Business Under the Spotlight: Can It Really Save South Africa?
South Africa is running out of time. Power and water outages, crumbling infrastructure, unemployment, and corruption continue to erode confidence in the nation’s future. With government capacity at its weakest, the pressing question is whether business can step in where leadership has failed — and help put the country back on stable ground.
This was the central theme at Podcast Party’s latest episode of Democracy Unplugged — a thought-provoking discussion moderated by renowned journalist and author Justice Malala. The panel featured a powerful lineup: Moeletsi Mbeki, political economist and author; Professor Bonang Mohale, Chancellor of the University of the Free State and respected corporate leader; Herman Mashaba, entrepreneur, former Mayor of Johannesburg, and founder of ActionSA; and Piet le Roux, CEO of Sakeliga, an organization advocating for a resilient, business-led approach to strengthening markets and civil society.
Business and the State: Partners or Opponents?
The discussion revolved around a growing mistrust of government — and the moral dilemma facing corporate South Africa. Should business continue to fill the void left by a failing state, or is doing so enabling the government’s inefficiency?
“Is business right to continue helping government to deliver electricity, fix railways, fill potholes and so much else?. Does this help South Africa, or does it give a free pass to the ANC not to do the job it was elected to do? Just what is the right amount of help? The relationship between government and business will become increasingly complicated and controversial as the political landscape changes, and it will need careful consideration and handling for it to continue to be a positive for South Africa.”
asked Justice Malala
This question cut to the heart of South Africa’s current predicament — a country where the private sector increasingly takes on public responsibilities, from maintaining energy grids to repairing municipal infrastructure. Yet, the risk remains that business involvement could blur accountability and weaken democracy if it lets government off the hook.
Rebuilding Trust and Accountability
Rina Broomberg, founder of Podcast Party, explained the motivation behind the Democracy Unplugged series:
“We created Democracy Unplugged to unpack South Africa’s toughest issues openly and intelligently. Conversations like these matter because they challenge complacency and push business, government, and citizens to step up and shape the future.”
Throughout the discussion, panellists shared honest, often hard-hitting opinions about what isn’t working and what could. The debate underscored that while business has the resources and agility to drive growth, rebuilding trust, accountability, and ethical governance will require cooperation across all sectors of society.
As South Africa stands at a crossroads, the path forward may depend on redefining the relationship between the public and private sectors — not one of rescue or dependency, but of shared responsibility and transparent collaboration.
🎧 Watch the full conversation above.
