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Public administration defined
Public Administration is that species of administration which operates within a specific political setting. It is a means by which policy decisions are made by the political decisionmakers and carried out. It is action undertaken by the government, that is, the means by which the purpose and goals of the government are realised. The following are several renowned definitions of Public Administration: Public Administration “is the detailed and systematic execution of public law. Every particular application of law is an act of administration” (Pruthi, 2005: 23 – 24). The implementation of an enacted law by officials gives rise to public administration in practice. Public Administration is “the art and science of management applied to the affairs of the State” (Pruthi, 2005: 23 – 24). Management and administration are dynamic in nature. The figurative use of, for example, “it is both an art and science” is true in the case of public management as well as public administration because creative solutions are required to solve current challenges.
Public Administration comprises the activities of the executive branches of the National, State and Local Governments (Pruthi, 2005: 23 – 24).
The ‘public’ aspect of Public Administration gives the discipline a special character. It can be formally considered to mean government. So, public administration is government administration, the focus being specifically on the functions of public officials in supervisory posts. This is the meaning commonly used when discussing public administration. Public administration in a wider sense expands its ambit by including any administration that has considerable impact on the public (Pruthi, 2005: 2 – 3). A rational activity involving organisation and management of men and material in the state, central, regional, provincial or local, is called Public Administration (Pruthi, 2005: 23 – 24). Literature on public administration dates back to ancient civilizations. The ancient Egyptians and Babylonians left considerable advice on the techniques of management and administration as well as the civilizations of China, Greece, and Rome (Shafritz and Hyde, 2007: 1).
Public Administration was to be a field of study not about the function or an enterprise but rather about an entire major sector of what would grow to be the largest and most influential economy the world has ever seen (Shafritz, 2004:13). Effective government agencies have high levels of motivation among their members, including a high level of public services motivation, mission motivation and task motivation (Rainey & Steinbauer, 1999: 22). It is important to develop a cadre of career public servants who are highly motivated to administer and manage the public service for the good of the public. Patriotic, selfless, highly motivated career public servants should be trained for the present and the future demands of nation building.
Public service motivation can be defined as a general altruistic inspiration to serve the interests of a community of people, a state, a nation or humankind. Major social scientists have recently referred to evolutionary developments that have fostered in human beings motives and attitudes conducive for communal and collective behavior, including trust, reciprocity and identification with an organisation (Ostrom 1998:n. p & Simon 1998:n. p). Since animals display altruistic behavior, behaviors that involve self-sacrifice on behalf of their groups, should be as strong as the more extrinsic motives for money or other material gain. Such forms of motivation have been part of human discourse since classical times, when, for example, Athenians pledged to leave their city better than they had found it for the use of future generations.
Motivation to serve the public has been part of discourse in public administration for centuries. Frederickson & Hart (1985:n. p), for example, discuss “patriotism of benevolence” that involves benevolent impulses and behavior toward a broad community. They defined it as affection for all in the nation and a devotion to defending their basic rights as granted by enabling documents such as a constitution. Seeking to refine the conception of public service motives, Perry & Wise (1990:n. p) suggest that public service motives can fall into three categories: instrumental motives, including participation in policy formulation, commitment to a public programme because of personal identification, advocacy for special or private interest, loyalty to duty and government and social equity; and affective motives, including commitment to the programme based on the conviction about its social importance and the patriotism of benevolence.
Provincial local dimensions
Three questions were posed about the role of the provincial local government sector in attempting to make fiscal decentralisation feasible. Does central government distribute intergovernmental transfers equitably? Does provincial government offset or reinforce central governmental equalisation policies? Is there uniformity in the equalisation policies of provincial governments in other countries? The answer to the first question is that all three of the countries in this sample – China, Russia and the US – do pursue fiscal equalisation. The cross-section’s own source revenue-income elasticity is greater than expenditure –income elasticity by roughly the same amount in the three countries (about 0. 25). The answer to the second question is that provincial government equalisation policies are stronger than central equalisation policies in the three countries (Martinez-Vazquez &Alm, 2003: 5).
