Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration as well as Planning Monitoring and Evaluation

Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration as well as Planning Monitoring and Evaluation REPORT ON BUDGET VOTE 8: DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING, MONITORING AND EVALUATION 1. BACKGROUND The Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration as well as Planning Monitoring and Evaluation (hereinafter referred to as the Portfolio Committee) having considered the directive of the National Assembly to consider and report on the Strategic Plans, Annual Performance Plans and Budget allocations of the Department of Planning Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) and the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) which was tabled by the Minister of Planning Monitoring and Evaluation in terms of the Public Finance Management Act (Act No 32 of 2003), reports as follows: 2. INTRODUCTION The Public Finance Management Act, section 27 clearly stipulates that the Minister must table the annual budget for a financial year in the National Assembly before the start of the financial year. In terms of section 10 (1) (c) of the Money Bills Amendment Procedures and Related Matters Act, No 9 of 2009, the relevant members of Cabinet must table updated strategic plan and annual performance plan for each department, public entity or institution, which must be referred to the relevant Committee for consideration and report. The Portfolio Committee received presentations made by the Minister of Planning Monitoring and Evaluation and the Executive of the NYDA on the Strategic Plans and Annual Performance Plans. The Minister highlighted that in May 2014, the President made a proclamation on the reconfiguration and reorganisation of Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation. The reforms included the merging of the National Planning Commission Secretariat with the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation to form a new Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation. The National Youth Development Agency, as a programme, was transferred from Vote 1 of the Presidency to Vote 8 of the Department. The reconfiguration and the new mandate of the department has resulted in the restructuring of the organisational structure, its programmes and budget. In addition, adjustments were required to accommodate new programmes including Operation Phakisa, Socio-Economic Impact Assessment System, and the Youth policy function. 3. OVERVIEW OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING MONITORING AND EVALUATION 1

The Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation plays a direct, guiding role in government s long term planning, strategic planning and annual performance planning. This role requires providing evidence based input on cross-cutting issues that have long term implications for development. The revised Green Paper on the National Planning Commission identifies 13 thematic areas requiring a concerted government effort, including employment, food security, energy security and water security. The national income dynamics survey, a longitudinal study implemented in 2008 to monitor human development and poverty transitions in South Africa, is another example of how research is used to inform policy. The Department contributes to the objective of responsiveness of public servants and accountability to citizens through making announced and unannounced visits to service delivery facilities. Furthermore, the Department evaluates service delivery including response to calls logged with the Presidential Hotline. 4. LEGISLATIVE MANDATE The mandate of the Department is derived from Section 85(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa which stipulate that the President exercises the executive authority, together with the other members of the Cabinet, by (b) developing and implementing national policy and (c) coordinating the functions of state departments and administration. Based on the Constitutional mandate embedded in section 85(2), the following are the key mandates of the DPME: Facilitate the development of long term and medium-term plans or delivery agreements for the cross cutting priorities or outcomes of government, Monitor the implementation of these plans/delivery agreements Assess departmental Strategic Plans and Annual Performance Plans to ensure alignment with long term and short term plans Monitor the performance of individual national and provincial departments and municipalities Monitor frontline service delivery Manage the Presidential Hotline Carry out evaluations of key government programmes Promote good planning and Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) practices in government 4.1 Strategic goals of the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation The strategic priorities of the Department as identified for the 2015/2020 financial year are as follows: To ensure an efficient and effective department that complies with legislation and good corporate governance principles; To strengthen the linkages between the planning and monitoring and evaluation functions To enhance strategic focus on priorities To ensure stronger focus on outcomes of government programmes and impacts on citizens To enhance the implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP 2030) 2

