Latest news with #DPME
Zawya
2 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
South Africa: Select Committee on Public Infrastructure Is Briefed by Auditor-General
The Select Committee on Public Infrastructure and the Ministries in the Presidency received a briefing from the Auditor-General (AG) of South Africa on the audit outcomes for the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME), Brand SA and Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). The committee expressed serious concerns about the mixed performance of these critical government institutions that report to the department. Committee Chairperson Mr Rikus Badenhorst noted that while Brand SA maintained its clean audit status, the regression in the DPME's audit outcome from clean to unqualified with findings, as well as the persistent material findings at Stats SA, point to systemic weaknesses in expenditure management, internal controls and consequence management across the portfolio. "What emerges most clearly from the Auditor-General's presentation is a culture of stagnation. Recommendations are noted but not acted upon, plans are drafted but not internalised, and repeat findings accumulate without resolution. We cannot allow inaction to become institutionalised," said Mr Badenhorst. The committee was particularly concerned about the significant backlog of unresolved irregular and fruitless expenditure cases at Stats SA, some dating back over a decade. Members of the committee argued that the vacancies in key positions, including the CFO role which has been vacant for eight years, have severely weakened the control environment and accountability mechanisms at the entity. The committee said the credibility of the data and statistics produced by Stats SA is critical for effective government planning and service delivery. The persistence of these governance and financial management failures is deeply troubling and requires urgent intervention. The committee welcomed the Auditor General's recommendations for the accounting officers, including: - Ensuring vacant positions are timeously filled to maintain effective internal controls - Enhancing reviews of performance planning and reporting processes - Swiftly resolving all cases of irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure - Monitoring the implementation of action plans with a focus on daily controls and reconciliations Members emphasised the need for the executive authority and accounting officers to be held accountable for addressing these persistent weaknesses. The committee committed to regularly engage the DPME, Brand SA and Stats SA to monitor progress on implementing the AG's recommendations and achieving tangible improvements in audit outcomes, performance and accountability. 'This report must be our guide when we engage these departments during the upcoming budget process. We cannot allow inaction to become institutionalised. The people of South Africa deserve efficient, transparent and accountable public institutions that deliver on their developmental mandate,' concluded Mr Badenhorst. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
Daily Maverick
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
South Africa is at a critical juncture — the government is rising to the challenge
Daily Maverick's Managing Editor for News and Maverick Citizen, Ms Zukiswa Pikoli, penned an opinion piece published on 19 May 2025, lamenting a perceived lack of monitoring and evaluation in the country's governance. While Ms Pikoli is entitled to her views on the 'state of things' as she sets out, her opinion piece shows a misplaced understanding of the work of the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME), and the interventions of the department in efforts to deepen the state's capacity. South Africa, like many democracies facing complex developmental challenges, is at a critical juncture. While concerns about departmental and institutional performance are legitimate, the idea that the state is teetering on the edge of complete failure misses the real, measurable progress being driven in key areas of government, particularly by the DPME. The DPME is not an inspectorate or a police force for other government departments. Rather, the department promotes coherence in government through the institutionalising of planning, developing a robust evidence-based and integrated monitoring system to monitor the implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP) Vision 2030 and the recently approved Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP), evaluating critical government programmes, and producing research outputs to inform evidence-based decision-making in government. Fostering a performance-driven culture across the public service is not optional, but essential. The commitment to building a capable, ethical and results-oriented state is reflected in a comprehensive effort to transform how government plans, delivers and accounts for its work. At the heart of this transformation is the development of an integrated planning system grounded in the MTDP and its Results Framework. The MTDP is the five-year programme of action that is guiding the work of the 7th administration. The DPME has played a critical role in coordinating the finalisation of the MTDP and will continue to do so in its implementation. In an unprecedented time in our nation's democracy, we engaged and consulted extensively with the Government of National Unity (GNU) partners, national departments and all spheres of government and stakeholders, to translate the strategic priorities of the GNU into measurable outcomes and sector-specific targets which are set in the MTDP. Through the MTDP, the DPME is playing an important role in transforming South Africa's planning system to consist of measurable priorities and a results-based implementation framework. This ensures that government departments are not just drafting plans for compliance, but also align their strategies with national priorities and measurable development outcomes. A new Policy Framework on Integrated Planning provides further guidance and structure, ensuring that strategic plans (SPs) and annual performance plans (APPs) are assessed for quality, consistency and alignment with regular consultations to strengthen coherence across departments and spheres of government. Monitoring Planning is only one side of the coin. To monitor and measure progress, the DPME has developed a robust Integrated Monitoring Framework, which enables the tracking of key performance indicators in real time. In a significant move towards transparency and citizen empowerment, we are spearheading the launch of a public-facing digital performance dashboard. This platform will allow South Africans to monitor government performance online, ensuring that departments are held accountable, and that citizens are informed participants in democratic governance. In addition to these system-level reforms, the DPME continues to conduct frontline monitoring and provide targeted intervention support to identify and resolve service delivery challenges on the ground. These efforts are about more than just oversight. They are about improving outcomes where it matters most, at the point of contact between citizens and the state. The DPME is strengthening partnerships and collaboration to achieve development priorities and build capacity in the state through enhancing planning, monitoring and evaluation. In advancing a whole-of-society approach to meet government's strategic priorities, we continue to engage and deepen collaboration with the private sector, civil society, research institutions and academia, governments and multilateral institutions, to strengthen policy development, implementation support and independent accountability in the state. The DPME's work and approach recognise the levers that must be pulled to drive meaningful change in the public sector. Government's comprehensive 30-Year Review of South Africa's Democracy 1994-2024, which was led by the DPME, highlights the extent to which government policies have succeeded in improving people's lives since South Africa's transition to democracy, and the lessons towards achieving the country's development goals. We have worked hard to ensure that the building blocks are firmly in place with planning, monitoring and evaluation systems becoming more integrated, transparent and citizen-focused than ever before. South Africa is not without challenges, but it is through this kind of clear-eyed, system-wide reform that is grounded in planning, driven by data and accountable to the people that we can build a state that works. We are resolute in our interventions, which are repositioning the DPME as a strategic centre of government, committed to results and integrity. DM
