ATC130523 Report of the Standing Committee on Appropriations on the Annual Performance Plan and Budget of the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, dated 21 May 2013

Standing Committee on Auditor General

(The following report replaces the Report of the Standing Committee on Appropriations which was published on page 1935 in the Announcements, Tablings and Committee Reports of 22 May 2013)

(The following report replaces the Report of the Standing Committee on Appropriations which was published on page 1935 in the Announcements, Tablings and Committee Reports of 22 May 2013)


REPORT OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS ON THE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE PLAN AND BUDGET OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND EVALUATION, DATED 21 MAY 2013

Having considered the 2013/14 Annual Performance Plan and Budget Vote 6: Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, the Standing Committee on Appropriations reports as follows:

1. Introduction

In terms of section 10 (1) (c) of the Money Bills Amendment Procedures and Related Matters Act, No 9 of 2009, the relevant members of Cabinet must table updated strategic plans for each Department, public entity or institution, which must be referred to the relevant committee for consideration and report. The 2013/14 Annual Performance Plan (APP) and the Budget Vote of the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation were referred to the Standing Committee on Appropriations, hereinafter referred to as the Committee, on 13 March 2013 for consideration and reporting.

2. Mandate of the Department

The Department was promulgated in January 2010 in line with Section 85(2) (c) of the Constitution. As from 1 April 2011 the Department was assigned Vote 6 after being removed from Vote 1: The Presidency.

The mandate of the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation (the Department) is derived from Section 85 (2) (c) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (the Constitution) which states that the President exercises executive authority, together with the other members of the Cabinet, by coordinating the functions of State Departments and administrations.

The Department has the following mandate:

· to facilitate the development of plans or delivery agreements for the cross cutting priorities or outcomes of government and monitor and evaluate the implementation of these plans;

· monitor the performance of individual national and provincial government and municipalities;

· monitor frontline service delivery;

· manage the Presidential Hotline;

· carry out evaluations of major and strategic government programmes;

· promote good monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practices in government; and

· provide support to delivery institutions to address backlogs in delivery.

3. Outcome Based Approach

The 12 prioritised outcomes of Government are as follows:

  • improved quality of education;
  • a long and healthy life for all South Africans;
  • all people in South Africa are and feel safe;
  • decent employment through inclusive economic growth;
  • a skilled and capable workforce to support an inclusive economic growth;
  • an efficient, competitive and responsive economic infrastructure network;
  • vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural communities with food security for all;
  • sustainable human settlement and improved quality of household life;
  • a responsive, accountable, effective and efficient local government system;
  • environmental assets and natural resources that are well protected and continually enhanced;
  • create a better South Africa and contribute to a better and safer Africa and World; and
  • an efficient, effective and development-oriented public service and an empowered, fair and inclusive citizenship.

The role and responsibilities of the Department include supporting ongoing reporting on and monitoring of progress against outputs data and targets contained in the delivery agreements emanating from the 12 outcomes, facilitating the production of government’s overall 5 year strategic framework; and monitoring and evaluating plans for sector priorities as well as performance of individual departments and municipalities.

The Department is also the custodian of the M&E function in Government. The Department has put in place a Monitoring and Evaluation Policy Framework for the whole of Government. The Department’s focus has been on facilitating the development of plans for priorities such as basic education, health, reducing crime and creating employment. The main aims of this initiative has been, amongst others, to increase the strategic focus of government, to introduce results-based planning on a sectoral basis, to increase coordination between departments and across spheres of government, and to use M&E tools to gauge progress with regards to government-wide plans and targets; and to foster a culture of evidence-based continuous programme improvements.

4. Policy Shifts and Priorities for 2013/14

The four key priorities outlined in the Department’s 2011-2015 Strategic Plan remained the same, i.e. there has been no policy shift in the 2013/14 APP. The four key priorities of the Department as contained in its Strategic Plan 2011-2015 are:

· An efficient and effective department that complies with legislation, policy and good corporate governance principles;

· To advance the strategic agenda of government through the development and implementation of the delivery agreements for the outcomes, monitoring and reporting on progress and evaluating impact;

· To promote Monitoring and Evaluation practice through a coordinated policy platform, quality capacity building and credible data systems ,and;

· To monitor the quality of management practices in departments and the quality of front line service delivery.

