What is Performance Management?
Performance Management is a Strategic approach to management, which equips leaders and managers on different levels with a set of tools and techniques to ensure efficient and effective service delivery
Why Performance Management for uThukela District Municipality?
The White Paper on Local Government (1998) proposed the introduction of performance management systems to local government, as a tool to monitor service delivery progress at local government. It concludes that the integrated development planning, budgeting and performance management are powerful tools which can assist municipalities to develop an integrated perspective on development in their area. It will enable them to focus on priorities within an increasingly complex and diverse set of demands and to direct resources allocations and institutional systems to a new set of development objectives.
Chapters 6 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000 (Act No.32 of 2000), requires local government to:
- Develop a performance management system.
- Set targets, monitor and review performance based on indicators linked to the Integrated Development Plan (IDP).
- Publish an annual report on performance management for the councillors, staff, the public and other spheres of government.
- Incorporate and report on a set of general indicators prescribed nationally by the Minister responsible for local government.
- Conduct an internal audit on performance report audited by the Auditor-General.
- Involve the community in setting indicators and targets and reviewing municipal performance.
Policy and Legal Context for PMS
- The White Paper on Local Government (1998)
- Batho Pele (1998)
- The Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000 (Act No. 32 of 2000
- The Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, (32/2000): Municipal Planning and Performance Management Regulations (2001) , Chapter 3, by the Department Cooperative Governance.
- Guide on Performance Agreements Workshop, 2001, by the South African Local Government Associations (referred to as SALGA Guidelines in short)
- DPLG, 2001, PMS Training Manuals (referred to as PMS Training Manuals in short)
- Municipal Finance Management Act (2003)
- Municipal Performance Management Regulations (2006)
Objectives of Performance Management System
- Facilitate increased accountability
- Facilitate learning and improvement
- Provide early warning signals
- Facilitate decision-making
uThukela District Municipality, had adopted a two-level approach of implementing the scorecard. The levels were:
- The Strategic or Organizational Scorecard Level – reflecting the strategic priorities of the municipality aligned to the IDP
- The Service or Departmental Scorecard Level – which captures the municipality’s performance in each defined service, provides a comprehensive picture of the performance of a particular service and consists of objectives, indicators and targets . This translates into the service delivery budget implementation plan (SDBIP) and service strategies.
- This scorecard will also inform the individual scorecards of the Section 57 Managers. The two levels of scorecards will then become the organizational performance management system (PMS) of uThukela District Municipality. All reporting on the municipality’s performance will be informed by information derived from the two-level scorecard and reflect the municipality’s performance on the five National Key Performance Areas.
- Included in the PMS of the Municipality is the Capital Status report which comprises of the report on the performance of the Capital programme against the budget allocation and the actual progress on each project. The performance is assessed against approved cash flows projections and Project Implementation Plans (PIP’s).
The Performance Management Unit
The Performance Management Unit is organizationally placed in the Office of the Municipal Manager falling under the IDP/PMS Unit.
The Unit is responsible for the following:
- Develop and maintain a PMS for the municipality aligned to the IDP (Organisational, SDBIP and individual)
- Undertake regular monitoring and evaluation processes to comply with legislation
- Compile quarterly performance reports
- Compile Annual Performance Report – sect 46
- Compile Annual Report
- Support compilation of Oversight Report
- Facilitate evaluation of section54/56 Managers
