The generation of additional financial resources to facilitate the HRD of the public service

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.