However, some streamlining, reallocation and integration has taken place in order to support effective and efficient delivery in the Department. In particular, some of the functions of the sub-programme, Monitoring and Evaluation Data Support in Programme 3, have been shifted to Programme 2: Outcome Monitoring and Evaluation in order to improve accountability and integration of functions supporting the attainment of outcomes.

The focus of the Department remains that of assisting Government to achieve the set outcomes in government’s five key priorities through the implementation of the following programmes:

· monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the delivery agreements and refining them where necessary;

· developing and implementing a mechanism for performance assessment of individual departments and municipalities;

· developing and implementing a range of mechanisms for monitoring front line service delivery, including unannounced visits, citizen-based monitoring mechanisms and the Presidential Hotline; and

· assisting departments to analyse and use data to improve service delivery and inform policy and management decisions.

The priorities of the Department are in line with the National Development Plan’s (NDP) objectives which advocate for a Government that is accountable and transparent. The Department has been working with the National Planning Commission (NPC) on developing an implementation plan for the NDP. The main focus area for the 2013/14 financial year will be on streamlining the NDP into the work of Government. The Department has started the process of drafting the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) for the new electorate cycle. In partnership with the NPC, the Department will embark on a review of delivery agreements required to achieve the 12 outcomes.

5. Overview of Budget Vote 6 for the 2013 MTEF

Budget Vote 6 is divided into four funded programmes that seek to achieve its mandate, namely: Administration, Outcomes Monitoring and Evaluation, Monitoring and Evaluation Systems Coordination and Support, and Public Sector Oversight . The budget allocation for the Department for the 2013/14 financial year and the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) is depicted in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Budget Allocations per programme – 2013 MTEF

Programme

Appropriation

2012/13

‘R 000’

Revised Estimate

Appropriation for

2013/14

‘R 000’

Appropriation for 2014/15

‘R 000’

Appropriation for 2015/16

‘R 000’

Administration

53.3

56.9

55.9

55.5

Outcomes Monitoring and Evaluation

46.0

61.2

69.9

77.3

M&E Systems Coordination and Support

12.5

17.3

17.5

17.9

Public Sector Oversight

46.1

57.3

58.8

60.0

Total

157.9

192.7

202.0

210.7

Economic Classifications

Appropriation

2012/13

‘R 000’

Revised Estimate

Appropriation for

2013/14

‘R 000’

Appropriation for 2014/15

‘R 000’

Appropriation for 2015/16

‘R 000’

Current Payments

146.3

183.8

195.3

205.0

Compensation of Employees

84.9

108.5

114.9

118.1

Goods and Services

61.4

75.4

80.3

87.2

Transfers and Subsidies

-

-

-

-

Payment for Capital Assets

11.6

8.9

6.7

5.4

Total

157.9

192.7

202.0

210.7

The Department reported that Cabinet took a resolution in 2012 that most departments’ baseline 2012 MTEF allocations would have to decrease by 1, 2, and 3 per cent for each year over the MTEF. In addition, Cabinet decided that there must be limits on increases in personnel budgets thus the department’s personnel budget has been capped over the MTEF. Therefore, the Department has only been able to fund an additional 17 posts over the MTEF. This will increase the staff establishment from 197 in the 2012/13 financial year to 214 over the MTEF. The Department stated that this will impact negatively on the number of municipal assessments to be carried out and the number of evaluations to be conducted or supported.

The budget allocation for Goods and Services increases from R75.4 million in 2013/14 to R80.3 million in 2014/15 and R87.2 million in 2015/16. The main expenditure items for 2013/14 are as follows:

· evaluations (R12 million for independent evaluators);

· monitoring and evaluation capacity building (R5 million to conduct surveys and to train survey providers);

· internal Audit (R1.7 million for co-sourced internal audit expertise);

· computer services (R12 million for State Information Technology Agency (SITA) -Presidential Hotline Call Centre and R3.5 million for Information Communication Technology (ICT)Services and annual software licenses); and

· travel and subsistence (R10 million).

