The limits and possibilities of monitoring and evaluation: a case study of the KwaZulu Natal Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (KZN CoGTA).
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Date
2016
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Abstract
As South Africa seeks to consolidate and deepen the country‟s democracy post-1994,
subsequently it has had to focus on good governance to achieve efficiency and effectiveness
in the conduct and operations of government. The country‟s development efforts towards
improving accountability, transparency, efficiency as well as effectiveness of government in
service delivery seeks to create and maintain high levels of performance in government
departments. As a result monitoring and evaluation (M&E) has developed into a significant
practice in guiding the transformation of the South African Public Service.
M&E is the systematic assessment of the policy processes as well as the measurement of a
policy‟s impact. It can be used to assess whether a policy or program achieves its objectives.
M&E practice in South Africa is anchored towards developing an efficient Public Service
that delivers on the objectives and mandate of the South African Government as enshrined in
the country‟s post-1994 Constitution. In 2005, Cabinet approved a plan for the development
of a Government-wide Monitoring and Evaluation System (M&E), which was envisaged as a
system in which each department would have a functional M&E system. In 2009 a Ministry
of Performance M&E was created in the Presidency, and a Department of Performance
Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) in January 2010 was established. Subsequently,
monitoring and evaluation has become a subject of interest in public policy implementation.
This study seeks to understand the limits and possibilities of monitoring and evaluation using
the KwaZulu Natal Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (KZN
CoGTA) as a case study. It aims to ascertain how M&E as defined in the National
Monitoring and Evaluation Framework and the literature is implemented, conceptualised and
used. KZN CoGTA is a South African provincial government Department whose legislative
mandate according to the South African Constitution is to provide effective, transparent,
accountable and coherent intergovernmental system for the Provincial government
departments. Evidently, as a relatively new strategic and operational practice in the South
African government, M&E exposes some of its own limits and possibilities. Ultimately, not
all resources invested into M&E actually get implemented to strengthen transparency,
accountability and improvement.
The study adopted an interpretative approach whilst using a qualitative methodology to
identify and capture meaning that informs the understanding and implementation of monitoring and evaluation, (M&E). Non-probability; purposive sampling was used to select
elements for a specific purpose of their unique position and capabilities to provide
information on practical and expert knowledge in M&E. Therefore, the data collection
method includes interviews with relevant personnel in the M&E practice, as well as the
documents about the implementation of monitoring and evaluation in KZN CoGTA, South
Africa.
The implementation of M&E which is the focus of the study was analysed within the
theoretical framework of public policy implementation which involves monitoring and
evaluation. The challenges encountered when implementing M&E within the various
approaches such as the Results-Based Management are also analysed in order to understand
the limits and possibilities of monitoring and evaluation. The results pointed to the
importance of an improved and standardised M&E practice with enhanced and standardised
coordination between different spheres of government in national, provincial and local
government institutions, as responsible for monitoring the process of design, implementation
and continuous monitoring and evaluation of the public service, aiming to improve the
quality of its services.
Description
Master of Science in Political Science. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2016.
Keywords
Participatory monitory and evaluation (Project management) -- KwaZulu-Natal., Government productivity -- KwaZulu-Natal., Public administration -- evaluation.