scholarly journals Factors influencing the implementation of the auditor general’s recommendations in South African municipalities

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesedi S. Matlala ◽  
Dominique E. Uwizeyimana
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Local Government ◽  
South African ◽  
Progress Monitoring ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
The South ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Auditor General

Background: The establishment of democratic local government in South Africa in 2000 decentralised the decision-making powers from the centre to the periphery. Municipalities are accountable for their own financial preparation and the planning of their budgetary processes. Notwithstanding the enormous investment in terms of resources, empirical studies and municipal audit reports revealed that most of the South African municipalities were not taking corrective action on the issues of irregularities raised in prior year audits; hence, some of the weaknesses and problems remained unresolved or were recurring yearly.Objectives: To identify and discuss the factors that influence municipalities’ failure to implement audit recommendations given by the Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA) efficiently and effectively.Methods: The research methodology used in this study was mainly qualitative and relied heavily on robust literature study and the review of key official documents, such as reports on local government performance.Results: The main findings of this study are that factors influencing implementation of audit recommendation include availability of resources and time, lack of audit action monitoring processes, absence of authority, staffing problems and sometimes the poor quality of audit recommendations.Conclusion: To deal with these problems, the study recommends a number of practical strategies. These include regular progress monitoring, improving the quality of the AGSA’s recommendations and the amendment of the Public Audit Act to empower the auditor general. Most importantly, the study recommends the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation (ME) unit to regularly track progress for proper implementation of audit recommendations in the South African municipalities.

Pathways through homelessness: the perceptions of homeless children in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 141-160
Author(s):  
Anna Wilshire Jones Bornman ◽  
Carol Jean Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Well Being ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Homeless Children ◽  
The South ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
African Context

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore children’s pathways through homelessness within the South African context, with particular attention paid to pathways out of homelessness. This study focusses on factors influencing children’s successful transitions out of homelessness. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative exploratory design was used, using interviews with nine children who had exited or were in the process of exiting homelessness. Interviews were conducted at a children’s shelter in Pietermaritzburg or in the children’s home environments. Interviews were analysed thematically. Findings An ecological framework was used to frame the factors influencing children’s pathways in, through and out of homelessness in the children’s narratives. These included institutions, relationships and intrapersonal strengths and resources. The study suggested that constructive relationships with shelter staff and parental figures, as well as intrapersonal strengths, were the most prominent factors in children successfully negotiating their way through their homelessness. The importance of a relationship with the paternal family within some African cultures was also a point of leverage. Research limitations/implications Implications for policy and practise include the need for systemic change, as well as greater support for shelters and shelter staff. The issue of rivalry in the shelter context and the role of the paternal family in the reintegration process require more research attention. The research is limited to homeless children in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Practical implications This study provided feedback to the shelter regarding their strategies for assisting homeless children off the streets. It further provided evidence for the importance of the work of the shelter, to strengthen advocacy efforts. This may be useful to others in similar circumstances. Social implications This study highlights the importance of macrosystemic interventions in the efforts to assist homeless children, while at the same time not ignoring the inter and intra, personal elements to enhancing their well-being. Originality/value This paper is singular in its exploration of factors influencing children’s successful transitions out of homelessness within the South African context.

scholarly journals Public Procurement in the South African Economy: Addressing the Systemic Issues

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 8692
Author(s):  
David Fourie ◽  
Cornel Malan
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
The South ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Official Policy ◽  
The Status ◽  
Procurement System

Public procurement fulfils an important role in the economy and public expenditure of a country and can be regarded as a critical indicator of the effectiveness of a government, because it is a central aspect of public service delivery. Notwithstanding various reforms made to date to public sector procurement in South Africa and the application of Supply Chain Management as a strategic policy strategic instrument, the South African public procurement system still faces several challenges and has been strongly criticised. This paper aims to understand the current public procurement environment in South Africa, its dilemmas and challenges, and to propose that public procurement be refocused towards a strategically placed business process, implemented by well-trained and competent procurement officials. The purpose is to provide a theoretical foundation as well as practical guidance regarding the role of public procurement in the South African public sector. The methodology involved an intensive literature study and document analysis to evaluate various official policy documents and official publications to determine the status of South African public procurement. The study found that the majority of challenges faced by public procurement in South Africa can probably be attributed to the implementation of the system, rather than to the system itself. In the shorter and longer term, the public procurement system in South Africa will have no choice but to emerge as a stronger, more resilient, streamlined and efficient provider of goods and services for the greater good of all.

scholarly journals Factors influencing success of construction projects by emerging contractors in South Africa: a case of Mahikeng area

