Evaluation of Budget Implementation in the Municipality: A Case of the City of Tshwane

Abstract

The objective of the study is to evaluate the budget implementation plan in the municipality in accordance with the required budgeting processes. Municipalities are frequently none complying with legislation because of not spending the allocated budget. As a result, it affects the provision of services in the municipality. The study followed a quantitative approach to evaluate the implementation of budget estimates in the municipality using questionnaire to collect data from budget office in the operational budget sector, for a specific reason that it is a key component of municipal financial management. The result of the study reveals that the municipality is not spending according to their implementation plan as stated in their Service Delivery and Implementation Plan (SDIP) in monitoring performance between the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and its annual budgets, which may prompt service delivery and budget spending protest. Possibly the community may not have been consulted in the planning phase or engaged, and needs are not aligned with the IDP of the municipality during the budget draft. The management may not have implemented what the ward councillors as representatives have prioritised. The study employed social cohesion and systems theory to evaluate the budget implementation plan for service delivery target. This study recommends that for management to implement a realistic or implementable budget they need to comply with budget processes as preferred by Municipal Finance Management Act (56 of 2003) MFMA and in line with their IDP.