Holding the Executive to Account in South Africa: Analysis of Weaknesses and Strengths.

The powers of the executive arm of the state are limited in so many respects. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 limits the powers of each arm of the state including the executive, which comprises the president, ministers, premiers, members of the executive councils and the entire administration. The executive's constitutional responsibility is that of implementing policies of the state, that is, spending the approved budget, and putting life into all the legislations, state of the nation address or any other intentions of government. The executive is allocated and is responsible for spending most part of the budget of the state. However, the executive should account regularly to requisite state institutions including the legislature to avoid abuse of state power and resources. To this end, this conceptual paper uses existing literature to examine and analyse possible weaknesses that are encountered in holding the executive arm of the state to account. Possible solutions are recommended to enhance the accountability of the executive arm including amending the legislative framework, which allows the head of the executive (The President) to appoint heads of the institutions mandated to hold the executive to account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]