M. Tech. Business Administration / Since 1994, South African local government has undergone significant financial reforms. Recently reform implementation has been focused on the budgeting and financial affairs of municipalities with the promulgation of the Municipal Budget and Reporting Regulations. Objectives included the modernisation of the financial planning and budgeting processes of municipalities in achieving higher levels of accountability, transparency, and appropriate lines of responsibility within the local government accountability cycle. Among other dimensions of financial planning, this reform introduced cash flow forecasting as a management tool in ensuring the budget is appropriately funded, resulting in implementation as planned. Notwithstanding these objectives, municipalities continuously face cash and liquidity challenges questioning the effectiveness of these reform efforts. The methodology incorporated a variance analysis of the budget as planned versus implementation, and a performance 'trend' instrument similar to a Likert scale for comparing municipal performance of six metropolitan municipalities. A general questionnaire was circulated to municipal finance practitioners in testing their opinion and attitude towards cash flow forecasting. The research is concluded with a structured interview with chief financial officers. The research finds that, although improvements can be observed, they have been at a slow and low-key pace owing to capacity limitations, an instrumentalist approach to reform implementation and the significant rate of change associated with the reform roadmap.

No description available.

No description available.

This study concerns itself with the process of public sector resource allocation in Canada from 1965-1975. An examination of the Federal Government's own procedure manual for program evaluation, and the analysis of several program evaluations for Departments of Health, Education and Manpower, reveal that the analytical procedures and economic precepts used depart significantly from accepted norms of economic theory. Consequently, the rates of return claimed for these programs are distorted and, where they are used for the rationing of public sector resources, collective welfare will not be optimized. The major causes of these problems are improper analytical methodology and the failure to adhere to basic economic principles of resource allocation. Support for this hypothesis derives from accepted economic theory with respect to welfare maximization and the allocation of public expenditures.

No abstract available. / Thesis (DPA)-University of Durban-Westville, 1988.

This thesis explores the relationships between the demographic characteristics of a Representative's Congressional District and his voting behavior on defense expenditure bills. The study covers 433 congressional districts, and includes the interaction of eight demographic characteristics in each district with the voting behavior of the Representative based on five major defense bills. The primary purpose of the thesis is to determine if there is a relationship between the characteristics of the constituency and the manner in which the Representative votes on defense bills. Special attention is focused on the supposition that if a military installation or prime defense contractor is located in a congressional district, its presense will induce a Representative to vote for continued if not increased defense expenditures.

This thesis gives an account of the Treasury's role in preparing for, and conducting, the South African War, at a time when the orthodox Gladstonian principles of public finance were being challenged. It is a case study, in an exceptional instance, of the nature and effectiveness of Treasury control over expenditure on imperial expansion; of the Treasury's view of how a colonial war should be financed and who was to pay for it, of what cost-benefit analysis the Treasury applied to a colonial war, and of why it relied on recouping a substantial part of the war cost from an indemnity levied on a defeated Transvaal. The thesis is an attempt to define the vague concept of "Treasury control", not in constitutional theory, but as it worked in practice. It is argued that Treasury control and the rigidity of the annual peace time budget obstructed before the war the taking of any serious military precautions, left no reserve fund for war contingencies, and made any long-term strategic planning almost impossible. Rather than run the risk of asking money from Parliament for reinforcements to South Africa, which would be unpopular, as it might require increased taxation, and which might prove unnecessary, the Cabinet waited till the need to spend taxpayers' money had been demonstrated, although it could result in initial setbacks and in a longer and more expensive campaign. This, in conjunction with Milner's and Chamberlain's political strategy, dictated a military solution to the crisis. It is further argued that at first the Treasury estimated the cost of the war at £10 million, while assuring Parliament that a substantial part of it would be recouped by way of indemnity from the Transvaal. But the colonial expedition turned into a war on a European scale, the final charge to the British Exchequer was £217 million, and not a penny of indemnity was exacted from the Transvaal. The Treasury's view was restricted largely to the current year's budget and the following year's estimates, and how to secure their approval in Parliament. In this case, Treasury control was as ineffective during the war, as its estimates of the cost of the war and who would pay for it, were unrealistic.