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1028-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nehemiah Mavetera ◽  
Kagiso Sekhabisa ◽  
Chipo Mavetera ◽  
Ireen Choga
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Project Management ◽  
South African ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Public Works ◽  
Management Skills ◽  
The South ◽  
Factors Influencing

Emerging contractors play a critical role in the South African economy in terms of rendering services to government especially in the construction sector. However, literature findings reveal that some of the SMMEs are unable to deliver their projects successfully due to project management issues. The focus of this study was to establish the project management factors influencing the successful delivery of construction projects by emerging contractors in the Mahikeng area of South Africa. A mixed design research method was used to collect, analyse and derive the findings. Findings revealed that projects do not comply with the time, scope, cost and quality requirements. Focus group interview results attributed these problems to lack of project management skills among the emerging contractors. It is recommended that more support initiatives from the South African Department of Public Works, and other key stakeholders in the construction industry be provided to these contractors

scholarly journals Factors influencing the quality of low-income housing in Polokwane Municipality South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-52
Author(s):  
Kgashane Stephen Nyakala ◽  
◽  
Sekou Dolly Ramoroka ◽  
Kemlall Ramdass
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Low Income ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Construction Quality ◽  
Housing Projects ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Design Construction ◽  
Low Income Housing

Recent South African and international evidence highlights the broad and lasting impacts of households, particularly those on low income, when unable to afford higher income counterparts to live in apartments, maintained public housing, and other high-quality houses. A broad range of low-income houses recently built in South African local municipalities are reportedly defective, due to poor building and construction quality. This study aims to assess and determine the factors influencing high-quality housing positively impacting on the lives of a significant proportion of low-income housing projects. Reasons for and obstacles to quality design, construction quality and the development of low-income housing projects were identified. To assess the research questions, a quantitative survey (n=103) was carried out, simple random and purposive sampling techniques were used to select contractors who were active in low-income housing projects within the Polokwane Municipality. The quantitative data gathered were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to determine a combination of descriptive and non-parametric statistics of the data computing the frequencies, mean scores and standard deviations. Selected results show that poor-quality and low-income housing projects are perceived to be related to the contractors, builders and construction practitioners not complying with the standards, variously because of insufficient training or accountability to public authorities and end users of low-income houses, i.e., the beneficiaries. The respondents were of the view that house builders and local government authorities could use five factors, namely quality standards, management, involvement of people, process design and process, planning and scheduling to assess non-conformance to quality requirements in low-income housing projects in South Africa. The finding of this study provides a platform for improving the quality of housing design, construction projects, sustainability and an opportunity for local and international design and construction professionals to rethink design in the context of low-income housing projects.

Financial Oversight of the Civilian Intelligence Services in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Africa
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
The State ◽  
The South ◽  
Standing Committee ◽  
Financial Accountability ◽  
State Security ◽  
Intelligence Services ◽  
Auditor General ◽  
Financial Oversight

The article assesses the state of oversight of the budget and expenditure of the South African civilian intelligence services (now called the State Security Agency). The roles of various structures, including the National Treasury, the Executive, the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI) and the Auditor-General, during the period 1995 to 2014, are examined. The article argues that whilst the system of financial oversight has strengths, there are systemic weaknesses which have resulted in uneven levels of financial accountability over the years. The article therefore proposes that measures to strengthen the system of oversight are needed to improve financial accountability. These include reforming the relevant legislation and providing more robust powers to the oversight actors.

scholarly journals Present challenges and some critical issues for research in industrial/organisational psychology in South Africa

2007 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Rothmann ◽  
FVN Cilliers
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
South African ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Health And Wellness ◽  
The South ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
African Context

The objective of this study was to determine a set of problems and critical issues that researchers in Industrial and Organisational Psychology deem to be important areas for immediate and future enquiry. The changing identity of this field of application is investigated, more relevant paradigms in the study of organisational health and wellness is explored and methods, techniques and interventions suitable to the South African context are suggested. Conclusions are formulated to increase the ability of organisations to work towards economic development, while promoting the wellness and quality of life of employees.

scholarly journals Analysing annual financial statements of public ordinary secondary schools in the Tshwane north district, South Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 250-258
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Doussy ◽  
Frank Doussy
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
South African ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
The South ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Accounting Practice ◽  
South African Schools Act

This paper presents the results from an analysis of the annual financial statements of public ordinary secondary schools in the Tshwane North District, South Africa. The analysis was done to assess the quality of these annual financial statements as well as the apparent usefulness thereof for the parents of the learners in the school. These users are probably most concerned with the quality and usefulness of information presented to them for providing the necessary assurance that the funds received by the school are properly accounted for and used to the advantage of their children. The results suggest that assurance in this regard is lacking as audits are not done at all, or are of an extremely poor quality. The quality of the financial statements is also poor, with scant regard for Generally Accepted Accounting Practice or the South African Schools Act. Urgent intervention from the Education Departments is needed to ensure that the South African Schools Act is adhered to and that proper audits are conducted by suitably qualified accountants and auditors. The South African Institute for Chartered Accountants (SAICA) should also play a more positive role in this regard by ensuring that audit practices are enforced and quality annual financial statements are presented.

