Ethical Leadership and Transparent Governance: Key to achieving SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) in South African Local Municipalities

Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16) aims to foster peaceful and inclusive societies, guarantee access to justice for everyone, and establish effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions. Peace and justice are vital components of sustainable development. The purpose of this article is to investigate how ethical leadership affects the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 16. Specifically, it will look at how leaders in the public, corporate, and civil society sectors may foster environments that support justice, peace, and robust institutions. Data was collected form expansive literature which include peer - reviewed journals, reports from the United Nations reports, and organisational case studies that particularly address ethical leadership in connection to Sustainable Development Goal 16. The study was led by Ethical Leadership Theory, which is predicated on the idea that leaders should potray normatively acceptable behaviour through their interactions and actions. They should also encourage followers to do the same through decision-making, communication, and reinforcement. The results demonstrated that there are situations in which South African municipalities fail to meet Sustainable Development Goal 16, but there is also hope that some municipalities will be capable of achieving it through the introduction of the Public Procurement Bill of 2023 and other measures that improve accountability and transparency. Political instability, widespread corruption, lax obedience to the law, and a lack of openness in governance are all barriers to reaching Sustainable Development Goal 16. These challenges impede development programs and erode public trust in institutions. Municipalities are recommended to set up regular monitoring procedures that evaluate the impact and changes of anti-corruption measures in order to understand how effective they are in reducing the risk of corruption. Based on the findings, policies and institutional structures can be adjusted. It is advised that municipalities use ethical leadership as a catalyst to build societies that are just, peaceful, and run by strong, responsible institutions.