The budget allocation for Payment for Capital Assets (CAPEX) decreases from R15.6 million in 2012/13 to R8.9 million in 2013/14, R6.7 million in 2014/15, and R5.4 million in 2015/16. This was due to the fact that the Department has established its own Information Communication Technology (ICT) system which required significant set up capital expenditure in the 2012/13 financial year.

6. Key highlights of estimated performance in 2012/13

Table 2. Key estimates of performance 2012/13

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

TARGET ESTIMATED ACHIEVED 2012/13

Delivery agreements delivered and

revised

Delivery agreements were revised and reviewed

Monitoring report on the functioning of all implementation Forums

Four quarterly monitoring reports per outcome has been submitted to Cabinet

Research on outcomes monitoring

One report has been achieved for the

research outcome monitoring and the

draft tool for municipal performance assessment process has been developed

The number of government staff trained on evaluations

About 200 government staff trained

Number of evaluation reports approved by evaluation steering committee in which

DPME is a member

8 evaluations were started and1 final report was approved by the evaluation steering committee.

Number of quarterly reports for all outcomes displayed to public on POA

About 4 quarterly progress report on core indicators reflected to the public

Number of data forum meeting and quarterly reports

Quarterly data forums for about 10 outcomes had been held

Number of departments supported to improve their M&E MPAT scores

The first MPAT assessment report was concluded and submitted to Cabinet MPAT tool was updated and approved by August 2012

Annual Development Indicators

document

Develop and publish development indicators by March 2014

Percentage of national and provincial

departments whose HODs has signed

off the MPAT assessment

43% (18/42) national departments and70% (79/113) provincial departments had

their DG's signed off the MPAT score by

end of the third quarter

Number of monitoring reports on approved key indicators compiled and submitted to FOSAD

10 monitoring reports were submitted to FOSAD

FSD programme implementation tools and guidelines reviewed and finalised and presented to provincial M&E Forum meeting for use in the implementation of the programme

Tools and guidelines reviewed and published on FSDM web-based portal by end June 2012

Front line service delivery monitoring

visits

100 sites visited with site monitoring

reports captured on web-based portal

for the programme

Percentage of service delivery sites

Which have been visited at least twice,

at which there has been an improvement in scores for at least two of the eight

assessment areas

50% of service delivery site have been

visited twice.

Citizen-Based monitoring programme

Policy framework for citizen based monitoring programme submitted to Cabinet by March 2013

National average case resolution rate at national and provincial level

80% of cases were resolved by end of

March 2013

7. Programme Allocations

7.1 Administration: Programme 1

7.1.1 Strategic objectives of the programme

Programme 1: Administration provides for strategic management and the administrative support to the Director-General and the Department. The programme objective is to ensure that the Department has effective strategic leadership, administration and management, and to ensure that it complies with all relevant legislative prescripts. The programme is made up of the following four sub-programmes:

· Departmental Management is responsible for support to the Director-General, co-ordinating planning documentation, stakeholder liaison, communications and risk management.

· Corporate and Financial Services is responsible for financial management services, supply chain management services and a human resource management services.

· Information Technology Support is responsible for information communications technology infrastructure development, installation and development for internal operations and provides advice to the rest of government regarding IT systems for monitoring and evaluation.

· Internal Audit provides independent, objective assurance and advisory services designed to add value and improve the department’s operations.

The strategic objectives of the programme are as follows:

· to provide effective leadership based on the values of the Department and good corporate governance principles;

· to establish and communicate internal policies and procedures;

· to exercise oversight responsibility regarding financial and performance reporting, compliance and related internal controls;

· to implement an effective Human Resource (HR) management practices to ensure that adequate and appropriately skilled human resources were in place; and

· to establish an Information Technology (IT) framework and systems that would enable the department to deliver on its mandates.

