Sound financial management is a growing concept in the public sector, especially in local government. The South African government has put in place policies and mechanisms to create a conducive environment for municipalities to manage finances in an effective manner. The management of municipal finance is supported by a set of policies and regulations to strengthen the use of public money. Among the respective policy frameworks, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa expects the government entities to be transparent and accountable. Here in, these financial measures are also guided by the Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003 and the Public Finance Management Act 1 of 1999 (as amended 29 of 1999). Measured transparency is critically important for management public funds. Accountability is an essential element in achieving institutional goals, especially where public funds are used. Accountability allows public institutions to provide assurance to the tax payers and to their principals. The Auditor General expects municipalities to be accountable for their financial activities through regular reporting. The Annual Report will therefore be compiled for reporting and it must include all required information. Audit Committee becomes very critical, as a structure established to guide the municipality on finances and ensure that the report is credible in every respect. Metsimaholo municipality has however been facing challenges as per the opinions of the Auditor General based on financial reporting, amongst other things. This study involves the extent to which financial reporting serves as a tool for promoting accountability. In order to test the hypothesis, literature was reviewed to analyse and evaluate financial reporting and accountability. Empirical research was conducted to test and analyse the existence of practices, procedures and policies that promote sound financial management and their effectiveness. Data was collected through questionnaires and face to face structured and unstructured interviews, with respondents from employees of Metsimaholo Local Municipality and community structures. This study found among others that: *Policies for financial reporting exist but are not fully complied with *There is a lack of follow up with and implementation of Auditor General’s recommendations *Audit Committee recommendations are not fully implemented *There are no clear lines of responsibilities between councillors and officials with regard to financial management The study concludes with recommendations to assist the municipality in committing themselves to adopt strategies towards financial reporting for improved accountability. / Thesis (M. Development and Management (Public Management and Government))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

The study is based on the context of project management; the discipline which employs skills and knowledge to achieve project goals through various project activities. The study concentrates on project management applications to deliver low cost houses (LCH) in the Metsimaholo Local Municipality (MLM). The main purpose of project management application is to enable project managers to track the progress of a project that they are working on. Institutions working on a very large project require project management applications to give periodic updates on the progress of the work that is being done on a project. By using a project management application, the process is made somewhat easier, in the sense that a project manager can just refer and check on the progress him/herself. Provision of adequate housing for the homeless and others who are inadequately housed in an attempt to reduce poverty and improve quality of people’s life has been a huge challenge to the South African government, particularly in the MLM over the years. Globally, legislators on the physical infrastructure of Parliament are pushing for the urgent construction of LCH by the government. The abovementioned challenge has resulted in an enormous housing backlog with poverty, unemployment, economic stagnation and negative behaviour. Financial constrains are seen to escalate costs and this makes the task even more enormous. The hypothesis for this study indicated that MLM does not possess sufficient institutional capacity to implement project management for the effective delivery of low cost housing. The hypothesis and research objectives of the study were validated by means of literature review and empirical surveys. Thirty-four (34) semi structured questionnaires were used to interview participants in the provision of LCH in MLM. The study is made up of five chapters. The study specifically focused on the application of project management to deliver LCH in the Metsimaholo Local Municipality (MLM). •This study contends that the application of project management in the public service sector to deliver goods and services has not been scientifically applied in a conscience and systematic manner. •In the MLM the national, provincial and the municipality efforts are challenged to provide houses for the homeless. •The increasing population in the MLM has resulted in an enormous housing backlog with poverty, unemployment, and economic stagnation. •The high demand for housing in the MLM brings about financial constrains and makes the task even more enormous. •It is realised through this study that the application of project management is lacking; whereby important pillars of project based outputs such as time, quality and cost are not necessarily the resultant finished products of the community tend to inherit. It is evident from the above that while the MLM has a mandate to provide service delivery it is limited by protocol to take full responsibility in the provision of low cost houses. The provision of LCH requires strengthened co-operative governance in the Free State Province, since the three spheres have important roles to play. In the face of the huge backlogs in housing and human settlement provision, the country urgently needs to develop the technical knowledge and skills necessary to fast track housing delivery. / M, Development and Management, Public Management and Administration, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012

