Abstract:
The Government of the day fulfills an important role in the development and
sustainability of the skills of public officials. This acquired skills is of
importance in order to deliver an effective service to all South Africans. The
necessary financial resources should be made available to develop and to sustain the
skills of public servants. However the lack of these resources can be related to
inadequate training programs for officials in the public service.
This brings Government to seek alternative funding. Previous legislation, the
Exchequer Act, 1975 (Act 66 of 1975) and accompanying financial regulations did
not allow for innovative and creative financial management. With the introduction of the new Public Finance Management Act, 1999, (Act 1 of 1999) as amended,
opportunities were created to generate additional sources of income to facilitate the training needs that could not be addressed through a line item budget. Although the generation of additional sources might be seen as a breakthrough, the ethical and moral implications should be taken into consideration.