The dissertation reviewed "the causes of war debate in Africa, and its implications for African military expenditures" by levelling the argument of greed hypothesis as inconsistent with the pragmatic ground situation in Africa that can properly inform optimal decision-making. The arguments raised support the debunking of greed claim that opportunity to pillage state resources, supersedes issues of grievance as cause of civil war. This work discussed the major civil wars in Sub-Saharan Africa since 1990, the study raised concerns that, by taking stance with greed has the tendency to make traditional state security the utmost policy concern. That also provides cost benefit excuse for state actors to give milex priority over other social sectors in budget prioritizing. It is argued that greed does not offer the platform for durable peace pursuit. The dissertation then showed that grievance is consistent with causes of civil war in Africa due to its multifarious outlook of conflicts. Grievance hypothesis, is supported because it offers practically approach to pursue endurable conflict, and problem solving approach to conflict analysis in Africa. Grievance encourages a policy of milex reduction and encourages peacebuilding effort. The study concluded by saying that none of the debate grievance and that of greed's validity justify the heinous carnage and destruction involved in African civil wars. Therefore what compels leaders to find solution with violence as a result of opportunity not based on resource per se, but it also involves misplaced priority to find lasting solution to grievance issues. It also involves the opportunity to heroism based on distorted perception of power and lack of social education on appropriate means to conflict resolution, and lack of appropriate early warning mechanism and trivialization of conflict warnings as happened in ECOWAS, East-Central Africa. Nine recommendations suggested in the dissertation centres on the causes of new civil wars debates and policy; the study of cases of new civil wars in SSA; and on the influence of new civil wars debate on milex. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.

The objective of this research was to evaluate the district office budgeting process of the Department of Education, Port Elizabeth District, in terms of the Batho Pele principles. The aim of district offices is to satisfy the most basic education needs of people in their respective areas of jurisdiction. Improving service delivery is one of government’s eight priorities as set out in the White Paper on the transformation of the Public Service (South African Government, 1995: 4). The initiative to improve service delivery is called Batho Pele. The main research question to be addressed by this research is: Does the Department of Education experience any problems with its budgeting process to address service delivery? Through a literature survey and empirical study, various conclusions were reached and recommendations made. The bulk of education expenditure takes place within education districts but the controlling, forecasting and budgeting of expenditure takes place at the Provincial Head Office. Most high schools surveyed experience problems with the current funding policy of the Department of Education. The relative poverty of the community around the school impacts negatively on the parent’s ability to support the school. iv The budgeting process of the Department of Education should follow a bottom-up approach to budgeting. Therefore, the district office budget should be informed by the needs of the school and the provincial budget be informed by the district office budget. The management and administrative capacity at the district office need to be developed to ensure effective budgeting.

Budget control is a process of financial monitoring to ensure effective allocation, collection and efficient utilizing of public funds. It is a process that is aimed at ensuring the accomplishment of public policy objectives. Budget control is regulated by financial legislation as well as regulations and procedures which guide public financial administrators. Continuous monitoring is needed once appropriation is allowed by parliament or provincial legislatures to ensure effective service rendering as well as tax and user charges collection. This study investigates the reported ineffective budget control measures implemented by the provincial treasury in the Province of the Eastern Cape particularly in the Eastern Cape Department of Education (George, 2004). Ineffective budget control may be associated with the implementation of unstable fiscal policy by the provincial treasury that led to deficit spending in the Department of Education during the 2004/5 financial year. The purpose of this study is to show that the implementation of stable fiscal policy instruments by the provincial treasury would lead to effective budget control in provincial departments such as the Eastern Cape Department of Education. Governments in many instances encounter various challenges in controlling their expenditures on an annual basis as well as in the medium term. This is due to the notion that once the government exceeds the current year’s budget, it consumes the forthcoming budget. Borrowing is by nature an implicit consumption of future unplanned revenue. This makes the Medium Term Revenue Framework in the province immaterial as the provincial own revenue is insignificant. The relative uncontrollability of government expenditure stems from the notion that the provision of, for instance, primary education and social welfare is intertwined with legal entitlement within prescribed parameters. Allocative efficiency embodies recognition of legal entitlement that is reflected in the distribution imperatives if the provincial treasury is to be effective in the budget control function. The National Norms and Standards for School Funding of 2006 state explicitly that public spending in public schools is targeted at increasing the literacy levels of the poor. Intergovernmental fiscal relations play a pivotal role in modelling the fiscal policy of the province. This stems from the fact that expected national collected revenue is distributed as an equitable share to national, provincial and local spheres of government. The criteria for revenue sharing are based on economic disparities and demographics in each sphere of government. It is imperative to note in intergovernmental relations that there are functional areas of concurrent national and provincial competencies. The budget control function of the provincial treasury is implemented within the framework of various administrative processes which are aimed at ensuring effective transactional activities. The disbursement of funds and various other financial processes are subject to the delegation of powers as prescribed in the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act 1 of 1999), as amended by Act 29 of 1999. The provincial governments’ fiscal policies are modelled to be consistent with the macro-economic objectives of the national government. It is for the purpose of macro-economic stability that only national government is eligible to borrow to finance a budget deficit. Provinces are legally prohibited from overspending their budgets. If the fiscal policies of the provinces materially and unreasonably prejudice the national economic policies, the relevant provincial treasury is responsible for taking appropriate steps to place the financial administration on a sound footing.