2.3 LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK OF THE MONITORING AND EVALUATION
2.3.1 Legislative Mandates
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2.3 LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK OF THE MONITORING AND EVALUATION
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2.3.1.2 White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery (1997)
There are eight Batho Pele Principles practiced in the public service. The Batho Pele Principles emanate from the Republic of South Africa (1997), which are as follows: Consultation, Service Standards, Access, Courtesy, Information, Dealing with Complaints, Value-for-Money, as well as Open-ness and Transparency. The core of the Republic of South Africa (1997) is to transform the public service, and places the citizens at the centre of planning and decision- making. The province of KZN took an initiative to add three more principles, which are as follows: Service Delivery Impact, Leadership and Strategic Direction, as well as Encouraging Innovation and Reward Excellence, as argued in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal (2009: 13).
These eleven (11) Batho Pele Principles are noted, but for the purposes of the study, the focus is on the following principles: Consultation, Service Standards, Value-for-Money and Service Delivery Impact.
2.3.1.2.1 Consultation
Proper consultation should take place when monitoring or evaluating the outcomes of training programmes, which translate to surveys, one-on-one interviews, suggestion boxes, mass training outcome meetings, as well as other research activities that should be adopted to ensure that proper consultation takes place in the public service, as stated in the Province of KwaZulu- Natal (2009: 16).
2.3.1.2.2 Service Standards
It is important for the PPSTA to encourage, maintain and promote high standards of work ethics. The PPSTA M&E unit is expected to produce high quality work and lead the improvement of data management standards in reference to the provincial line departments, as per the Republic of South Africa (2012:1-2). The Republic of South Africa (2007b:8) emphasises clear standards of performance information and regular audits. The study noted that when the performance standards or targets are clear and understood, they can be easily monitored and evaluated. In the study, this would mean clear evaluation systems and processes related to measuring the outcome of training programmes offered by the PPSTA.
2.3.1.2.3 Value-for-Money
It was stated earlier that one of the aspects of evaluation is to determine whether the decisions or the theories adopted by government for a particular intervention yielded the anticipated results. In essence, the evaluation process in the M&E concept could assist to determine value-
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for-money, and monitoring can assist to check whether the intervention is geared towards the direction of achieving value-for-money. The Republic of South Africa (2007b: 4) focuses on embedding budgetary internal monetary systems, inter alia, internal systems with M&E policies, systems and processes in order to understand the value-for-money approach.
2.3.1.2.4 Service Delivery Impact
The principle is relevant to the study as it is concerned with public service making an impact in the communities they serve by adhering to the principles of Batho Pele, as raised in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal (2009: 19). The study aimed to determine the outcomes of the training programmes offered by the PPSTA as guided by the M&E Framework. It was indicated earlier in the study that the outcomes findings may serve as the basis for impact evaluation.
2.3.1.3 Policy Framework for the Government-wide Monitoring and Evaluation System Since 1994, the government has improved services that are provided to the people dramatically, but there is a need for government to improve the quality of its services. The challenge facing government is to increase the level of efficacy in the public sector. Monitoring and Evaluation policies, systems and processes are viewed as mechanisms that can contribute to the increase of efficacy in the interventions that are implemented by the state. The Government-wide M&E system (GWM&ES) has an individual, institutional and outcomes-based performance management system, as argued in the Republic of South Africa (2011a: 23). The Policy Framework for the Government-wide M&E system of 2007 gives guidance on how performance efficacy should be managed. Performance management is one of the three data terrains where government draws from for the purposes of monitoring and evaluation. Each terrain has the policy that determines what is required for the terrain to be fully functional. The programme for performance information is guided by the Framework for Managing Programme Performance Information of 2007, which aims to clarify the standards expected, provides audit support, define roles and responsibilities, and promotes accountability as outlined in the Republic of South Africa (2007a: 8). The Republic of South Africa (2007b: 2) looks into the GWM&ES as the plans of government to bridge the gap in the information needed in planning for service delivery, intervention reviews and analysis of the policy success.
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2.3.1.4 Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Guidelines on improving Monitoring and Evaluation in the Offices of Premier
The Republic of South Africa (2012) assists the Office of the Premier in understanding their role within the M&E spectrum. It calls for robustness and credibility of the M&E systems within individual provincial departments. There is a strong emphasis on the avoidance of duplication of reports. The importance of individual departments to have functional M&E systems supported by the Offices of the Premier was found to be prominent to the study. The DPME Guidelines on improving M&E in the Offices of the Premier can be understood in the context of the study, as PPSTA ensuring that it has approved M&E training and development policies, systems and processes in place, but also to make sure that provincial departments are also supported to have aligned training and development M&E policies, systems and processes.
