Assessing the effectiveness of performance measures on food security programs within the Emfuleni Local Municipality

Abstract

This research study was aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the performance measures used to measure food security programs (FSPs) within the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM). Food insecurity is a challenge, not only for the South African Government, but also for the rest of the world. As a result, governments all over the world have come up with strategies, policies, initiatives and programs aimed at alleviating hunger and food insecurity. Food security is a broad concept and this research study focuses on household food security. Performance measures are useful in helping managers set realistic, relevant and achievable goals with a monitoring system that is specific and clear with regard to what it is measuring, monitoring and evaluating. Clear, informative, useful and relevant performance measures assist in improving and sustaining the effectiveness of established programs, and these fundamental aspects should therefore be incorporated when establishing FSP performance measures. Interviews were conducted within the ELM to enable the researcher to assess the effectiveness of the FSP performance measures established within the ELM. The researcher reviewed the usefulness, qualities, (SMART) features and elements important in every performance measurement and compared these to the performance measures established for measuring household food security and its programs within the ELM. Responses from the interviews indicated that measuring household food security remains a challenge within the ELM. The assumption of the study is that the ELM needs to implement SMART and useful performance measures that pay close attention to all 4 elements important in measuring household food security and its programs. This will improve the implemented FSPs and as a result, the persisting high household food insecurity levels within this municipality will begin to depreciate and FSPs will become more effective and beneficial for the whole municipality.