Not all documents are records. One of the central concerns of contemporary governance is the reduced or complete lack of accountability among public officials when rendering public services. In the absence of accountability and records, corruption thrives. This research examines the relationship that exists between transparency, accountability and record keeping in order to find the effect that records has; in terms of producing positive audit outcomes and in eliminating corrupt activities by public official/s. Since the transition to democracy in South Africa, the new constitution demands transparency and accountability on matters of governance supported with available information (records). Various pieces of legislation in South Africa are available in support of timely, accessible and accurate information in pursuit of official duties. The difficulty in ensuring an effective record keeping creates an opportunity for governance, transparency and accountability to fail. The essence of this research undertaking was motivated by the fact that, absence of records (which has a negative effect in achieving clean audits) renders governance chaotic and infringes on the democratic principles enshrined in the Constitution such as accountability and transparency. The purpose of the study was to investigate the practice of record keeping in the Eastern Cape Provincial Department of Basic Education (ECDoE) in ensuring accountability and transparency. This research undertaking was guided by the following three research questions: (1) what is the legal/normative framework that governs record keeping in South African public service? (2) How does ECDoE practice record-keeping in ensuring accountability and transparency? And (3) how does the practice of ECDoE’s record-keeping compare with the requirements of the legal/normative framework? After all the gathering of information from different sources, it is therefore recommended that the ECDoE send its employees for records management courses and there must be strict adherence to legislation and recommendations made by the Auditor General in his last audit report for the department. During the conduct of this research undertaking, these are the findings that emerged from the study: at the ECDoE (1) There is no adequate training provided to employees in record keeping. (2) There are ineffective internal control systems. (3) There is no risk management contingency plan. (4) There is no proper record keeping. (5) There is non-compliance with legislation by officials. (6) There is no strong or effective leadership. (7) There is shortage of staff and qualified personnel. (8) Lack of commitment to excel. (9) No significant corrective action undertaken to eliminate past inaccuracies. (10) There is absence of following up on recommendations made by the external audit. Lastly, the researcher accepts the arguments raised by the different authors about record keeping, transparency and accountability in that: there can be no accountable and transparent government without an effective record-keeping in place. Records are vital sources of evidence admissible to any institution be it a court of law or standing committees should clarity be required.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ufh/vital:28336 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Ntontela, Majama |
| Publisher | University of Fort Hare, Faculty of Management and Commerce |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MPA |
| Format | 67 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | University of Fort Hare |
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