budgetguide_for_mps-7391d808a2382169.pdf

This guide, published by the Institute for Security Studies in March 2015, provides a foundational framework for Members of Parliament (MPs) to understand and oversee the national budget process in South Africa. It details the legal mandates, the stages of the budget cycle, the role of various government spheres, and provides a toolkit for quantitative budget analysis to enhance legislative oversight and accountability.

• The South African budget process utilizes a 'programme and sub-programme approach' designed to link finance and function, shifting the focus from simple line-item spending to performance accountability based on measurable objectives and outputs.
• The budget cycle consists of four overlapping stages: Drafting, Legislative, Implementation, and Audit. The legislative stage is where Parliament and its committees primarily engage to accept, amend, or reject the budget.
• South Africa employs a Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), introduced in 1997/1998, which uses a three-year planning horizon to increase transparency and predictability. This is communicated annually in October via the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS).
• The Public Finance Management Act of 1999 (PFMA) regulates financial management at national and provincial levels, establishing the National Treasury and requiring that audited spending information be presented to Parliament within six months of the financial year's end.
• National tax revenue in South Africa is primarily driven by three sources: Personal Income Tax (PIT), Corporate Income Tax (CIT), and Value Added Tax (VAT), which together accounted for 80.7% of total gross tax revenue in the 2013/14 fiscal year.
• The Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act of 2009 provides Parliament with a formal procedure to amend the budget, moving beyond 'rubber stamping' by allowing changes to the fiscal framework, tax policy, and the Division of Revenue Bill.
• Budgetary Review and Recommendation Reports (BRRRs) are essential oversight tools that assess departmental performance, service delivery, and efficiency, serving as the basis for amendment debates in February and March.
• The Auditor General and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) are the primary institutions for budget auditing. SCOPA categorizes reports into three levels (A, B, and C) to determine if a formal hearing is required based on the severity of the audit findings.
• The guide provides a budget analysis toolkit focusing on four dimensions: Priority (comparing functions), Progress (tracking trends over time), Equity (analyzing who benefits and contributes), and Adequacy (determining if inputs are sufficient to achieve goals).

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). budgetguide_for_mps-7391d808a2382169.pdf. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/BudgetGuide_for_MPs.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. budgetguide_for_mps-7391d808a2382169.pdf. n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/BudgetGuide_for_MPs.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=budgetguide_for_mps-7391d808a2382169.pdf |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/BudgetGuide_for_MPs.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudiesndbudgetguideformps7391d808a2382169pdf, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{budgetguide\_for\_mps-7391d808a2382169.pdf}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/BudgetGuide_for_MPs.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }