A bridge of leadership in action

The programme sharpens students’ thinking using:

• case studies
• group presentations
• flipped classroom activities (where students prepare material independently before bringing their ideas to class debate)
• scenarios analyses
• learning from peers in different sectors and from different backgrounds.

These are just a few methods of how students are challenged to think of public institutions not just as bureaucratic structures bound to rules, but as systems with cultures, incentives, and pressure points. These factors shape how decisions get made long before a single transaction takes place.

During the course, democratic accountability shifts in students’ minds from an abstract process to a living dynamic at operational level — ultimately answerable to the community.

Ngele adds, “At its core, accountability is about serving citizens. When students begin to view their work through the lens of public value and citizen impact, they develop a deeper appreciation of their role as public servants.”

Student Katleho Lecheko, aged 28, demonstrated the impact of achieving this. She is currently completing the Postgraduate Diploma in Public Administration (PGDPA) under the Head of the Programme, Thea Ngele. Lecheko has been working in the public sector for two and a half years now, serving as the Municipal Public Accounts Committee Coordinator at Setsoto Local Municipality.

Her role involves analysing municipal financial and performance reports to support oversight and investigations and facilitating investigation processes related to unauthorised, irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure. In a setting where most colleagues are significantly older than her, the temptation to prove herself was immediate and natural.

"I am definitely the youngest face in the room," she says with characteristic directness.

Yet, Lecheko wisely chose to let the quality of her work speak for her, demonstrating her understanding of the legislation with sound analyses. The PGDPA programme gave her confidence in decision making without waiting for universal agreement.

“When you demonstrate that you understand the legislation, that your analysis is sound, and that you take the accountability of the role seriously, the conversation about age becomes irrelevant quite quickly.”

Respect followed soon enough.

Ngele commented on this saying, “Consistently delivering high-quality work is often the strongest response to scepticism or age-related assumptions.”

Lecheko’s background in auditing was helpful, but this environment was more complex than she'd expected. Her previous role at an audit firm had been youth-friendly, with an open-door culture. The public sector demanded something different, — immediate seriousness, and an introduction to layers of hierarchy, both administrative and political.

It required her to balance the rigour of her training with respect for the institutional knowledge her senior colleagues carried. She adapted with aplomb, saying,

“Although my colleagues are learning a lot from me, I am also always learning from them. As the African proverb says, ‘Sit with elders, and you will gain wisdom. Sit alone, and you will gain only age.’ Older colleagues bring things that cannot be fast-tracked — institutional memory and relational intelligence.

Knowing the history of a municipality, understanding how certain decisions were made and why, having navigated the same oversight terrain through multiple administrations. That depth of experience shapes professional judgment in ways that no qualification can substitute for."

Younger colleagues bring smarter ways to work and objectivity. They can engage with a finding based on its merits alone, without the weight of years of history with other colleagues.

“Oversight loses credibility the moment it becomes selective.” - Lecheko

At work, Lecheko must provide oversight that’s procedurally correct but also meaningful. When management submits insufficient information, she must draft sharp follow-up questions to help the committee make a genuinely well-informed decision. It’s about protecting the integrity of a constitutional oversight function and ensuring that the work produced can withstand scrutiny from the Council, Auditor General, and the communities they serve.

Ngele believes resistance to change is more institutional than generational:

“People of all ages can resist new ideas when they challenge established routines or power structures. Public institutions often operate within systems designed to minimise risk and ensure stability, which can unintentionally discourage innovation.”

At the beginning of Lecheko’s role, she found that the way information was collated needed a change. Information across different contractors, financial years, and investigation stages was each presented in isolation rather than a coherent overview, making it difficult to identify recurring patterns.

She introduced a structured approach that mapped each item to its finding, applicable legislation, stage of investigation and the required committee action, framing it as a response to MFMA requirements for accountability. She explained, “That framing made the conversation far less threatening," she says, "and the adoption far smoother.” She also secured a dedicated budget for her division to improve operations.

Her progress shows what is possible when a student learns to interpret information and apply it with sound judgment in scenarios where no textbook answer exists.

For Lecheko, the key shift happened in a classroom discussion on democratic accountability — not as a theoretical principle, but as an operational demand. "I realised I had been thinking about accountability almost entirely inward — toward the committee, the council, the audit outcomes," she reflects. "What the programme forced me to confront was the question of who all of that process is ultimately answerable to. Not the Auditor-General. Not the council record. The community."

That realisation changed something practical. She became more deliberate about the language in Municipal Public Accounts Committee ( MPAC )findings — not just technically precise for compliance, but written so that a community member who has never read the MFMA could still understand what happened, who was responsible, and what was recommended. "Oversight documentation that only makes sense to an auditor is not really serving its democratic function. It is serving its administrative one."

Lecheko offers a sharp perspective on the industry:

“The standard for what good governance looks like is not standing still. The legislative framework is evolving, the Auditor-General's expectations are sharper, and communities have higher expectations than ever. Institutions that rely entirely on experience risk optimising for a version of government that no longer exists.”

Responding to digital transformation, changing citizen expectations, and rising demands for accountability requires a workforce that combines experience with innovation. We need systems that encourage mentorship, knowledge transfer, and a culture of inquiry.

Partnerships between communities, educational institutions, government departments, and the private sector can help support the newcomers to the field with opportunities for internships, community projects, and leadership development initiatives.

Ngele commented, “Too often, young professionals can feel intimidated in these hierarchical settings, but being young should never mean being silent. Communities can help create environments where new ideas are welcomed, not dismissed. Some of the most meaningful improvements in organisations come from those who are brave enough to respectfully challenge the status quo.”

Lecheko added, “Younger professionals who are serious, equipped and given genuine opportunity do not threaten institutional knowledge or standards. They sharpen it. Being young during the robust transformation in the professionalisation of governance allows room for problems to be solved innovatively. But I still need to be cognisant that I need to bring my colleagues along — not leave them behind."

The future of the public sector, and South Africa as a whole, lies in creating environments where experience and youth can grow together, where mentorship provides supportive wisdom and cheers them on: “Let ‘em cook!”

If you think you’ve got what it takes to lead with intention, apply today.