Mrs D F Boshigo (African National Congress) to ask the Minister in the Presidency: Performance Monitoring and Evaluation as well as Administration in the Presidency:
(1) What measures has he put in place to assist Thusong Centres that are not in operation?
(2) What is being done with regard to the unoccupied buildings?
Reply:
(1) a. The Thusong Service Centres Coordinating structures both at National, Provincial, and District level have been established to enable departments to jointly plan to resource centres, identify gaps and address service delivery challenges experienced by the Centres.
b. We have developed the standard Service Level Agreement to compel service providers to adhere to the acceptable service delivery standards, and we have also developed the standard Lease Agreement to enable municipalities to collect rentals that will assist in the refurbishment and maintenance of Thusong Centres.
c. We are also promoting the programme through various platforms to popularise the services offered by Thusong Service Centres and also to attract interest from potential service providers. These includes advertising through community radio stations, community newspapers, exhibitions, distribution of publications, open days at Thusong Service Centres, and many others.
d. We are working in partnership with other key role players to solicit funding for construction/refurbishment of Centres and for joint implementation of programmes and projects that will benefit the communities.
(2) a. Newly constructed buildings that still need to comply with the required service norms and standards are currently utilised as access points where departmental mobile units jointly converge to render services once a month or once in two months.
b. Municipalities as owners of Thusong Centres have also been encouraged to ensure that whilst operationalisation processes are still underway, basic municipal services are provided as a way of marketing and community mobilisation and also to keep the lights burning at the Centres.
c. Other completed Centres have challenges of electricity and water connectivity, hence they are still unoccupied. The provincial coordinators are engaging with the relevant authorities to ensure that these much needed services are provided as without them service providers will be in no position to effectively render services.
Mr N Singh (Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)) to ask the Minister in the Presidency: Performance Monitoring and Evaluation as well as Administration in the Presidency:
(1) With reference to his Budget Vote speech on 16 May 2010 in which he made reference to an increase in focus on the capacity of departments to effectively convert inputs, what are the details of the tool for which he obtained Cabinet approval;
(2) Whether he will make a statement on the matter?
Reply:
(1) Cabinet gave a mandate to the Department for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in April 2011 to regularly assess the quality of generic management practices in departments. The department has developed a methodology to assess the quality of management, in collaboration with the Offices of the Premier, National Treasury and the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), and in consultation with the Office of the Auditor General and the Office of the Public Service Commission.
The methodology has been informed by similar management performance assessments carried out in other countries such as Russia, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Kenya, Turkey and India. The methodology involves working with the senior management of national and provincial departments to carry out self-assessments which are then moderated by subject matter experts and by cross-referencing to data produced by bodies such as the Auditor General, Public Service Commission, National Treasury and DPSA.
In the 2011/12 financial year assessments were made of the quality of management practices in 103 national and provincial departments. These assessments will be carried out annually. The aim of these assessments is to establish a base-line on the status of management practices, to implement improvement plans where necessary, and to monitor improvement against the baseline. As a department we are available to make more detailed presentations on this management performance monitoring results to parliamentary committees.
(2) The results of the 2011/12 assessment have been submitted to Cabinet and we will make a statement after Cabinet has finalised the report.
Mr N Singh (IFP) to ask the Minister in the Presidency: Performance Monitoring and Evaluation as well as Administration in the Presidency:
(1) (a) To what extent are consultants used for the monitoring and evaluation functions in his department, (b) what is the total cost of the consultants per annum and (c) what steps is he taking to establish capacity to perform his mandate;
(2) Whether he will make a statement on the matter?
Reply:
1. (a) The department makes limited use of service providers to support its monitoring and evaluation functions. This is usually based on analysis of activities for which it is more efficient or effective to use outside service providers rather than creating additional internal capacity. In some instances, service providers were also utilised as an interim measure while the department was in the process of building its internal capacity.
b) In the 2011/12 financial year, the department incurred the following expenditure on service providers to support the following functions:
- Internal Audit Service: R969,000.
- Development and further enhancement of Programme of Action business application: R899,872.
- Development of Management Performance Assessment business application: R480,510.
- Development of Frontline Service Delivery Business Application: R438,992.
- Strategic Support to Presidential Hotline: R166,635.
- Support for implementation of Management Performance Assessment Tool: R250,000.
- Evaluation of Early Childhood Development programme: R650,000.
- Development of monitoring and evaluation IT guidelines for the whole of government: R495,000.
c) The department will create internal capacity in those areas where skills / competencies are required on a continuous basis. In this regard, the department has grown from 1 staff member in April 2010 to 147 staff members at the time of writing, and this will reach 195 staff members in the current financial year.
Mr Dr D T George (Democratic Alliance) to ask the Minister in the Presidency: Performance Monitoring and Evaluation as well as Administration in the Presidency:
Whether ministers are evaluated on the performance of their departments and entities reporting to them with regard to the management of public finances; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
There is no formal performance management system for members of the Executive. However, the President has entered into performance agreements with his Ministers, and meets with them periodically to review progress against their agreements. The results of these meetings are a matter between the President and his Ministers.
These assessments inform the Presidential interventions on how to achieve the targets we have set in the delivery agreements. The President has a Constitutional right to appoint or release Ministers at his discretion, based on his evaluation of their performance and the performance of their departments. The President is not under any obligation to make the reasons for his decisions in this regard public.
