Monitoring and evaluation system utilisation for municipal support

Abstract

The local government, consisting of municipalities, is an important sphere of government which carries substantial responsibility for the delivery of services and development of the country. Municipalities are expected to contribute towards the country's development discourse - particularly in light of the political and economic philosophy associated with the notion of a developmental state. The contribution of municipalities in a system of cooperative government include operationalising the identified Millennium Development Goals (Outcome 9), the "apex" priorities identified in the State of the Nation Address and the Government's Programme of Action such as poverty alleviation, unemployment and inequality. The national and provincial governments have the Constitutional and legislative responsibility to provide intergovernmental support to municipalities that may include policy, strategy and training. In this study "support" refers to financial, human, technical and administrative assistance which the national and provincial governments must provide to municipalities so as to enable them to achieve their developmental objectives. To this end, the study provides a legislative and theoretical context of the system of cooperative government in South Africa. It is highlighted in this study that the South African Government has adopted the principles of outcomes-based governance at the beginning of the current electoral cycle in 2009. The approach has further brought significant implications on the capacity of municipalities. As the new approach of governance emerges, a differentiated approach to national and provincial intervention for municipal support is also required. The study argues that the Government-wide Monitoring and Evaluation System (GWM&ES) should be such a mechanism to facilitate effective intergovernmental support to municipalities. The contribution of this study centres on the acknowledgement that, whereas the practice of the system of cooperative government is fairly mature to pursue integrated and coherent government, there are weaknesses within the national and provincial Departments of COGTA and DCoG respectively regarding utilisation of the M&E system to support municipalities. It is these weaknesses within these Departments regarding utilisation of the M&E system that hamper the prospects of effective intergovernmental support to municipalities. In other words, the underutilisation of the M&E system and continued ineffective intergovernmental support to municipalities can be attributed to the absence of a comprehensive M&E system utilisation model. Against this background, the study recommends a new comprehensive M&E system utilisation model that provides solutions on how to eradicate these weaknesses and achieve effective support to municipalities. The new model is based on the basic premises that each sphere of government should have specific managerial responsibilities to fulfil and the M&E system is utilised effectively. Any other department can utilise the model by adapting it to suit its requirements. The model provides a reference point against which any institution can consider its own practice and identify areas for improvement in terms of process and outcomes.