Towards credible performance reporting : the case of Mpumalanga Farmer Support and Development Services (Programme 3)

Abstract

This study focused on factors that had compromised the credibility of the performance reports of Programme 3 (Farmer Support and Development Services) of the Mpumalanga Provincial Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Administration. The main research objectives for this study included: * To analyse the policies, strategies and procedures governing performance reporting within Farmer Support and Development Services in the Ehlanzeni South District of Mpumalanga Province. * To investigate and analyse the current processes of preparing and verifying performance reports in the Ehlanzeni South District of Mpumalanga Province. Performance measurement, reporting and management are important for the accountability of organisations, individuals and managers to produce better services (Flynn, 2002:206). The reporting of performance information in the public sector in South Africa is a constitutional requirement. Performance reports should be accurate, valid, and complete in order to be considered credible and useful for decision making towards effective service delivery. The study followed a qualitative approach which included document analyses and a case study design, using Ehlanzeni South District as the unit of analysis. A questionnaire was administered as a data collection instrument. The study revealed that credible performance reporting is essential for accountability and effective management within the Ehlanzeni South District of Mpumalanga Province. Furthermore, it revealed that the use of incorrect evidence templates, the submission of incomplete evidence and the adjustment of reported performance by third parties contributed to the loss of credibility of reported performance. The discrepancies between the reported performance and the documented evidence signified that there was poor performance file management and that the reported performance of Programme 3 lacked the required credibility.