2.3.1.5 Outcomes of the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (2014-2019)
Outcome 12 of the MTSF (2014-2019: 1) reads as follows: “An efficient, effective and development-oriented public service”. This outcome focuses on the unevenness of capacity in the public service, which leads to unevenness in the public sector performance. Certain steps need to be taken by the public service to boost the morale, clarify lines of accountability and ethos building in the public service. These steps to be taken requires for the Office of the OTP PPSTA to play the coordinating role, as stated in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal (2017:10).
The implementation of Outcome 12 and other outcomes needs PPSTA to support the provincial departments to achieve Outcome 12, as specified in the Republic of South Africa (2015: 1).
The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Public Service Training Academy is mandated to work with the provincial departments to make public service as a career of choice as stated in Sub- outcome 2 of Outcome 12. It becomes vital that efficient and effective management and operation systems are placed to achieve this Outcome, as argued in Sub-Outcome 4 of the MTSF that advocates for efficient and efficient management and operations systems.
According to the Republic of South Africa (2015: 14), management should focus their time on addressing the weaknesses in the management and operations systems. The study noted the significance of embedded M&E policies, systems and processes as part of the solution to address the weaknesses in the management and operations systems. The M&E Framework of 2007, systems and processes focuses on addressing a number of gaps in the planning, budgetary and reporting systems, as indicated in the Republic of South Africa (2007a: 4).
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The research noted Outcome 5 of the MTSF, which reads as follows: “A skilled and a capable workforce to support the inclusive growth path”, PPSTA is not the only stakeholder in this Outcome. It involves schools, training vocational and education colleges and universities. It can be stated that PPSTA submits reports on this Outcome to structures such as the Social Protection, Community and Human Development (SPCHD) Cluster, KZN Provincial Growth and Development Plan (PGDP) Technical Task Team, KZN Planning Commission (PPC) guided by the Province of KwaZulu-Natal (2014:48-62).
2.3.1.6 National Development Plan, 2030 relating to capacity and skills development In Chapter 13, the National Development Plan (NDP) raises unevenness of capacity and skills deficit in the state as amongst the major stifling challenges in the provision of services at a local, provincial and national level. Chapter 9 of the NDP views continuous development professionally, lifelong learning, innovation and knowledge production as the vital elements in building state capacity, and in dealing with the public sector skills deficit. The study notes Chapter 13 of the NDP that embeds M&E systems into the NDP by highlighting the importance of improving oversight, instilling compliance, as well as strengthening of responsibility and accountability as crucial elements in building the capacity of the state. Further, Chapter 13 states that the public servants have the responsibility to administer resources in the best interest of the society. The resources should be managed with efficacy, transparency and accountability. The Office of the Public Service Commission (PSC) is the appointed institution to exercise the M&E role of state institutions, as stated in the Republic of South Africa (2011:
408-412).
2.3.1.7 Human Resource Development Strategic Framework Vision 2015
The Republic of South Africa (2008), commonly known as the Strategic Framework for HRD Vision 2015, uses the Annual Implementation Plans, Quarterly Implementation Plan reports, Mid-Term HRD Implementation Reports and HRD Annual Monitoring and Evaluation Report templates as the M&E tools concerning planning, budgeting and reporting of training provided by the public service. Further, the Republic of South Africa (2008:81) requires the provincial academies to support, trainings, provide M&E leadership in relation to the HRD implementation agenda in the Province. This arrangement is in keeping with the Strategic Framework for HRD Vision 2015.
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The legislation, HRD as well as M&E concepts mentioned above were viewed by the study, as among the crucial pillars that informs training and development in the public service. The understanding derived from correlating the M&E concepts and HRD legislative mandates assisted the research to locate the legality of implementing the training and development interventions in the public service.
It was noted that providing training to the public service is a legal obligation to PPSTA as a state institution. It was vital for the study to establish whether there were PPSTA’s M&E processes, systems and policies embedded within the Provincial HRD. Measuring of the outcomes of PPSTA’s training and development programmes provided to fourteen provincial departments does not operate in a vacuum. It should be embedded in the broad performance management system, which includes the existing legislation, theories and frameworks, as envisaged by the Republic of South Africa (2007a: 4).
The study earlier introduced the M&E concept and its significance to training and development.
M&E training and development has also been discussed and located within the broader South African legislative framework. The research finds the importance for M&E training and development to be linked to Public Administration, as science and practice in the discussion that follows.
2.4. LINKING PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION TO MONITORING AND EVALUTION The M&E concept, as stated previously, does not operate independently: its modus operandi is largely influenced and dependent on the embedded systems, structures and existing administrative policies. In the context of the study, the administrative policies, systems and structures will be largely influenced by Public Administration as a science and as a practice, the study will discuss the influence and linkages of Public Administration to the concept of M&E in relation to the implementation of training and development as state intervention implemented by the public institution (PPSTA).
The point of departure is to understand Public Administration as a practice and science.
Subsequently, the research highlights the evolvement of Public Administration and links it to the concept of good governance. The study further highlights the significance of M&E as one of the government enablers of good governance.
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