Question NW96 to the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform
25 February 2016 - NW96
Cassim, Mr Y to ask the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform
Whether he has entered into a performance agreement with the President, Mr Jacob G Zuma, with regard to the implementation of the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) 2014-2019; if not, why not; if so, (a) which key indicators and targets from the MTSF are reflected in the agreement, (b) how many performance assessments has he undertaken in consultation with the President since the agreement was signed, (c) what progress has been made in meeting the key indicators and targets from the MTSF, (d) what are the key obstacles to implementation and (e) what is the plan to address such obstacles?
Reply:
Yes.
(a),(b),(c),(d),(e) The Performance Management Framework for Ministers is the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) for 2014-2019, which is the first five year implementation plan of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030. The performance indicators and targets are reflected in the Annual Performance Plans (APPs). APPs form the basis upon which Departments are held accountable by Parliament on a quarterly basis and also held accountable by the public. The performance agreement of the Minister is therefore publicly assessed through the Portfolio Committees on a regular basis.
In addition, the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), 1999 compels all Executing Authorities to subject their departmental expenditure to the Auditor General for auditing. This again is a measure that ensures full accountability in respect of public funds. Furthermore, Cabinet closely monitors the implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 and MTSF 2014-2019 through the Programme of Action (POA) reports. These reports are tabled before an implementation forum of a cluster of Ministers collectively responsible for MTSF outcomes, and then submitted to Cabinet where progress is noted, bottlenecks to implementation are dicussed, and recommendations to address bottlenecks are considered and approved.