Governance disclosure practices and signals of Public Accountability: Evidence from Annual Reports of South African Provincial Governments

Abstract

The study aimed to examine the governance disclosure practices as a signal of public accountability within the annual reports of South African provincial government, focusing on the departments of Health and Basic Education across all nine provinces. Drawing on a multi-theoretical framework of legitimacy, accountability and signalling theories, the research evaluated how governance disclosure serves as a signal of public accountability and a means of enhancing public trust. The study adopted a pragmatic research philosophical paradigm with a mixed method and longitudinal design in analysing 54 audited annual reports from the period of 2023 to 2025 against a disclosure index of 20 items derived from the Public Finance Management Act, Auditor-General of South Africa guidelines and King IV guidelines. The study revealed that sampled departments in many provinces demonstrate high transparency and accountability and use of reports as a substantive signal of performance; nevertheless, there was a significant variance in compliance across provinces. The Western Cape consistently maintained the highest disclosure indices, whereas other provinces showed mixed results. Most notably, Limpopo province exhibited a sharp decline in accountability signals for 2025 in both departments of Health and Education. The study concluded that annual reports of provincial governments in South Africa remain the primary channel to communicate performance, signal public accountability and reduce information asymmetry between citizens and the state.