Public Sector Governance and Accountability Series: Budgeting and ...

534 Alta Fölscher
The South African case illustrates the importance of being clear about
objectives, getting the principles right when designing reforms to fulfill those
objectives, and letting realism guide the reform process and the speed with
which it is implemented. The South African experience also shows that
although approaching budget reforms in terms of frameworks makes sense,
time is needed for the reforms to take effect. Quality improvements in terms
of expenditure estimates, actual spending information, performance information,
and service delivery materialize slowly. Reforming the budgeting
system is never the full answer to economic governance challenges; however,
when backed by robust political support and decision systems and sound
human resources management, it plays a significant part in improving public
sector management.
Note
This chapter draws on Fölscher and Cole (2004).
References
Donaldson, Andrew. 2006.“Agency, Information, and Organisation in the Public Sector.”
Paper presented at a seminar on October 5, 2006, hosted by the Department of
Economics, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Fölscher, Alta, and Neil Cole. 2004. “South Africa: Transition to Democracy Offers
Opportunity for Whole System Reform.” In Budget Reform Seminar: Country Case
Studies, ed. Alta Fölscher, 109–46. Pretoria: National Treasury of South Africa.
IMF (International Monetary Fund). 2001. Government Finance Statistics Manual.
Washington, DC: IMF Statistics Department. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/
ft/gfs/manual/pdf/all.pdf.
National Treasury of South Africa. 2004a. “Budget Review.” National Treasury of South
Africa, Pretoria.
———. 2004b. MTEF Guidelines 2004. Pretoria: National Treasury of South Africa.
———. 2006a. “Budget Review.” National Treasury of South Africa, Pretoria.
———. 2006b. Estimates of National Expenditure 2006. Pretoria: National Treasury of
South Africa.
———. 2006c. MTEF Guidelines 2006. Pretoria: National Treasury of South Africa.
Schoch, Mickie, Alta Fölscher, Hennie Swanepoel, and Annelize Adendorff. 2006.
“Achieving Objectives through the Classification System: Objectives, Principles, and
Experiences.” In Managing Complexity: From Fragmentation to Co-ordination, ed.
Alta Fölscher, 46–65. Pretoria: CABRI Secretariat.