The key priority areas for this programme during the 2013/14 financial year include the Service Delivery Improvement Programme (SDIP) and the Government-wide Monitoring and Evaluation Guideline and Support. The SDIP programme will entail integrating areas of weaknesses identified through MPAT and audit findings in the SDIP programme and to monitor these on a quarterly basis with the intended outcome of attaining a clean audit report and improved service delivery. The Government-wide Monitoring and Evaluation Guideline and Support priority area will entail developing guidelines and conducting capacity building on M&E IT support with the intended outcome of attaining good quality M&E IT system.

7.1.2 Budget Allocations

In the 2013/14 financial year, Programme 1 receives a total allocation of R56.9 million. The budget for the programme decreases over the MTEF from R56.9 million in 2013/14 to R55.9 million in 2014/15 and R55.5 million in 2015/16. The largest decrease in MTEF allocations is in the Information Technology Support (ITS) sub-programme which decreases from R22.3 million in 2013/14 to R19.2 million in 2015/16. The decrease in allocations for the ITS sub-programme in the medium term is due to the completion of ICT related projects.

In terms of economic classification, Compensation of Employees increases from R27.4 million in 2013/14 to R28.5 million in the 2015/16 financial year. Goods and Services decreases from R23.0 million in 2013/14 to R22.7 million in 2015/16. Payments for Capital Assets (CAPEX) decreases from R6.5 million in 2013/14 to R4.3 million in the 2015/16 financial year. Overall, R24 million is reprioritised over the MTEF from this programme to the Outcomes Monitoring and Evaluation and Public Sector Oversight programmes to cater for new policy initiatives such as the local government performance assessment, citizens based monitoring, and monitoring and evaluation systems.

7.2 Outcome Monitoring and Evaluation: Programme 2

7.2.1 Strategic objectives of the programme

Programme 2: Outcome Monitoring and Evaluation provides for the coordination of Government’s strategic agenda through the development of performance agreements between the President and Ministers, facilitation of the development of plans or delivery agreements for priority outcomes, and monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the delivery agreements. The programme is made up of the following three sub-programmes:

· Programme Management for Outcomes Monitoring and Evaluation provides programme management and administrative support.

· Outcomes Support facilitates and monitors the implementation of the outcomes approach. It monitors progress against targets, outputs and outcomes contained in the 12 delivery agreements.

· Evaluation and Research conducts evaluations of government policies and programmes.

The strategic objectives of Programme 2 are as follows:

· to facilitate the development of plans (delivery agreements) for priority outcomes, monitor and evaluate implementation of the delivery agreements and to make recommendations for corrective actions;

· to provide advice and technical support to the political principles in the Presidency, such as developing and monitoring Ministerial performance agreements, supporting executive monitoring visits and other initiatives; and

· to establish and support an effective national evaluation system to inform Government’s work.

The key priorities for Programme 2 for the 2013/14 financial year are as follows:

· Monitoring of the implementation of the delivery agreements for the 12 outcomes and to produce quarterly reports and briefing notes for Cabinet;

· To produce a 20 year review of the performance of Government which would be undertaken in conjunction with the National Planning Commission Secretariat;

· To translate the NDP into the 2014 – 2019 Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) and delivery agreements. It is envisaged that this MTSF would be completed by April 2014 and would therefore provide the first five year building block of the NDP;

· The Municipal Assessment Tool will be tested, refined and a memorandum thereon will be submitted to Cabinet by the end of October 2013. Ten municipal pilots will be conducted in respect of the aforementioned and reports on same will be submitted to municipalities by the end of March 2014;

· Data Forum meetings would be conducted with sector departments to improve data quality and enhance the credibility and reliability of data used to compile quarterly reports; and

· There will be capacity building for evaluations where 300 Government staff will complete at least one course commissioned by the DPME evaluation unit in order to improve staff capacity to undertake evaluations.

The Department is to monitor the functioning of implementation forums to facilitate the monitoring and promotion of Delivery Agreements. In addition, 22 letters will be written to outcomes co-coordinating departments and participating departments on alignment of APPs with Delivery Agreements. In 2013/14 the Department will continue with research on outcomes monitoring and will undertake 2 research assignments on the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Human Settlements.

Ten municipal assessments will be carried out and completed in the 2013/14 financial year. In the medium term, 10 improvement plans will be developed subsequent to the ten municipal assessments and 25 additional municipal assessments will be completed. The Department envisages that the municipal assessments will lead to improved delivery of local government services to citizens.

