The Role of Civil Society Organizations in Promoting Public Accountability: The Perspective of the South African Local Government

The South African public sector is characterised by a lack of public accountability and responsive public officials. This has negatively impacted service delivery across all government sector. Corruption, maladministration, and lack of consequence management is noticeable in all government spheres. Civil Society groups attempt to serve the public's needs but operate outside of government; this provides them a crucial function namely: advocacy, watchdog, service provider, capacity building, and representation role. Having proactive civil society organisations is vital for South Africa, as more citizens depend on the government for provision of fundamental services, due to the rising rate of inequality, poverty, and unemployment in the country. The civil society group in South Africa had played a notable role in the dissolution of the presidency of former presidents Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki, and they can still play a huge role in promoting accountability in the South African public sector. This paper seek to investigate how can civil society organisations advance the agenda of accountability in the public sector to ensure that government resources are not wasted due to lack of accountability and there is repetition prioritized. The paper arrives at the opportune time where the South African public sector is beset with accountability difficulties that have destroyed the reputation of the public sector and disrupted the provision of provision of essential services to the poor and disadvantaged.