This picture illustrates the primary accountability relationship between the executive and the legislature in government in South Africa. It highlights the role the Auditor-General plays in providing an independent, objective assessment of the accuracy of the annual reports and annual financial statements produced by the executive for purposes of reporting to the legislature.
This picture was developed to address two questions:
1. Can Parliament fire a government official?
The picture shows that government officials are appointed by the State President/Minister and delegated responsibility in terms of their contract. The government official is therefore contractually accountable to the State President/Minister. Parliament cannot intervene directly in this contractual relationship. Parliament can only recommend to the State President / Minister that a government official be fired, but the decision to act on such a recommendation remains that of the State President / Minister.
2. Are government officials accountable to Parliament ?
The picture shows that the State President and Ministers are directly accountable to Parliament by virtue of their appointment. A government official is contractually accountable to the State President and Minister, but does have a duty of answerability to Parliament. Answerability implies being completely open and honest with Parliament, and being proactive in sharing information.
The Constitution vests the National Assembly and provincial legislatures with the power of oversight over their respective executives., in addition to their legislative and other powers (e.g. choosing the President and Premiers). Section 55(2) outlines the oversight powers of the National Assembly, by requiring that it “must provide for mechanisms to ensure that all executive organs of state in the national sphere of government are accountable to it; and to maintain oversight of the exercise by the national executive authority, including the implementation of legislation; and any organ of state.” Provincial legislatures are provided with similar oversight powers as the National Assembly in section 114(2), but over provincial executive organs of state. The National Assembly is also empowered with the power of “scrutinizing and overseeing executive action” by section 42(3) of the Constitution.
The oversight powers of the National Assembly and provincial legislatures are particularly important for the process of considering annual reports, as they are the ‘regular reports’ referred to in section 92(3)(b) of the Constitution which requires that “Members of Cabinet must provide Parliament with full and regular reports concerning matters under their control.” The parallel section for the provincial sphere of government is section 133(3)(b) of the Constitution, which requires that “Members of the Executive Council of a province must provide the legislature with full and regular reports concerning matters under their control.”
This picture illustrates the recommended tabling and oversight processes that legislatures should follow in order to ensure proper oversight of annual reports.
This picture appears in:
- National Treasury. 2005 ‘Guideline for Legislative Oversight of Annual Reports’. National Treasury. www.treasury.gov.za/legislation/.../guidelines/Guideline%20for%20Legis...
The Public Finance Management Act was passed by Parliament in 1999. It introduced a new approach to managing public finances in South Africa, one based on “letting managers manage, while holding them accountable”. This picture shows the different role-players involved in implementing the Public Finance Management Act and the accountability and oversight arrangements the Act and the Constitution put in place.