The 2013/14 evaluation plan was approved in November 2012. In 2013/14 t he Department in conjunction with relevant departments will conduct 15 evaluations for identified strategic priority programmes related to the 12 outcomes. The results for evaluations will be reported to Cabinet and be publicly available and government departments are to produce improvement plans based on the evaluations and implementation on improvement plans will be monitored. Two provincial evaluation plans were piloted in Gauteng and Western Cape in 2012/13 and 3 Provincial Evaluation Plans are targeted to be approved by the Provincial Executive Councils in 2013/14. The intended outcomes for the Department’s evaluations programme are to improve the quality of government’s service delivery programmes for improved outcome performance.

In ensuring transparency and accountability, the Department will continuously update the Programme of Action and in 2013/14 it will produce 4 quarterly progress reports for all outcomes and these will be made available to the public. In addition, the Department will produce 20 year review report on government performance which should provide the nation with a balanced assessment of progress made since 1994.

7.2.2 Budget Allocations

Programme 2 receives a total allocation of R61.2 million for the 2013/14 financial year. The budget for the programme increases over the medium term from R61.2 million in 2013/14 to R69.9 million in 2014/15 and R77.3 million in 2015/16. The largest increase in MTEF allocations is in the Evaluation and Research sub-programme which increases from R20.1 million in 2013/14 to R30.1 million in 2015/16. Funds have been reprioritised to this programme from other programmes to cater for evaluations and new policy initiatives such as local government performance assessments, and monitoring and evaluation systems. Eight evaluations were initiated during the 2012/13 financial year and one evaluation report has been concluded by the end of 2012/13 financial year. An amount of R12 million is allocated for evaluations in 2013/14, R15 million in 2014/15 and R20 million in 2015/16. Furthermore, the Programme of Action data support function and its related budget is to be moved from Programme 3 to Programme 2.

Compensation of Employees increases from R38.4 million in 2013/14 to R45.3 million in 2015/16. Goods and Services increases from R21.5 million in 2013/14 to R31.5 million in 2015/16. The increase in budget allocations for personnel remuneration and Goods and Services are for conducting evaluations, local government assessments and improving data support. Payments for Capital Assets (CAPEX) decreases from R1.3 million in 2013/14 to R0.5 million in the 2015/16 financial year.

7.3 M & E Systems Co-ordination and Support: Programme 3

7.3.1 Strategic objectives of the programme

Programme 3: M&E Systems Co-ordination and Support is responsible for coordinating and supporting an integrated government-wide performance monitoring and evaluation system through policy development and capacity building. In addition, the purpose is to improve data access, data coverage, data quality and data analysis across government. The programme is made up of the following three sub-programmes:

· Programme Management for Monitoring and Evaluation Systems Coordination and Support provides overall management and administrative support to the programme.

· Monitoring and Evaluation Policy and Capacity Building coordinates the implementation of monitoring and evaluation policies, as well as systems and capacity building programmes.

· Monitoring and Evaluation Data Support provides performance data analysis and support services to the department and its clients.

The strategic objectives of the programme are as follows:

· to create the policy platform for M&E and to coordinate its implementation;

· to provide leadership and coordination in creating M&E capacity across Government; and

· to improve data access, data coverage, data quality, and data analyses across Government.

The key priorities for this programme for the 2013/14 financial year are the building of whole of government M&E capacity and formulating the Development Indicators. The intended outcomes these to these key priorities are improved M&E capacity and systems in national and provincial government departments, improved coordination of M&E practice through national and provincial M&E forums and M&E Learning Networks. The publication of Development Indicators is to inform the public about trends in key areas of development.

The Department will provide technical support and advice to at least 4 departments on improving their M&E Management Performance Assessment Tool (MPAT) scores. The MPAT focuses on management aspects of performance in order to improve government administration. In 2013/14 the Department will complete at least one survey on various elements of M&E systems in national and provincial departments.

