Promotion of good governance within local government: a case of municipal public accounts committee in South Africa

Abstract

The aim of this article was to explore the role of Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) in promoting good governance, with the contextual setting being Blouberg Local Municipality. There is general consensus among academics, practitioners and policy makers alike in South Africa that the allocation of functions and responsibilities of municipal council and that of executives are often not clear, thus creating confusion in the officialdom and weakening oversight structures including MPAC. Hence the qualified audit reports in four consecutive years in Blouberg Municipality (see Auditor General, 2016-2021), signals internal failure not only to improve the municipal financial health status but to promote good governance generally. Methodologically, the study adopted qualitative designs and used interviews as instrument to collect data from key members of the committee. Consequently, the study revealed many underlying weaknesses, but the critical one was the demonstrable poor capacity within the committee which is twofold; (1) lack of expertise to facilitate oversight and (2) insufficient budget to enable performance of the Committee. Essentially, these challenges affect the proper functioning of MPAC which is constitutionally bestowed the responsibility of holding the executive accountable and guard against any misappropriation of municipal funds. The study recommended a number of solutions to improve the state of MPAC in the municipality, amongst them were that, council should develop an integrated reporting mechanism framework to conduct an oversight role which can be done with the assistance from experts in governance. The committee's programme of action must also be funded, sufficiently.