scholarly journals The impact of corruption on service delivery: a topical matter in the South African Municipalities

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (01) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mabeba SJ ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
South African ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
The South ◽  
Basic Services ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Impact

One of the topical challenges facing South African municipalities recently is corruption. From time-to-time citizens learn about and witness the corrupt practices of public officials in the Local Government sphere. Arguably, the phenomenon of corruption has both direct and indirect impact on service delivery with specific focus to municipalities. Section 152(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996) states that the Local Government sphere has the mandate to ensure the provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner. Subsequently, some of the communities across the country still wish to have access to basic services namely: water, electricity, community halls and proper tar roads to name a few. As a result, at times it seems impossible for municipalities to smoothly render such services due to corrupt practices emanating in the South African Local Government sphere. This article aimed to explore the impact of corruption on service delivery in the South African municipalities. The article fully relied on secondary data as it collects information from newspapers, books, journal articles, conference proceedings, officials report and academic dissertations. In pursuit of all this, Afrocentricity: a theory of social change has been placed in context with a view that the needs of the society should be placed at the center of the local government sphere. To be specific, these needs are but not limited to water and electricity. Looking at the findings of the study, indeed literature can confirm that corruptions have negative impact on the ability of the municipalities in South Africa to provide basic services. Because the interests of the public are competing with those of the municipal officials. Therefore, at the end of the day service delivery is compromised due unlawful practices.

scholarly journals Aligning mathematics with tutoring platform topics

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bertram Haskins ◽  
Reinhardt A. Botha
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
The South ◽  
Online Tutorial ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Final Exams ◽  
Historic Data ◽  
Mathematics Tutoring

Dr Math was a mobile mathematics tutoring service, used by school learners across South Africa. The wealth of historic data available, with regard to the conversations between tutors and learners, may contain valuable insights as to which mathematics topics are most frequently encountered on the Dr Math service. This alignment may serve as an indicator of the utility of an online tutorial service as a reflection of the curriculum covered by learners, and as an extra avenue of support. This study makes use of automated means to rank the topics discussed on the Dr Math service and to align them with the topics encountered in the South African National Senior Certificate final examinations. The study finds that there is a close alignment with regard to the observations of the Department of Basic Education on factors influencing the performance of the learners. The topics most frequently discussed on the Dr Math service also align closely with the topics with which the learners have most difficulty in their final exams.

scholarly journals Skilled labour supply in the South African construction industry: The nexus between certification, quality of work output and shortages

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abimbola O. Windapo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
South African ◽  
Labour Supply ◽  
Work Output ◽  
The South ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Skilled Labour ◽  
Quality Of Work

Orientation: Construction human resource management.Research purpose: The study examines the skilled labour supply in the South African construction industry and determines whether there is a relationship between trade certification, quality of work output and scarce labour skills.Motivation for the study: The rationale for the investigation is based on the view of scholars that a skilled labour shortage is preponderant in the South African construction industry even though there is a high level of youth unemployment in South Africa and that the perceived skills shortage contributes to a decrease in productivity and product quality.Research design, approach and method: The paper reviews relevant literature and employs a mixed method research approach in collecting empirical data from contracting companies within the Western Cape Province of South Africa that are listed on the Construction Industry Development Board contractor register.Main findings: The study demonstrated that there is no shortage of manpower, but there is a shortage of qualified or skilled tradesmen, such as electricians, plumbers, welders, fitters and carpenters, whose professions are more technical and require formal training and certification. The level of supply of skilled tradesmen is attributed to the lack of high-quality basic education, the state of the economy, compulsory certification of tradesmen and an ageing workforce. It was also found that there is a significant relationship between skilled labour shortages and the requirement that labour be certified and that work output is unsatisfactory when there is no certification requirement.Practical/managerial implications: Based on these findings, the study concludes that skilled labour shortages and poor work output quality continue to be experienced in the South African construction industry when workers are unable to obtain formal certification for informal work experience acquired through years of practice on construction sites.Contribution: It is recommended that the South African government establish proactive strategies in the form of a framework for use in evaluating, certifying and grading the informal expertise acquired by workers through years of practice. This recommendation seeks to ensure that the supply of certified craftsmen capable of undertaking and producing high-quality construction work meets demand.Keywords: Artisans; Education; Experience; Expertise; Practice

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