An Assessment of the Public Finance Management Act, Act 1 of 1999 (PFMA): a case study of the Eastern Cape Department of Education (2005-2012)

The Eastern Cape Department of Education consumes a huge chunk of the Eastern Cape provincial budget. Any transgression of the laws that govern how the public purse should be managed - whether overspending, under spending, irregular or wasteful expenditure - has far reaching consequences in terms of service delivery. The Eastern Cape is one of the poorest and most rural provinces in the country and by implication has huge service delivery backlogs .This has been confirmed by various stakeholders and role-players such as Chapter Nine institutions and non-governmental organisations. An observation by the Auditor-General and both the portfolio committees on Public Accounts and Education over the years is the lack of proper controls, especially in financial management. This study presents a case study of the Eastern Cape Department of Education in the financial years 2007-2012 to assess the Public Finance Management Act, Act 1 of 1999 (PFMA). The main objective of this study is to assist the department by putting forward lasting scientific recommendations and solutions that could be integrated into the plans of this department