The purpose of this paper is to highlight the significance of morality and indigenous African cultural practices in public sector financial management. Post-1994, the South African government embarked on policy reforms and several pieces of legislation were promulgated for public service and local government regulation. This legislation included the 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, the 1999 Public Finance Management Act and the 2003 Municipal Finance Management Act. Underlying this legislation was the hope of supporting the democratic and public administration processes in pursuit of the goals of quality service delivery and sustainable development. Notwithstanding the good intentions underlying this legislation, a democratic South Africa's financial management continues to be embedded with corruption, fraud and theft. This paper argues that the legislative framework in question has not inculcated the appropriat