To support M&E practices as a means to improve performance of government To provide focused attention to the aspects of planning which have been previously neglected in government, such as Medium-term planning and planning of implementation programmes To ensure synergy and improved use of resources for effectiveness and efficiency To ensure effective and efficient approaches to interacting with departments To improve responsiveness to the needs of the public and enhanced ability of government to deliver its electoral mandate To promote youth development and empowerment. 5. THE STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS On the occasion of the State of Nation Address of February 2015, the President declared the year 2015 the year of the Freedom Charter and Unity in Action to Advance Economic Freedom. Operation Phakisa has been declared as one of the nine points plan to ignite growth and create jobs. The Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation has a role to coordinate and monitor government departments in implementing projects and fast-tracking services through Operation Phakisa such as the Departments of Environmental Affairs and Health. The Department of Health will be scaling up the Ideal Clinic Initiative aimed at promoting efficiency, effectiveness and professionalism in clinics. The SoNA highlighted the government s commitment to revitalise the mining distressed towns. A total of 2.1 billion rand has been ring-fenced for achieving this commitment through the relevant government departments. The government has further committed to continue to promote opportunities for the youth. The President emphasised that the National Youth Development Agency has disbursed 25 million rand to 765 youth owned micro enterprises in the last financial year. The Agency has partnered with the IDC and Small Enterprise Finance Agency. 6. Budget Allocation The Department of Planning Monitoring and Evaluation overall budget for the 2015/16 financial year is R717.7 million which decreased as compared to the allocation of R733.8 million in 2014/15 financial year. The Department has also been affected by the budget cuts measures introduced by the National Treasury. Over the medium term period, the Department reduced its budget by approximately R15 million per annum due to competing demands. Measures adopted include interventions to scale down the implementation of some programmes, the identification of programmes that can be implemented through donor funding, the moratorium on the filling less critical posts and the assignment of additional responsibilities to existing staff or units. Table 1: Budget per programme Programme Revised Estimates Medium-Term Expenditure Estimate 3

R million 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 Administration 81.9 69.8 74.1 78.5 Outcomes Monitoring and Evaluation 89.7 85.6 88.2 92.7 Institutional Performance 61.6 59.6 63.5 67.6 Monitoring and evaluation National Planning 88.3 88.2 102.1 103.3 National Youth 412.3 414.5 410.8 442.4 Development Total 733.8 717.7 738.6 784.6 Source: National Treasury 2015 7. PROGRAMME PERFORMANCE 7.1. Programme 1: Administration The main objective of the programme is to provide strategic leadership, management, administrative, financial and human resource services to enable the Department to achieve its strategic and operational goals. The programme s objective is to co-ordinate planning, monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the Departmental plans, to promote internal and external communication on the work of the department, to achieve an unqualified audit opinion on financial statements, to hire, develop and retain the right people in the right positions for the department throughout the planning period, to successfully implement and realise benefits from ICT solutions in doing the work of the department and to promote good corporate governance practices and management. The budget allocated for the programme is R69.8 million in 2015/16 financial year. Over the medium term the budget under the Administration Programme 1 would decrease due to competing demands. The Department overall budget is expected to be cut by R15 million over the MTEF. The budget allocated for the Administration Programme will be spent on providing strategic support, management and administration to the Ministry and the Director-General. A large portion of the budget in this programme would be spent on sub-programmes Corporate and Financial Service; and Information Technology Support. The spending focus over the medium-term is expected to be strengthening capacity in the administrative and corporate support services and the acquisition of additional office accommodation to cater for the expanded functions of the department. The Department has committed to implementing effective Human Resources management practices to ensure that adequate and appropriately skilled personnel are recruited. The Department plans to maintain vacancy rate at below 10% on an annual basis. This is in line with the legislative frameworks of the Public Service. Absorbing 5% of the interns in the department has been highlighted as a priority over the medium term. Part of the budget will be spent on complying with the 90 days deadline in 4

