The Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) recently presented its Quarter 3 Performance Report for the 2025/26 financial year in Parliament, demonstrating solid progress in advancing a capable, ethical and developmental state through strengthened planning, monitoring, evaluation and evidence-based policymaking.
As part of the opening remarks, the Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Minister Maropene Ramokgopa emphasised that the DPME’s work remains anchored in advancing the National Development Plan (NDP) Vision 2030 and the Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP) 2024–2029, which focuses on three strategic priorities:
- Driving inclusive economic growth and job creation
- Reducing poverty and tackling the high cost of living
- Building a capable, ethical and developmental state
The Minister emphasised that cooperation across all spheres of government and sectors is essential for realising these priorities. To this end, the Department continues to engage departments, provinces and stakeholders to ensure coherence and alignment with the MTDP.
The Department’s commitment to the realisation of the MTDP is demonstrated by its performance in the realisation of its key targets as detailed its quarter 3 report. During the presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, the Department reported that 16 out of 18 quarterly targets (89%) were achieved, reflecting continued momentum in implementing the Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP) 2024–2029 and supporting delivery across the three priorities of the 7th Administration.
The Department showed strong performance across core mandate programmes – planning, monitoring, and evaluation. Some of the highlights of the quarter performance of the Department include the following:
- The Department is advancing a coherent national approach to planning in government and has completed the assessment of departmental and provincial Annual Performance Plans (APPs) for alignment with MTDP priorities.
- Working closely with the National Planning Commission (NPC), the Department is repositioning the National Spatial Development Framework (NSDF) as a central mechanism for implementing the NDP. The NSDF provides the spatial logic that guides where and how we invest in infrastructure, strengthen economic corridors, improve rural-urban integration, and ensure sustainable land use.
- The Department has also intensified its monitoring efforts and produced the second MTDP bi-annual monitoring report which was subsequently adopted by Cabinet. This report provides insight on progress in the implementation of the MTDP targets. Overall, our analysis indicates that Government is making steady progress in several priority areas, particularly where coordination across government has improved, and where clear performance indicators are in place. At the same time, we have observed that progress tend to be hampered by several challenges that include capacity constraints, delayed implementation, and uneven performance across sectors and regions.
- The DPME also produced a draft Development Indicators Report 2025 which tracks progress towards the National Development Plan Vision 2030 goals and government priorities. It contributes strategic evaluation of the country’s progress to assess impact of government policies.
- To promote accountability and transparency, the Department is also on course to finalise the development of a public facing MTDP dashboard which will provide a line of sight on progress in the implementation of the three priorities.
- Recognising the importance of direct citizen engagement, the Department is strengthening the performance of the Presidential Hotline. Efforts are underway to improve response times, introduce technological enhancements, and support departments and entities in resolving complaints efficiently.
Minister Ramokgopa reiterated the Department’s commitment to working closely with Parliament to ensure strengthened oversight and alignment of national planning instruments.
“We welcome the Committee’s guidance as we accelerate efforts to coordinate planning, monitoring and evaluation in support of a capable and developmental state,” said the Minister.
Enquiries:
Mr Thomas Nkosi
Head of Communication
Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
Cell: 079 907 9016
E-mail: TomNkosi@dpme.gov.za
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