Poor leadership to blame for SA's woes: Thuli Madonsela

South Africa has many great leaders but is also facing many challenges caused by a lack of appropriate leadership.

That was the message former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela had for graduates at the University of Witwatersrand (Wits) on Tuesday evening.

Wits awarded Madonsela an honorary doctorate in law in recognition of her steadfastness and integrity in seeking out corruption and upholding the South African constitutional democracy.

This is Madonsela's fifth honorary doctorate from various South African universities.

Taking to the podium‚ Madonsela told qualification recipients that good leadership was needed to shape the country.

"Our graduation takes place in the mist of challenging times... To be a leader you have to inspire hope and you have to make people believe that there is a better way than the status quo.

"It is‚ therefore‚ not that we lack leaders. We face many challenges today because of a lack of appropriate leadership and a lot of fingers have been pointed at the executive branch of government [whilst] some fingers have been pointed at corporations for failure to comply with the laws‚" she said.

Madonsela ended off her speech by emphasizing that leaders who mean what they say in the public domain demonstrate this "walking the talk".

Her term in office as the public protector came to an end on October 15‚ 2016.

Since taking office seven years ago‚ she has been hailed as a defender of democracy and justice.

She was appointed by President Jacob Zuma in 2009 after a unanimous votes by all parties in parliament.

- TMG Digital