Reclaiming SA’s moral leadership: Reflecting on King V and the boardroom’s role in shaping the future

South Africa stands at a crossroads, grappling with challenges that have tested the nation’s spirit and integrity. Yet, within this climate of uncertainty lies a remarkable opportunity: to reclaim the country’s tradition of moral leadership on the global stage. As the country waits for the launch of King V, the next evolution in corporate governance, we are called to consider not just rules and compliance, but the deeper values that define who we are - and who we aspire to become. This is a moment to reflect on the boardroom’s power to shape a future rooted in both responsibility and hope.

When the Institute of Directors in South Africa (IoDSA) unveils King V on October 31, 2025, it will not just be another chapter—it will be a defining moment in a legacy that began in 1994. Each iteration of the King Code has captured the heartbeat of its time: King I bridged business and a newborn democracy, King II put sustainability at the forefront, King III revolutionised the world with integrated reporting, and King IV challenged organizations to “apply and explain” the very principles that guide responsible leadership. Now, King V stands poised to set a new moral benchmark, inviting South Africa’s leaders to shape a future where governance is not only about compliance, but about forging a purpose that resonates both locally and globally.

This new chapter arrives in a different mood. South Africans are weary. Trust in institutions - public and private - has frayed. Governance codes have not stopped scandals: Steinhoff, Tongaat, and the unraveling of state capture. Many executives now see governance as an obligation, not an opportunity. The danger is that King V will be greeted with the same cynicism.

This new chapter dawns in a climate of deep fatigue and skepticism. South Africans, worn down by relentless crises, have watched trust in both public and private institutions dissolve. Governance codes have repeatedly failed to prevent devastating scandals - Steinhoff, Tongaat, and the painful exposure of state capture still cast long shadows. For many executives, governance has shifted from a beacon of hope to a burdensome checkbox- an obligation rather than a catalyst for positive change. The real risk is that King V, instead of inspiring renewal, will be dismissed with the same jaded cynicism, missing its potential to reignite South Africa’s moral leadership when it is needed most.

And yet, the draft released in February 2025 hinted at something profound. If embraced, King V could help South Africa rediscover its moral voice in global business.

The draft proposed three important changes. It simplified the principles- reducing them from 17 to 12 and compiling them into a single document. It introduced impact materiality, requiring boards to consider not only how the world affects their profits but also how their decisions impact the world around them. It most notably recognised Ubuntu as “a uniquely South African philosophy centered on interconnectedness and human-focused values, including ethical responsibility. It reinforces stakeholder accountability and social cohesion as core business principles.

It’s fitting that Ubuntu now finds its place in a governance report. For decades, philosophers and theologians have treated it as a moral compass. King V gives it institutional form -translating a social ethic into a system of accountability. Ubuntu as a governance philosophy reminds leaders that profit without responsibility is fragile and leadership without humanity is hollow.

Across the world, governance is tightening. The UK updated its Corporate Governance Code. The European Union has made sustainability disclosures mandatory. The United States is debating new SEC rules on ESG. In this global conversation, King V would be the only governance report that speaks in the language of Ubuntu. That matters. It signals that South Africa will not only borrow global norms but contribute something distinctive: the insight that business is always embedded in community.

We don’t need more governance checklists; we need moral imagination - the courage to see that integrity and innovation can coexist.

None of this is abstract. Investors are pricing ESG performance into valuations. Multinationals are being sued over climate impacts and human rights. Communities are less tolerant of “tick-box” responsibility. South African companies, already burdened by low growth and inequality, cannot afford to lag. Governance principles today are not paperwork; they are part of a company’s license to operate.

Here lies the tension. The same country that pioneered integrated reporting also lived through state capture. The same companies that win ESG awards sometimes face court over labour practices. King V, then, is not a silver bullet. It is both a promise and a test: the promise that South Africa can again set a global standard by showing that governance in an emerging market can be principled and practical, and the test of whether boards will embed these principles in strategy or confine them to glossy reports.

The implications of King V reach beyond the corporate boardroom. Higher education has a critical role to play in shaping how these principles are lived in the next generation of leaders. Universities and business schools are not only teaching governance as theory; they are forming the values and habits that tomorrow’s executives will carry into the boardroom. If King V embeds Ubuntu as a governance philosophy, then higher education must explore how Ubuntu can inform teaching, leadership, and institutional culture. In this sense, the report is about business legitimacy and how society prepares its future leaders to connect profit with purpose.

The launch on 31 October should not be viewed as ceremonial. It should be received as a challenge. Boards must ask whether they will measure success in impact as well as earnings, whether they will take Ubuntu seriously as a foundation for decision-making, and whether they will treat governance not as a defense against scandal but as a path to resilience and trust.

Ultimately, corporate governance is not just about investors or regulators. It’s about people. It’s about whether a mine respects the dignity of its workers, whether a retailer takes responsibility for its supply chain, and whether a bank considers the environmental impact of its lending. King V allows South Africa to remember that governance is about legitimacy - the right to exist in society. Ubuntu makes this explicit, emphasising that companies are not isolated profit centers but integral parts of the social fabric.

If higher-education institutions also take King V seriously, they can model governance rooted in impact, ethics, and community. Just as integrated reporting spread beyond corporates, so too could the principles of King V influence how universities measure value, steward resources, and serve their stakeholders. Governance cannot be siloed: leadership becomes coherent and credible when business and education reinforce the same values.

Perhaps King V is not the end of a governance journey but the beginning of a deeper one - one that asks how we govern not only our organisations, but ourselves.

Dr Ntokozo Mahlangu serves on the strategic advisory board of The DaVinci Institute and writes in his personal capacity.

*** The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Independent Media or IOL.

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