The research is on the assessment of municipalities within the Eastern Cape Province to determine the capacity they have towards implementing the Municipal Finance Management Act No 56 of 2003 (MFMA). The research targeted Municipal Managers and Chief Financial Officers as these are the people charged by the Act with the responsibility of ensuring proper implementation and compliance by the Municipalities with the Act. The project was conducted at the level of the district municipality. This level of municipalities was considered sufficient as it would ensure a broad and in depth coverage of the assessment throughout the Province. This project aims to uncover strengths and weaknesses of municipalities. Municipalities with strong features are appraised of their strengths and recommendations are given towards the end of the dissertation to change the negatives into positives. The prime source used in developing the questionnaire is the MFMA. The questionnaire looks at various aspects of the Act and assesses capacity in terms of fourteen specific areas. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2006.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1963. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 288-293).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2008. / "December, 2008." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-44). Online version available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.A.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1995. / Typescript. Bibliography: leaves 109-112. Also available online.

Thesis (Doktorwürde)--Universität Zürich, 1933. / Includes bibliographical references (p. xi-xiii).

No description available.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Poor financial management and a lack of financial performance are some of the major challenges that affect local government in South Africa. This has raised concern with regard to the financial sustainability of local government in South Africa. Furthermore, the poor state of financials in local government has directly impacted the ability of local government to execute and deliver on its constitutional mandate to deliver basic public services and goods to local communities. The lack of service delivery by local government has since resulted in service delivery protests around the country which have often turned violent. The improvement of the financial function in local government is said to have the ability to improve the general functioning of local government and lead not only to the delivery of basic public services to communities but also facilitate development in those communities. Thus, the objective of this study was to analyse and determine the drivers of financial performance and financial sustainability of local government in South Africa. The data that was used for the study is from all 278 municipalities in South Africa for the year 2013/2014. The study used regression analysis (Chi-Squared) with financial distress (performance) as a dependent variable and the following as explanatory variables: Type of municipality, cash cover, cash balances, reliance on grants and transfers, overspending, underspending, debtor growth, debtors as a percentage of own revenue and capacity in the key positions of the municipality. The regression analysis was supported by a contingency table and decision tress. The results and findings of the study are consistent with literature and indicate that the type of municipality, the degree to which a municipality relies on government grants and transfers, the manner in which a municipality manages it debtors, cash, creditors, its spending (in comparison to its budgets) as well as the extent to which municipalities adhere to legislative compliance all affect financial performance in local government in South Africa.

The U.S. is experiencing the worst recession since the Great Depression. All levels of government have been hit really hard, this is especially apparent at the local level since services provided at the local level are woven into people’s daily life. Thus, how to “do more with less” is more urgent than ever before. The use of privatization came to surface as a sound solution for deficit-plagued governments as it is thought to be more cost effective and outperform the public sector in most cases. This dissertation contains two empirical chapters that examine determinants of privatization and specify the conditions under which it is optimal to buy and under which it is optimal to produce in-house. Chapter two explores determinants that contribute to the use of privatization at the local level in the U.S. This chapter incorporates spatial technique to perform the analysis, which is a different approach from much of the literature. Empirical results indicate that a local government’s sourcing decision is affected by its nearby local jurisdictions. External stakeholders’ involvement contributes to the use of outsourcing, whereas having a limited supply of service providers impedes it. Chapter three applies a transaction cost economics (TCE) framework complemented with a revenue volatility measure to disentangle the mechanisms that drive public services’ outsourcing decisions. Results suggest that, in general, services with higher asset specificity and higher contract management difficulty are less likely to be outsourced, and a robust and competitive market facilitates the use of outsourcing.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in 25% fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management (in the field of Public and Development Management) March 2017 / In recent years, increased attention being given to accountability on public finances in South African municipalities saw an increase in the number of municipalities establishing Municipal Public Accounts Committees (MPACs) to address deficiencies and gaps in the local government accountability mechanisms and oversight. The purpose of the study was to establish the alignment between the recently established MPACs and the generally accepted public accounts committees with respect to the institutional design, practices and performance assessment. A qualitative case study of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality (NMBM) MPAC was followed where documents were analysed and semi-structured in-depth interviews with purposively selected participants were conducted. This research study revealed some gaps in the alignment of the NMBM MPAC to the generally accepted public accounts committees. The most crucial gap that emerged pertained to the mandate and powers of the NMBM MPAC. Recommendations for enhancing the financial oversight of the NMBM MPAC were made. The study also suggests further research on a larger number of municipalities. / GR2018

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in 50 per cent fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management (in the field of Public and Development Management) February 2017 / This study examines legislative oversight practice within the Limpopo Legislature (subnational government) in South Arica, over a specific historic period. Legislative oversight and executive accountability are constitutionally mandated responsibilities. This study is focused on the fourth term (2009-2014) of the government of Limpopo, when financial management and policy implementation challenges resulted in five departments being placed under national administration. Semi-structured interviews and document analysis was utilised to understand the practice of legislative oversight and explore the challenges embedded in securing executive accountability. Drawing on the literature, a conceptual framework was used to guide the process for establishing the areas for detailed exploration. These included the legal and institutional framework for oversight; the capacity availed and utilised for oversight; and the informal institutional incentives and challenges that influenced the performance of oversight. The study revealed that oversight by the legislature and accountability by the executive are intertwined mandates and there are numerous contingencies embedded in the relationships they embody. The manner in which mandates unfold and oversight is exercised is affected by the underlying political dynamics within the dominant party. These dynamics impact on the autonomy of the legislature, shape the power relations between the executive and the legislature and creates incentives for practices that impact on legislative oversight and executive accountability. Members of the legislature were junior in party structures and did not have political authority which influenced the extent to which members of the legislature held the executive answerable as well as the extent to which the executive would account. In addition, the capacity of the institution and budget were insufficient to perform adequate oversight effectively and timeously and enable the legislature to develop into an efficient and successful institution. Furthermore, the legislature relied on the executive for information which was not always credible or reliable. This combination of factors led to oversight at times not being effective. The lessons derived from this study can be used to improve oversight effectiveness at a subnational and national governance level. However, given the role that the party plays in the governance system, there is a need for further research on party functioning, party incentives and internal democracy within the party. Key words: legislative oversight, executive accountability, parliamentary system, proportional representation, electoral system, Limpopo / MT2017