The Department will develop at least two new or revised guidelines supporting government wide M&E policy framework. In 2012/13 the Department surveyed the reporting requirements across government and will make proposals in the 2013/14 financial year on integrating and aligning reporting requirements across government. In addition, as part of reforming the administrative data systems in government, the Department will formulate proposals for improvements in the data systems.

7.3.2 Budget Allocations

Programme 3 receives a budget allocation of R17.3 million in the 2013/14 financial year. The budget for the programme increases marginally in the medium term from R17.3 million in 2013/14 to R17.5 million in 2014/15 and R17.9 million in 2015/16. All three sub-programmes within Programme 3 show marginal increases in the medium term. R12.5 million in budget allocations has been reprioritised from Programme 3 to Programme 2 to cater for new policy initiatives such as performance assessments for local government.

Compensation of Employees increases from R8.8 million in 2013/14 to R9.1 million in 2015/16. The number of posts for this programme is expected to increase to 23 in 2015/16 as the programme continues to build capacity. Goods and Services increases from R8.2 million in 2013/14 to R8.7 million in 2015/16. Payments for Capital Assets decreases from R0,3 million in 2013/14 to R0.1 million in the 2015/16 financial year. Overall, the main drivers for expenditure in this programme are personnel remuneration and business and advisory consultants.

7.4 Public Sector Oversight: Programme 4

7.4.1 Strategic objectives of the programme

The Programme is responsible for the implementation of institutional performance assessments and for the monitoring of frontline service delivery in collaboration with other centre of government departments. The performance monitoring of individual institutions is itself a key element of the delivery agreement for outcome 12 (developing an efficient and effective public service) and will be facilitated through the development, implementation and maintenance of the MPAT tool for measuring the quality of management practices in government departments. Frontline Service Delivery Monitoring (FSDM) Programme is carried out through unannounced visits to selected service delivery sites and is complemented by the Presidential Hotline and the Citizen Based Monitoring (CBM) Programme. The programme is made up of the following three sup-programmes:

· Programme Management for Public Sector Oversight provides programme management and administrative support.

· Institutional Performance Monitoring coordinates and facilitates institutional performance monitoring and evaluation in government.

· Frontline Service Delivery Monitoring monitors, evaluates and facilitates the improvement of frontline service delivery, including the presidential hotline.

The strategic objectives of the programme are as follows:

· to monitor the compliance and quality of management practices in all national and provincial departments;

· the on-site monitoring of the quality of frontline service delivery at 260 sites over the MTEF, and report on the findings; and

· to develop the Presidential Hotline as an effective monitoring and evaluation tool to strengthen Government-wide Citizens Based Monitoring.

Key priorities for Programme 4 for the 2013/14 financial year include conducting annual MPAT assessments and having at least 60 per cent of national departments and 80 per cent of provincial departments’ MPAT scores signed off by the Heads of Department (HoDs) by the end of the third quarter.

The MPAT entails assessment against 31 management standards in 17 management areas with standards based on legislation and regulations. The MPAT is a joint initiative by the Department together with the Offices of the Premier. While audits focus on compliance only, MPAT focuses on getting managers to work more effectively and also covers a broader range of management areas compared to general audits. The Department’s MPAT’s assessment programme is envisaged to highlight the importance of effective administration.

The objectives of the MPAT are to establish a baseline of the management performance of departments and to provide the leadership of departments with useful information to inform improvements in the quality of management practices. In 2013/14 the Department targets that at least 40 per cent of departments will show improvements from the previous year’s scores for MPAT assessments. In addition, five monitoring reports on key indicators for management performance and service delivery indicators will be submitted to the Forum of South African Director-Generals (FOSAD).

In 2013/14, the Department will issue guidelines for the assessments of Heads of Departments (HoDs) following the issuing of the new Performance Management Development System (PMDS) Policy for HoDs by the Department of Public Service and Administration. The Department identified that the many HoDs are not regularly assessed and key proposals in this regard include the Presidency and Office of the Premier’s (OTPs) intervening if Performance Agreements are not submitted timeously, the Director-General (DG) in the Presidency and provincial DGs convening assessment panels for HoDs and DPME to provide secretarial services for HoDs performance assessments.