CHAPTER 1 – Introduction, research design and methodology
1. 1 Introduction
1. 2 Overview of the study
1. 3 Motivation for the research
1. 4 Problem statement
1. 5 Review of the literature
1. 6 Research methods
1. 7 Preliminary framework of the research project
1. 8 Conclusion
CHAPTER 2 -Contextualisation of public administration
2. 1 Introduction
2. 2 Meaning of ‘administration’
2. 3 Public administration defined
2. 4 Public spending
2. 5 Budgeting reform as cornerstone of public administration
2. 6 Development of Public Administration in South Africa
2. 7 Public Administration as a field of study
2. 8 Public administration as a professional practice
2. 9 Public administration and the role of government
2. 10 Functions of public administration
2. 11 Policy in public administration
2. 12 Management in the public sector
2. 13 Control in the public service and government
2. 14 Government and accountability
2. 15 Public financial management and administration
2. 16 Basis for budgeting in the national and provincial spheres
2. 17 Conclusion
CHAPTER 3 – Public Financial Management
3. 1 Introduction
3. 2 Public Finance
3. 3 International public finance
3. 4 New International Financial Architecture (NIFA)
3. 5 International practices
3. 6 Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness
3. 7 Internal audit
3. 8 External audit
3. 9 Legislative framework of performance auditing
3. 10 Accounting officer accountability
3. 11 Internal and external auditors mandate
3. 12 Definition: performance auditing
3. 13 Necessity for performance auditing
3. 14 Accountability in the public sector
3. 15 Management in the public sector
3. 16 Budgetary function reform
3. 17 Public sector reform challenges in developing countries
3. 18 Guidelines for effective financial management
3. 19 Government debt management
3. 20 Conclusion
CHAPTER 4 – Structural and Empirical Analysis of North West Province
4. 1 Introduction
4. 2 Provincial overview – history
4. 3 Provincial government
4. 4 Provincial legislatures
4. 5 North West Province government departments
4. 7 Provincial local dimensions
4. 8 Provincial treasuries
4. 9 Conclusion
CHAPTER 5: Public Financial Management in the North West Provincial Administration
5. 1 Introduction
5. 2 Public financial management
5. 3 Identified cases of potential conflicts of interest in respect of the 2009/10 financial year in North West
5. 4 Reforming financial management
5. 5 Importance of accountability in public management
5. 6 Requirements for effective financial management
5. 7 Modernised financial management
5. 8 Weaknesses in the financial management system
5. 9 Barriers towards modernisation
5. 10 Transforming centralised modes of control
5. 11 Constitutional mandate for financial management
5. 12 Governmental accounting
5. 13 Financial performance monitoring
5. 14 Auditing
5. 14. 1 Role of auditor-general
5. 15 Public internal financial control
5. 16 Internal audit structures in the North West Provincial administration
5. 17 Public Service Commission (PSC)
5. 18 Coordination between portfolio and standing committees
5. 19 North West Provincial Treasury: audit findings
5. 20 Intervention strategies in North West Provincial Departments
5. 20. 1 Short-term intervention strategy
5. 20. 2 Long-term intervention strategy
5. 21 Findings: Public Finance Management Act related reporting
5. 22 North West provincial departments: audit opinions
5. 22 Qualification details of audit opinions
5. 23 Internal audit in combating fraud
5. 24 Audit findings related to other matters
5. 25 Rationale for performance auditing
5. 26 Performance auditing results
5. 27 Results of good practice indicators: North West provincial departments
5. 28 Stagnated audit outcomes
5. 29 Deficiencies in internal controls
5. 30 Provincial Public Accounts Committee (PPAC) resolutions
5. 31 Conclusion
CHAPTER 6 – Interpretation of the Findings, Recommendations and Conclusion
6. 1 Findings
6. 2 Recommendations
Bibliography