resolving and concluding all disciplinary cases and ensuring 100% submission of compliance with the financial disclosure framework. 7.2. Programme 2: Outcomes Monitoring and Evaluation The main purpose of this programme is to advance the strategic priorities of the department by developing and implementing the outcomes system, monitoring and reporting on its progress, and evaluating its impact. The main objectives are to ensure effective outcomes planning, monitoring and evaluation through facilitating the development of plans of the Delivery Agreements for priority outcomes with government departments, monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Delivery Agreements and making recommendations for corrective action on an ongoing basis. In addition, the Department aims to provide advice and technical support to the Presidency, establish and support an effective national evaluation system to inform government s work on a continuous basis. The budget allocated for outcomes monitoring and evaluation programme is R85.6 million for the 2015/16 financial year. There was a budget cut when comparing allocation for the current financial year with R89.7 million of 2014/15 financial year. The Outcomes Monitoring and Evaluation Programme has three sub-programmes. The bulk of the budget of R60.9 million is allocated in the sub-programme: Outcome Support. The spending focus over the medium term on the outcome support sub-programme would be on reviewing the MTSF 2014-2019. The Department has committed to assisting the Presidency in reviewing the Delivery Agreements and producing reports on an annual basis on the performance of the departments in implementing the delivery outcomes. Moreover the Department has committed to reviewing the departmental plans to ensure the alignment between the NDP 2030 and the MTSF as well as the budgeting process annually. The Department envisaged to produce reports on Operation Phakisa labs in line with the goals in the National Development Plan to promote economic growth and to boost job creation. Operation Phakisa is a Presidential Initiative seeking to change the manner in which government should seek innovations and speed ways of delivering services to the people. The operation is being piloted in the Health Systems and the Oceans Economy. The Department will provide briefing notes to the executive oversight visits and advise on critical programmes on the following matters mining towns and labour sending areas, Siyahlola Presidential Monitoring Programme as well as other critical issues requiring expect advice. Briefing notes to be prepared to the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Distressed Mining Communities and Labour Sending Areas. The Department s role is to coordinate and monitor departments serving under the IMC on Distressed Mining Communities and Labour Sending Areas. The Local Government Management Improvement Model is one of the department responsibility in assessing the quality of management practices in the selected municipalities. The implementation of the National Evaluation Plan remains the core responsibility of the Department. The department 5

provides support to other government departments in conducting different types of evaluation. Moreover the department will conduct at least two research assignments on critical programmes of government to improve implementation. Spending on professional services for research and evaluations is set to decrease over the medium term period. 7.3 Programme 3: Institutional Performance Monitoring and Evaluation (IPM&E) The programme is responsible for promoting good M&E practices in government, conducting management performance assessment and support, frontline service delivery monitoring and support and government-wide planning and M&E capacity development and learning. The branch will also be responsible for the proposed Regional Offices. Whereas the OME Branch focus is on the management of the outcomes system and the achievement of government s priorities, the focus of this branch is on what can be done to make organisation functions better. The budget allocated for the Institutional Performance Monitoring & Evaluation (IPM&E) programme is R59.6 million for the 2015/16 financial year which has decreased slightly as compared to the 2014/15 financial year budget. Over the medium term, the budget would increase to provide financial support in fulfilling the objectives of the IPM&E. The spending focus of the IPM&E will be on continued improvement of management practices in government through management performance assessments and the monitoring of frontline service delivery. Measuring the quality of the management practices in government departments remains core priority of the Department. This will be done through the development, implementation and maintenance of the Management Performance Assessment Tool (MPAT). The MPAT is a vital system of government to measure performance on good governance, develop a culture of continuous improvement and sharing of best practices amongst various departments. The bulk of the budget under the programme is allocated to the sub-programme Frontline Service Delivery Monitoring (FSDM). It comprises of the three divisions; the Unannounced Monitoring, Citizen Based Monitoring and Presidential Hotline. The Department is conducting the FSDM in conjunction with the Offices of the Premier. In this financial year, the department will conduct 90% of oversight in new facilities and ensure quality assurance through producing site monitoring reports. The Presidential Hotline contributes to a more responsive and accessible government. The Department will monitor the resolution of complaints logged through the Hotline and submit performance reports to the Governance & Administration Cluster and the Presidential Coordination Council. Four case studies including impact stories on performance of the Presidential Hotline will be produced. The primary aim of the Citizen-Based Monitoring (CBM) programme is to support government departments to strengthen the citizen voice in monitoring service delivery. The Citizen Based Monitoring strategy to strengthening the people s voice in monitoring shall be produced by the end of the 2015/16 financial year. Furthermore, the Department plans is to implement the CBM in 10 facilities 6

