines success. Visible wealth often attracts admiration regardless of how it was achieved. This influences how young people, aspiring public servants and entrepreneurs understand what is acceptable and what is not.Meanwhile, integrity receives far less attention. The public servant who refuses a bribe seldom becomes a social media sensation. The employee who reports misconduct often faces retaliation rather than recognition. The whistleblower who sacrifices career prospects in pursuit of accountability frequently bears enormous personal costs.Young people notice who is celebrated and who is ignored. When society rewards outcomes without considering how they are achieved, a dangerous message emerges: results matter more than values.This perception contributes to what we describe as the “normalisation of deviance”, a process through which behaviour once considered unacceptable gradually becomes tolerated and eventually accepted. Repeated exposure can make the unacceptable seem normal. Over time, behaviour that once raised concern becomes accepted as the way things are done.For this reason, rebuilding trust cannot focus solely on the police, prosecutors, judges or government departments. It must become a national effort involving families, schools, universities, religious institutions, businesses, civil society and the media. If South Africa wishes to strengthen the integrity of its institutions, it must also strengthen the ethical foundations of our society. That begins by celebrating integrity as enthusiastically as we celebrate wealth. Young people need to be taught, and shown, that character matters as much as achievement.The Madlanga commission provides South Africa with an opportunity to recognise that corruption, misconduct and institutional failure are not merely governance problems. They are ethical problems and therefore require ethical solutions. Replacing individuals may address symptoms, but strengthening ethics addresses causes.The restoration of trust in South Africa’s justice system will not occur because new individuals occupy old offices. It will occur when ethical leadership becomes visible, ethical cultures become embedded and ethical conduct becomes expected.A strong ethical culture can be seen in questions such as:Are leaders trusted?Are people encouraged to speak up?Are ethical concerns taken seriously?Are people held accountable regardless of position?If the answers are positive, misconduct becomes harder to conceal and easier to challenge. If they are negative, even sophisticated governance frameworks can fail. Rebuilding trust requires sustained investment in ethical leadership and organisational culture. These are strategic necessities, not optional extras.The Madlanga commission may ultimately be remembered for exposing serious institutional weaknesses. It should also remind us that public institutions reflect the values of the society from which they are drawn.Until we place ethics and values at the centre of public life, we will continue replacing individuals while leaving the conditions that produced the problem intact. When the culture remains unchanged, the cycle inevitably repeats itself.• Matos Fazenda is an ethics subject matter expert and head of the International Bureau at The Ethics Institute. She advises organisations on ethics management, ethical culture and anticorruption programmes across Africa.Business Day