NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NUMBER: 1522
DATE FOR PUBLICATION: 8 JUNE 2012
DATE REPLY SUBMITTED: 26 JULY 2012
Mr N Singh (IFP) to ask the Minister in the Presidency: Performance
Monitoring and Evaluation as well as Administration in the Presidency:
(a) What basic principles will be enshrined in the Results Bill which is
proposed in the annual performance plan of his department, (b) how is this
legislation intended to improve the mandate of his department, once enacted
and (c) what (i) time frames and (ii) process will be set towards the
finalisation of the Bill?
NW1826E
REPLY:
The Department is still in the early stages of consideration and
consultation regarding a possible Results Bill. Consultations are taking
place with National Treasury, the Department of Public Service and
Administration, and the Office of the Auditor General.
These consultations are focusing on the possibility of developing
legislation to institutionalise monitoring and evaluation through setting
legally binding minimum norms and standards. The aim would be to address
certain inconsistencies in the quality of some monitoring and evaluation
and planning processes, which in turn sometimes results in disappointing
programme performance.
In addition, the General Reports of the Auditor General highlight problems
with the formulation of objectives, indicators and targets and reporting
against these in the annual performance plans and annual reports of
departments. There may be a need to set minimum standards for the quality
of data and minimum standards for the information management processes used
to produce data in order to address this issue.
There may also be a need to introduce measures to coordinate, rationalise
and minimise reporting requirements, to reduce the risk of over-lapping
reporting requirements resulting in a reporting overload for departments
and municipalities.
END