⚖️ Board Accountability in an Unstable Democracy: What NEDs Must Do Differently

[Extract 1 of 2 from the IRMSA 2025 Risk Report] 

“Not holding leaders to account is a leadership failure in itself.” — IRMSA 2025 Risk Report

South Africa’s democratic journey is at an inflection point. The IRMSA calls it a ‘collective tipping point,’ here’s how to respond.

The IRMSA 2025 Risk Report warns of a looming “collective tipping point,” driven by political instability, institutional erosion, economic regression, and rising inequality. It is a national reckoning.

But while many look to the State for answers, we must ask a different question:

👉 What is the role of the board in a fragile democracy?

More specifically: What must non-executive directors (NEDs) do differently when the democratic foundations begin to crack?

🧯 The New Risk Landscape: Accountability Under Pressure

In stable democracies, board accountability often focuses on performance, transparency, and compliance, which is great.

But in an unstable democracy, those expectations have to expand.

These are not normal times. Today’s boards face risks that are:

• Systemic, not siloed.

• Political, not just operational.

• Societal, not just financial.

These include:

• Lawlessness and weakened rule of law.

• Public infrastructure collapse.

• Mass unemployment and growing inequality.

• Policy inconsistency due to coalition politics.

• Social unrest and trust deficits.

These seem to be distant macro issues, but they are actually boardroom-level risks.

🔄 Why the Old Playbook No Longer Works

Traditional governance models rely on predictability, that is, stable governments, clear policy trajectories, functional institutions, etc.

But 2025 is not traditional. South Africa’s governance environment is fluid, contested, and often dysfunctional. In this context, passive oversight is inadequate and potentially dangerous.

Boards must go beyond box-ticking and embrace accountability as proactive stewardship. They have to envision the future and lead the future before it is realized.

✅ What NEDs Must Do Differently

1. Elevate Political and Societal Risk to Strategic Level

If your board is not regularly discussing political fragmentation, institutional capacity, or democratic erosion, it is already behind. You must catch-up.

📌 Action: Integrate scenario planning based on IRMSA’s four risk futures, including “Everyone Is in It for Themselves” and “Everyone Leading from Where They Stand.”

2. Shift from Risk-Averse to Risk-Intelligent Accountability

Accountability is no longer about playing it safe, it is about making courageous, ethical, and informed decisions in uncertain environments.

📌 Action: Challenge short-termism. Insist on long-view thinking that aligns with national priorities and resilience.

3. Build Ethical Muscle, Not Just Compliance Systems

A rulebook won’t save you when rules are not enforced. Boards must operate with moral clarity, even when legal clarity is lacking.

📌 Action: Ensure that ethics and purpose are actively guiding leadership decisions, not just appearing in policies.

4. Lead the Trust Agenda

In a country with a severe trust deficit, boards must become beacons of integrity and reliability. How much trust does the public have on boards?

📌 Action: Communicate transparently. Disclose risks meaningfully. Speak up, not just to shareholders, but to the greater society.

5. Engage with National Recovery, Not Just Organizational Success

IRMSA urges boards to align with South Africa’s six national priorities, from infrastructure reform to human capital investment.

📌 Action: Map your board's strategy to these priorities. Ask: How is our governance enabling, or perhaps obstructing, the national renewal?

🧭 Final Thought: Governance as a Public Duty

In 2025, every board decision has democratic consequences.

Silence on corruption, inaction on inequality, and detachment from national risk scenarios are no longer neutral positions, they are acts of omission.

Accountability today means showing up boldly, ethically, and consistently, even when the institutions around you are faltering.

Because when democracy becomes unstable, the true measure of leadership is not what you protect, but what you build. 

🔗 This article is based on insights from the IRMSA 2025 Risk Report and the lived realities of boardrooms across South Africa. You can access the IRMSA 2025 Risk Report on the Institute of Risk Management South Africa (IRMSA) website. Christelle Faul Marais (B.Iuris, MBA, Cert.Dir., CRM PROF, Cert.EO, NED)

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