PUB3705 Assignment 2 Semester 2 2026 – Due 14 September 2026

Description

PUB3705 Assignment 2 Semester 2 2026 – Due 14 September 2026
1. Introduction

Municipal financial management in South Africa involves various role players who work
together to ensure that public money is managed effectively, efficiently, and
transparently. The Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) 56 of 2003 provides the
legislative framework for municipal financial management and clearly assigns roles and
responsibilities to different internal role players within municipalities (Pauw et al.
2015:188). According to the MFMA, the Act aims to “secure sound and sustainable
management of the financial affairs of municipalities” and to “put in place a sound
financial governance framework by clarifying and separating the roles and
responsibilities of the council, mayor and officials”. My assignment examines the key
internal role players involved in municipal financial management, their functions, and
how they contribute to sound financial governance.

2. Municipal Council
The municipal council is the highest decision-making body within a municipality and
plays a fundamental role in financial management. The council is responsible for
approving the municipal budget, oversight of financial performance, and ensuring
accountability. According to Pauw et al. (2015:191), the council must approve the
annual budget and the integrated development plan (IDP), which forms the basis for the
budget. Non-executive councillors are empowered to play a key policy-approval and
monitoring role through the municipal council. The council also oversees the
implementation of the budget and holds the executive and administration accountable
for financial management.