Diploma in Public Accountability​

Public regulation, service delivery and development, including dealing decisively with poverty, inequality and over-consumption, requires a sophisticated public sector. This sector functions within a governance framework set by legislation, regulations, policies, strategies and political executive directives to which compliance is an imperative. Public accountability therefore implies being held accountable in public for how successful the set delivery and development objectives have been met and how diligently the rules of compliance have been carried out.

Public accountability is meant to reveal fitness for purpose of municipalities, departments, institutions and public entities, their programmes of action and their resources, especially their employees. This is comparable to a sports team that must play the game on the field, within the rules, obeying the referees, play to a well-designed strategy and play well enough to give account of themselves in the competition and satisfy the expectations of their supporters. Not even one of the players in the team is excluded from adhering to the rules and having the necessary skills to contribute to becoming the champions.

Much has already been done in South Africa to guide and regulate the development of a professional public sector. A number of regulations make specific competencies and qualifications compulsory for certain positions.

The content of the two-year diploma programme is structured as follows:

The following modules are compulsory:

Level 5 - 6 (HEQF) - The learning outcomes are achieved by means of seven modules in Year 1 and six modules in Year 2. 120 credits are obtainable per year. The modules are:

• Public Accountability 1 & 2

• Managing Institutional Capacity 1 & 2

• Managing Institutional Performance 1 & 2 

• Managing Institutional Collaboration 1 & 2

• Institutional Conduct 1 & 2

• Compliance and Control 1: Budgeting

• Compliance and Control 1: Asset and Procurement Management

One of the following elective modules must be selected in Year 2:

• Compliance and Control 2 or

• Public Financial Accounting 2

The combined learning outcomes of the first and second - year modules correspond to the learning outcomes of the Unit Standards of the Municipal Regulations on Minimum Competency (MMC) levels (RSA, Government Gazette 29967, 2007), as amended (RSA, Government Gazette 41996, 2018) of the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003.

The combined learning outcomes of the second-year modules correspond with the learning outcomes of the Competent Level of Qualifications and of Knowledge and Expertise, as defined in Annexure B, Local Government Senior Management Framework of the Local Government: Regulations on Appointment and Conditions of Employment of Senior Managers (RSA, Government Gazette 36223, 2013).