Africa-Press – South-Africa. Minister Maropene Ramokgopa is concerned that local governments are still lagging behind when it comes to the regulation and coordination of the country’s planning and monitoring systems.
Ramokgopa, who is the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation, said great strides were being made at national and provincial departments, as well as some state-owned entities, to roll out plans on a national scale.
But there was a disconnect at a municipal level – the sphere of government that’s closest to communities that need the services.
The minister appeared before the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration on Tuesday to table the department’s annual performance plan for the 2023/2024 financial year.
Given the lingering challenges around the rollout of plans on a national scale, Ramokgopa said her department was in the process of developing “sector-specific and outcome-specific” medium-term plans.
According to the minister, delivery agreements as well as monitoring and evaluating the implementation of these plans would be synchronised.
“Despite progress made in the current planning system, more must be done to ensure local government is better integrated. This requires urgency, especially with the implementation and institutionalisation of the District Development Model (DDM).”
“The DDM remains an important pillar of planning and the implementation of policies and programmes at the local government level with the support of other spheres of government,” the minister said.
She added that “the primary mandate for DPME (Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation) was to facilitate the implementation of the national development plan (NDP) through the development of sector-specific and outcome-specific medium-term plans and delivery agreements, and monitor and evaluate the implementation of these plans”.
“This mandate entails ensuring alignment of departmental strategic and annual plans and budget allocations with the government’s medium-term strategic framework,” Ramokgopa said.
The minister elaborated that in the 2023/2024 financial year, her department would focus on five priority areas. These included the strengthening of the National Planning Commission as an independent institution to monitor the implementation of the NDP and provide feedback and guidance to the government.
Ramokgopa also seeks to reinforce the planning processes, aligning them with the government’s medium- and long-term goals.
Her department will also continue to monitor the implementation of essential government programmes as contained in its 2014-2019 Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) to produce progress reports on implementation to be presented to the Cabinet.
The monitoring of frontline services, including the complaints and compliments emanating from the presidential hotline, is also among the top priorities for her department.
Under her oversight, Ramokgopa’s department also seeks to generate evidence on government performance against its set priorities, including MTSF and State of the Nation Address commitments.
“The DPME will conduct rapid evaluations on programmes that are aimed at achieving our annual apex priorities (APPs) of the sixth administration,” the minister said.
Some of the key commitments include the development and an Integrated Planning Framework Bill, the production of the 30-year review report of South Africa’s democracy, the establishment of an interactive knowledge hub to promote evidence-based planning, and the revamping of the presidential hotline to encourage government-citizen engagement.
“The APP provides a pragmatic framework to be implemented by the DPME in pursuit of our vision of improving government outcomes and improving the quality of lives our people live. It takes guidance from the NDP on guiding our collective journey towards Vision 2030 and employs the MTSF as the vehicle that will carry us over five years,” Ramokgopa added.
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