Sound financial management is a growing concept in the public sector, especially in local government. The South African government has put in place policies and mechanisms to create a conducive environment for municipalities to manage finances in an effective manner. The management of municipal finance is supported by a set of policies and regulations to strengthen the use of public money. Among the respective policy frameworks, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa expects the government entities to be transparent and accountable. Here in, these financial measures are also guided by the Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003 and the Public Finance Management Act 1 of 1999 (as amended 29 of 1999). Measured transparency is critically important for management public funds. Accountability is an essential element in achieving institutional goals, especially where public funds are used. Accountability allows public institutions to provide assurance to the tax payers and to their principals. The Auditor General expects municipalities to be accountable for their financial activities through regular reporting. The Annual Report will therefore be compiled for reporting and it must include all required information. Audit Committee becomes very critical, as a structure established to guide the municipality on finances and ensure that the report is credible in every respect. Metsimaholo municipality has however been facing challenges as per the opinions of the Auditor General based on financial reporting, amongst other things. This study involves the extent to which financial reporting serves as a tool for promoting accountability. In order to test the hypothesis, literature was reviewed to analyse and evaluate financial reporting and accountability. Empirical research was conducted to test and analyse the existence of practices, procedures and policies that promote sound financial management and their effectiveness. Data was collected through questionnaires and face to face structured and unstructured interviews, with respondents from employees of Metsimaholo Local Municipality and community structures. This study found among others that: *Policies for financial reporting exist but are not fully complied with *There is a lack of follow up with and implementation of Auditor General’s recommendations *Audit Committee recommendations are not fully implemented *There are no clear lines of responsibilities between councillors and officials with regard to financial management The study concludes with recommendations to assist the municipality in committing themselves to adopt strategies towards financial reporting for improved accountability. / Thesis (M. Development and Management (Public Management and Government))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

The study is based on the context of project management; the discipline which employs skills and knowledge to achieve project goals through various project activities. The study concentrates on project management applications to deliver low cost houses (LCH) in the Metsimaholo Local Municipality (MLM). The main purpose of project management application is to enable project managers to track the progress of a project that they are working on. Institutions working on a very large project require project management applications to give periodic updates on the progress of the work that is being done on a project. By using a project management application, the process is made somewhat easier, in the sense that a project manager can just refer and check on the progress him/herself. Provision of adequate housing for the homeless and others who are inadequately housed in an attempt to reduce poverty and improve quality of people’s life has been a huge challenge to the South African government, particularly in the MLM over the years. Globally, legislators on the physical infrastructure of Parliament are pushing for the urgent construction of LCH by the government. The abovementioned challenge has resulted in an enormous housing backlog with poverty, unemployment, economic stagnation and negative behaviour. Financial constrains are seen to escalate costs and this makes the task even more enormous. The hypothesis for this study indicated that MLM does not possess sufficient institutional capacity to implement project management for the effective delivery of low cost housing. The hypothesis and research objectives of the study were validated by means of literature review and empirical surveys. Thirty-four (34) semi structured questionnaires were used to interview participants in the provision of LCH in MLM. The study is made up of five chapters. The study specifically focused on the application of project management to deliver LCH in the Metsimaholo Local Municipality (MLM). •This study contends that the application of project management in the public service sector to deliver goods and services has not been scientifically applied in a conscience and systematic manner. •In the MLM the national, provincial and the municipality efforts are challenged to provide houses for the homeless. •The increasing population in the MLM has resulted in an enormous housing backlog with poverty, unemployment, and economic stagnation. •The high demand for housing in the MLM brings about financial constrains and makes the task even more enormous. •It is realised through this study that the application of project management is lacking; whereby important pillars of project based outputs such as time, quality and cost are not necessarily the resultant finished products of the community tend to inherit. It is evident from the above that while the MLM has a mandate to provide service delivery it is limited by protocol to take full responsibility in the provision of low cost houses. The provision of LCH requires strengthened co-operative governance in the Free State Province, since the three spheres have important roles to play. In the face of the huge backlogs in housing and human settlement provision, the country urgently needs to develop the technical knowledge and skills necessary to fast track housing delivery. / M, Development and Management, Public Management and Administration, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012