Mbandlwa, ZamokuhleDorasamy, NirmalaFagbadebo, Omololu2020-08-142020-08-142020-06-12Mbandlwa, Z., Dorasamy, N. and Fagbadebo, O. 2020. Ethical leadership and the challenge of service delivery in South Africa : a discourse. TEST Engineering & Management magazine. 83: 24986 – 24998.0193-4120http://hdl.handle.net/10321/3454Ethical leadership challenges in South Africa led to corruption in various government departments. Corruption is the results of poor ethics in leadership which results in poor public service delivery. In this paper we argued that in order to end corruption in South Africa government, the issue of leadership ethics must first be prioritized. The objective of this study was to identify factors that contribute to poor public service delivery and to examine the correlation between bad leadership and poor public service delivery. The results of the study have proven that there is a link between leadership and service delivery. Poor public service delivery in South Africa is caused by poor leadership ethics in government leaders. Therefore, the combination of poor leadership and poor public service delivery affect the daily lives of people in South Africa.13 p.enArticle2020-07-30