The King V Code on Corporate Governance for South Africa was published on 31 October 2025. Given the country’s ongoing water crisis, the text should be taken to heart by every entity involved in water services management.

Technical fixes and infrastructure development will fail if governance at national, provincial and municipal levels remains weak, especially in water services management.

The Code is as relevant as ever but will have little effect if it falls on deaf ears that don’t care to adopt its principles. However, even good adoption at the top demands ethical leadership and professional competence all the way down to succeed.

Leadership and professionals

Whether attorneys, accountants, engineers or water process controllers, professionals are meant to bring ethical assurance and technical competence to their environment and work.

So, where are these ethical professionals in government and why don’t we see their influence in whatever setting they find themselves – have they been muzzled through intimidation or are they just too afraid of losing their jobs to speak out against corruption and malpractice?

Whether against tender fraud, financial mismanagement or other misconduct, the voice of ethical professionals in the public sector is deafeningly silent.

There’s a glaring need for ethical leaders who will empower and support them in bringing order and integrity to the sector, as they are meant to.

The second principle in King V makes the governing body responsible for creating an ethical culture, and this is sorely needed at all levels of government.

The role of professional bodies

As for professional competence, this is where professional bodies come in, providing governance for their related profession and the practitioners in it.

Their functions include, among other things, setting high standards for competency to which their members must adhere, supporting and managing continuing professional development (CPD) of those members, and providing independent oversight and disciplinary processes that protect the profession and the public from misconduct and corruption within its ranks.

The result of these rigorous requirements is embodied in one or other professional designation, such as WISA’s Professional Water Process Controller (Pr. PC Water). And holders of such titles are expected to be both competent and ethical.

Any member who is found guilty of misconduct will be struck from WISA’s register.

Unfortunately, this does not mean the offender would be unable to continue working in their current role, only that they could not operate as a Supervisor in terms of Regulation 3630. The decision to terminate or penalise them would be at the discretion of their employing municipality or organisation.

A sign of assurance

However, professionalisation – especially when backed by legislation requiring a designation be held in order to practice – offers assurance that the practitioner is subject to independent oversight.

Members who have invested significant time and effort into maintaining their designation are less likely to jeopardise it by becoming involved in malpractice.

This gives a designation greater effect than a mere qualification because its loss can have a major impact on one’s career, and is therefore a meaningful deterrent to misconduct.

By Dr Lester Goldman, CEO, WISA