Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (Act No. 56 of 2003)Chapter 2 : Supervision over Local Government Finance Management5. General functions of National Treasury and provincial treasuries |
| 1) | The National Treasury must— |
| a) | fulfil its responsibilities in terms of Chapter 13 of the Constitution and this Act; |
| i) | within the framework of co-operative government set out in Chapter 3 of the Constitution; and |
| ii) | when coordinating intergovernmental financial and fiscal relations in terms of the Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations Act, 1997 (Act No. 97 of 1997), the annual Division of Revenue Act and the Public Finance Management Act; and |
| c) | enforce compliance with the measures established in terms of section 216 (1) of the Constitution, including those established in terms of this Act. |
| 2) | To the extent necessary to comply with subsection (1), the National Treasury may— |
| a) | monitor the budgets of municipalities to establish whether they— |
| i) | are consistent with the national government's fiscal and macro-economic |
| ii) | comply with Chapter 4; |
| b) | promote good budget and fiscal management by municipalities, and for this purpose monitor the implementation of municipal budgets, including their expenditure, revenue collection and borrowing; |
| c) | monitor and assess compliance by municipalities and municipal entities with— |
| i) | this Act: and |
| ii) | any applicable standards of generally recognised accounting practice and uniform expenditure and revenue classification systems; |
| d) | investigate any system of financial management and internal control in any municipality or municipal entity and recommend improvements; |
| e) | take appropriate steps if a municipality or municipal entity commits a breach of this Act, including the stopping of funds to a municipality in terms of section 216(2) of the Constitution if the municipality, or a municipal entity, under the sole or shared control of that municipality. commits a serious or persistent material breach of any measures referred to in that section: and |
| f) | take any other appropriate steps necessary to perform its functions effectively. |
| 3) | A provincial treasury must in accordance with a prescribed framework— |
| a) | fulfil its responsibilities in terms of this Act: |
| b) | promote the object of this Act as stated in section 2 within the framework of co-operative government set out in Chapter 3 of the Constitution; and |
| c) | assist the National Treasury in enforcing compliance with the measures established in terms of section 216(1) of the Constitution, including those established in terms of this Act. |
| 4) | To the extent necessary to comply with subsection (3), a provincial treasury— |
| a) | must monitor— |
| i) | compliance with this Act by municipalities and municipal entities in the province; |
| ii) | the preparation by municipalities in the province of their budgets; |
| iii) | the monthly outcome of those budgets; and |
| iv) | the submission of reports by municipalities in the province as required in terms of this Act; |
| b) | may assist municipalities in the province in the preparation of their budgets; |
| c) | may exercise any powers and must perform any duties delegated to it by the National Treasury in terms of this Act; and |
| d) | may take appropriate steps if a municipality or municipal entity in the province commits a breach of this Act. |
| 5) | The functions assigned to the National Treasury or a provincial treasury in terms of this Act are additional to those assigned to the National Treasury or a provincial treasury in terms of the Public Finance Management Act. |
| 6) | The Minister, as the head of the National Treasury, takes all decisions of the National Treasury in terms of this Act, except those decisions taken as a result of a delegation in terms of section 6(1). |
| 7) | The MEC for finance in a province, as the head of the provincial treasury, takes all decisions of the provincial treasury in terms of this Act, except those decisions taken as a result of a delegation in terms of section 6(4). |
| 8) | A provincial treasury must submit all information submitted to it in terms of this Act to the National Treasury on a quarterly basis, or when requested. |