annually. In the 2015/16 financial year, the Department will revise planning and the M&E capacity development strategy, implementation plan and monitor implementation. 7.4 Programme 4: Planning The purpose of this programme is to develop the country s long-term vision and national strategic plan and contribute towards better outcomes in government through better planning, better long term plans, greater policy coherence and a clear articulation of long term and aspiration. The main responsibilities of the programme is to institutionalise and strengthen planning in government by facilitating the development of sectoral plans, ensuring coherence between plans, policies and service delivery across government, ensuring high-level priorities are fed through into plans across all spheres of government and engaging stakeholders on the output of the planning process to ensure buy-in. The budget allocated for the programme is R88.2 million. The spending focus on the programme will be on the National Income Dynamics survey, supporting the work of the planning commission and guiding strategic and annual performance planning and reporting process. The budget is expected to increase over the medium term on the programme as result of implementation of National Income Dynamics survey. The planning programme will support the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) on the development of a sector plan namely draft Spatial Development Framework. The branch to conduct 3 research projects on demographic, social protection and education to support national and sector planning. Further conduct annual assessments of departmental Strategic and Annual Performance Plans to ensure alignment with the planning framework. 7.5 Programme 5: National Youth Development The purpose of the programme is to develop and implement youth policy and to provide oversight over funds transferred to the National Youth Development Agency. The programme will champion the development and implementation of the youth development policy and integrated planning in government. The programme will be a conduit for the budget of the National Youth Development Agency. The budget allocated for the National Youth Development programme is R4.0 million. The programme main focus is to develop and monitor Youth Policy. The Youth Policy will be submitted to Cabinet for approval before the end 2015/16 financial year. The programme will develop a stakeholder compact between the accounting officer and the NYDA and produce quarterly reports on the implementation of the compact on an annual basis. An additional budget of R409.8 million reflecting under programme 5 will be transferred to the NYDA. 8. NATIONAL YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (NYDA) The National Youth Development Agency derives its mandate from NYDA Act (Act No 54 of 2008) (the Act). The Act provides the NYDA as a unitary structure, responsible for implementation of youth 7

development programmes, including the mainstreaming of youth development activities by all stakeholders. The Act further mandates the Agency to develop an Integrated Youth Development Strategy (IYDS) and Youth Development guidelines aimed at establishing parameters for youth development activities in the country. 8.1. Budget allocation overview of 2015/16 The National Youth Development Agency is receiving its budget through a transfer under vote of the DPME and interest and capital repayments from loans issued to its clients prior the introduction of grant funding. The budget allocated for the Agency is R409 million in 2015/16 financial year. The transfer would increase at an average growth rate of 5 per cent from R408 million in 2014/15 to R467 million in 2017/18. NYDA budget was reduced during the mid-term budget review cuts from the projected allocation of R422 million. Programme Allocated Medium-Term Expenditure Estimate R million 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 National Youth Development Agency 408.2 409.8 405.8 437.2 Total 408.2 409.8 405.8 437.2 9. PROGRAMME PERFORMANCE 9.1 Programme 1: Economic Participation The main goal of the Economic Participation programme is to enhance the participation of young people in the economy through targeted and integrated programmes. This programme aims to facilitate and provide employment opportunities for young people; to enhance the participation of young people in the economy, aimed at increasing job creation, entrepreneurship and skills development and the provision of business support to young people. Over the medium term, the programme would be allocated more funding to enhance the participation of young people in the economy. Currently the budget allocated for the financial year increased marginally as compared to the previous financial year. The budget allocated for the 2015/16 financial year is R54.1 million as compared to 2014/15 financial year of R51.8 million. The Agency plans is to spend funds equitably in all nine provinces with aim of enhancing the participation of young people in the economy, creating entrepreneurship and sustainable job opportunities. It is projected that a total of 51,208 young people aspiring and established entrepreneurs will be supported through the NYDA Business Development Support Services. In addition, 3 176 jobs will be created and sustained through the Economic Programme. 9.2. Programme 2: Education and Skills Development The main purpose of the programme is to promote, facilitate, and provide education and skills development opportunities to young people to enhance their socio-economic well-being, with the 8

