What Constrains Effective Public Financial Management in African Democracies? A Preliminary Analysis

Abstract

While the management of the area of public finance is highly legislated, the waste with which these resources slip  through the public coffers remains a paradox. The purpose of this article is to examine the five self-reinforcing  variables that are mostly fingered for this dilemma. These are: (1) public finance as a political process; (2)  parameters for open and orderly public finance management dispensation (spread across the three branches or spheres of government); (3) the impact on socioeconomic costs and benefits of revenue collection and expenditure; (4) the complexity of public finance with its interrelated sub-systems; and (5) poorly organised citizenry and weak  civil society organisations that cannot demand accountability. These are major obstacles to effective public financial  management.