An Integrated Framework for Enhancing Governance and Consequence Management in the South African Public Sector: Case of KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Administration

Governance failures in the South African public sector persist despite the existence of extensive legislative and institutional frameworks. These failures are less a function of policy absence and more a consequence of weak implementation, fragmented accountability systems, and inconsistent enforcement of consequence management. This study develops and empirically grounds the Integrated Multi-Stakeholder Governance and Consequence Management Framework (IMGCF-KZN), using the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Administration as a case. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was employed, combining quantitative data from 200 respondents with qualitative insights from 15 purposively selected governance practitioners. Statistical analysis revealed a significant relationship between good governance and consequence management, while corporate governance structures alone showed limited direct impact when not supported by enforcement and ethical leadership. The findings suggest that governance effectiveness depends on the integration of systems, stakeholder participation, and operational accountability mechanisms. The proposed framework introduces a multi-layered governance model comprising an enabling environment, six interdependent pillars, operational tools, and dynamic feedback loops. The study contributes to literature by shifting the focus from compliance-driven governance to enforcement-oriented and practice-based implementation. It further provides a practical model for strengthening systemwide accountability, improving institutional performance, ethical leadership, institutional transparency and integrity systems and restoring public trust in the South African public sector.