Evaluation of the utilisation of human resources in the Department of agriculture, conservation and Environment of the North West Province

Abstract

The problem of the study is characterised by an imbalance between current (actual) and expected performance of the department, and these imbalances are qualifiable. The purpose of this study was to identify the cause of performance discrepancy, establish whether there is effective and efficient utilisation of human resources and possible application for productivity improvement in the department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment in the North West Province. The Qualitative method was used in the collection of data. Three instruments were employed in the study, a survey, questionnaire, structured and unstructured interviews. The findings from the collected data reflected the fact that there was lack of compliance with the public service regulatory prescripts. In addition strategic planning was not effectively executed to the advantage of the department with the result of poor utilisation of resources including human resources. The conclusion drawn from the study is that functions are neither related to public service regulatory prescripts nor are they determined from strategic planning. As a result the resources are not utilised effectively and efficiently. Output based performance relies on knowledge of purpose of existence of the department followed by planned performance management.