Citizens-based monitoring would be piloted in three departments with six-monthly progress reports signed off by Programme Managers. In 2013/14 eight sector reports on FSDM findings will be submitted to the eight national sector departments (Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Home Affairs, South African Social Security Agency, Transport, Education, Health and South African Police Services). Key priority areas under the Frontline Service Delivery Monitoring (FSDM) sub-programme are:

· 120 new sites monitored with site monitoring reports captured on the web-based portal for the programme by 31 March 2014;

· 10 case studies produced and published on FSDM practices by 31 March 2014; and

· 50 per cent of service delivery sites which have been visited at least twice to have an improvement in scores for at least two of the eight assessment areas by the end of March 2014.

With regards to the Presidential Hotline, the Department targets an 85 per cent national and provincial case resolution rate for the 2013/14 financial year. In addition, the Department will target for a five per cent overall improvement in the case resolution rate for the 10 weakest performing departments and provinces. The Department will produce 10 Presidential Hotline case studies for each year over the MTEF.

7.4.2 Budget Allocations

For the 2013/14 financial year, Programme 4 receives a total allocation of R57.3 million. The funding allocation for the programme shows minimal increase in the medium term from R57.3 million in 2013/14 to R60.0 million in 2015/16. All three sub-programmes within Programme 4 show marginal increases in the medium term. The budget allocations for the Frontline Service Delivery Monitoring sub-programme will be towards increasing the number of institutional performance assessments carried out and reports issued from 5 national departments and 20 provincial departments to all national and provincial departments. The increase under the Programme Management for Public Sector Oversight sub-programme is for the addition of 10 posts to be filled over the medium term.

Compensation of Employees increases from R33.9 million in 2013/14 to R35.2 million in 2015/16. Goods and Services increases from R22.6 million in 2013/14 to R24.2 million in 2015/16 with Computer Services being the main driver of expenditure. Payments for Capital Assets decreases from R0.9 million in 2013/14 to R0.6 million in the 2015/16 financial year.

The Department has allocated R8 million to conduct approximately 140 site visits over the 2013 MTEF. An amount of R37.1 million has been allocated for State Information Technology Agency (SITA) to pay for service provisions such as telecommunications on the Presidential Hotline over the MTEF.

8. Deliberations

The Committee was concerned about the delays in the introduction of legislation to regulate M&E in South Africa, i.e. the Results Bill to strengthen enforcement. The Committee was of the view that the introduction of legislation will assist in ensuring that all departments comply with the Government’s M&E Framework.

The Department highlighted that emphasis will be placed on developing M&E practices in the organisational culture of the broad public service. The Department indicated that virtually all departments had functional M&E units. The primary concern was that information and work undertaken by the M&E units is not fully utilised by Programme Managers.

The Committee expressed concern that there were targets which were reflected in percentage terms in the Department’s APP and this compromised the degree of measurability of stated targets. The Department responded that all its targets were measurable as far as possible and that it only used percentages where the underlying absolute number might change such as the number of budget votes for the new government term.

The Committee sought clarity on the number of Internal Auditors that are to be employed by the Department for the 2013/14 financial year and whether the outsourcing of the Internal Audit function was more cost effective. The Department indicated that a cost-benefit analysis has been undertaken in this regard and the outcome therein was that it was more cost effective to outsource the Internal Audit function. The Department further reported that there was one permanent employee who managed the outsourcing of the Internal Audit function given the fact that it was a relatively small department. An amount of R600 thousand was spent on consultants for this function in the 2012/13 financial year and R1.7 million has budgeted for same in the 2013/14 financial year. The Committee stated that there was a need for the Department to establish internal capacity and/or shared services for an internal audit function as prescribed in the Public Finance Management Act.

The Committee was concerned at the current levels of capacity and the readiness of the Department to meet all its pre-determined objectives given the fact that not all funded vacancies were filled. Furthermore, the Committee emphasised the need for the Department to fill all its funded vacant positions for the 2013/14 financial year given the fact that it could not achieve same during the 2012/13 financial year where 25 funded positions remained vacant. The Department indicated that it should have sufficient capacity to achieve all its targets for the 2013/14 financial year provided that it fills all its funded vacant positions as per its approved organisational structure. The Committee cautioned the Department against the classification of funding earmarked for positions not filled as savings.

The Committee stated that there existed M&E related resource capacity such as ward committees and Government led community forums. The Committee highlighted the need for the Department to forge links with these community based structures, especially for citizen-based monitoring in order to enhance its M&E programmes and thus be able to assess outcomes more effectively at community level.

The Committee supports the development and rollout of M&E frameworks for municipalities for the 2013 MTEF and emphasized the need for the development of an MPAT tool for municipalities. The Department stated that it will replicate the MPAT tool utilised in provinces to municipalities. The municipal MPAT tool will include basic service indicators and the results will be made publicly available.

The Committee emphasised the need for strengthened cooperation and joint work programmes between the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) and the Department on performance audits. The Department stated that there are ongoing engagements with the AGSA and use is made of the various AGSA reports in carrying M&E projects.

The Committee was concerned at specific areas of Government performance such as library services that showed consistent challenges and weakness due to the complicated interplays between the three spheres of government. The Department stated the there are delivery agreements in place which bind all three spheres of Government towards common goals. The Department is to strengthen the monitoring of delivery agreements across all spheres of government

The Committee was concerned at the level of capacity and readiness of the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) to service the comprehensive needs of the Department. The Department indicated that it had a Service Level Agreement with SITA which it continuously monitors and will intervene where necessary in case of breach of agreement.

9. Observations and Findings

The Standing Committee on Appropriations, having considered the Annual Performance Plan and Budget Vote 6: Performance Monitoring and Evaluation for the 2013/14 financial year, made the following findings and observations:

9.1 The Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation utilised consultants for the Internal Audit function. The Committee viewed the utilisation of shared internal audit services with other national departments as a cost effective alternative to the current use of consultants. The Department agreed to consider the in-sourcing of internal audit capacity from other departments.

9.2 The Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation expressed the view that government wide M&E systems need to develop and settle before they are embedded in legislation. The Committee however remained concerned at the lack of enforcement mechanisms for the critical work undertaken by the Department and was of the view that the introduction of legislation should be expedited.

9.3 Some performance targets and indicators in the 2013/14 APP of the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation were unclear and unspecific, hence immeasurable; and this was because they were expressed only in percentages.

9.4 The Committee supported co-operation and collaboration between Department and Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA). The Committee was of the view that the enhanced co-operation between the Department and AGSA would lead to improved M&E systems and assist in the effective sharing of resources for some specific projects.

9.5 The Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation was in the process of developing performance monitoring systems for municipalities. In 2013/14 ten municipal assessments will rolled out and an MPAT will be developed for municipalities.

9.6 While recognising that the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation was legally bound by the prescripts of Chapter 3 of the Constitution pertaining to Co-operative Governance when implementing Government Wide M&E Systems through the three spheres of government, the Committee remained concerned about the lack of enforcement mechanism contained in this chapter that empowered the Department to uniformly implement M&E systems throughout the spheres of government.

9.7 The Committee found that there was a need the Department of Performance of Monitoring and Evaluation to establish open linkages with structures at local level such as ward committees and community police forums and integrate these within the government wide M&E policy framework.

10. Recommendations

The Standing Committee on Appropriations, having considered the Annual Performance Plan and the Budget of the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation for the 2013/14 financial year, recommends as follows:

10.1 That the Minister in the Presidency for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation as well as Administration should ensure the following:

10.1.1 That the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation provide measurable and achievable performance targets.

10.1.2 That the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation consider utilising shared services for its internal audit function.

10.1.3 That the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation should evaluate and investigate ways to develop a white paper that will inform the legislative framework to implement government wide monitoring and evaluation systems.

10.1.4 That local level structures such as ward committees, community development workers and community police forums and other community based structures be integrated within the government-wide Monitoring and Evaluation Policy Framework.

10.2 That the National Assembly approve the Committee’s report on Budget Vote 6: Performance Monitoring and Evaluation for the 2013/14 financial year.

Report to be considered.

Documents

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