objective of facilitating education opportunities. The aim is to improve access to quality education and to facilitate and implement Youth Build, job-preparedness training, the provision of scholarships and assistance to young people who are rewriting their matric. The budget allocated for the programme is R56.3 million for the 2015/16 financial year. Allocated budget will be spent on ensuring enrolment of young people on the NYDA Matric (Grade12) re-write programme. The programme is intended to provide an opportunity to upgrade symbols for a number of young people who failed matric by giving them a second chance to re-write matric with various colleges. Matric re-write provides youth with opportunity to further pursue their studies at higher institutions. The Agency anticipates to enroll 400 students through Solomon Mahlangu Scholarship. A portion of the budget will be spent to support young people through individual and group career guidance interventions, Youth Build, job preparedness, job placement and National Youth Service volunteer programmes. 9.3. Programme 3: Health and Well-Being The goal of this programme is to initiate interventions that could help increase awareness of the healthy lifestyles that promote good health practices among the youth of South Africa. The NYDA will embark in campaigns and special projects. These would be implemented in relation to a range of issues such as awareness on the healthy lifestyles that promote good health practices, including dangers of substance abuse, unprotected sex, nutrition, sexually transmitted diseases and the impact of HIV infection and Aids. The budget allocated for the programme is R1.1 million for the 2015/16 financial year. There is a decrease of the budget as compared to the 2014/15 financial years. The Agency is targeting 5 775 youth to participate in campaigns and special projects in relation to health and well-being interventions. 9.4. Programme 4: Policy and Research The main purpose is to create a body of knowledge and best practice in the youth development sector, and to inform and influence policy development, planning and implementation. The fundamental aim of this area is to ensure that policies and frameworks that drive youth development are developed, based on a body of knowledge and facts that are relevant to the developmental needs of the youth of South Africa. The programme has been allocated R36.6 million. The Agency is expected to produce 44 youth development research and evaluation products and policy reviews/development. Furthermore submit to the Ministry of DPME the final National Youth Employment Plan for 2030 for approval. The plan seek to address youth challenges and ensure the implementation of policies for reducing youth unemployment. More funding is expected to be spent on young people receiving information on youth developments through NYDA access points. Organs of state and private sector companies will be lobbied to establish youth directorates and to implement youth programmes. The Agency anticipates 9

to host number of youth development related dialogue to encourage active participation of young people on various issues. The Agency is further expected to mobilise various stakeholders to provide funding support to youth development programmes 9.5. Programme 5: Governance The purpose of this programme is to achieve efficient and effective utilisation of resources through the provision of governance, technology and systems, business operations, human capital, and financial management systems that adhere to relevant legislative requirements for public funded entities. The budget allocated on the programme is R591, thousands for the 2015/16 financial year. The funds will be spent in reviewing the NYDA s Information Technology Systems Architecture and Roadmap implementation. The Agency is planning to disseminate 30 access points. A total of the dissemination of 30 access points to be operationalised in the 2015/16 financial year. 10. FINDINGS The Committee observed the following matters in relation to the Budget Vote 8: The Portfolio Committee was pleased with major strides made since the establishment of the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation in adding value towards building a capable, responsive and an accountable public service. Tremendous work has been done in assisting government to modify and strengthen government delivery programs. This is manifested in, among other the outcome based approach (delivery agreement). The Portfolio Committee had noted the projected reduction of the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation s budget with approximately R15 million per annum over the MTEF period due to competing demands. However the Committee is concerned about the reduction of the budget as this might affect the efficient running of the Department whilst there was a need to increase its capacity. The Department has approved an organisational structure which comprises of 290 posts of which 245 were filled as at 31 March 2015. The Department complied with the Public Service Regulations in maintaining its vacancy rate below 10% on an annual basis. The Committee highlights the importance of filling the vacant posts particularly those that are critical to organisational effectiveness and effeciency. The Portfolio Committee supports the Department on its request of the additional post required in terms of expanded structure to the National Treasury and the Department of Public Service and Administration. Granting approval and funding of additional posts will intensify the Department in monitoring and evaluating number of government programmes in government. 10

The Portfolio Committee urged the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation to devote more resources and place emphasis on the service centers through strengthening the Frontline Service Delivery Monitoring programme and Citizen-Based Monitoring. The Portfolio Committee highlights the importance of the Department to share its findings of completed evaluation studies conducted in the 2014/15 financial year. Evaluation studies serve as evidence on whether government is doing things right and whether programmes are achieving their intended results. Recommendations of the evaluation results, where feasible and appropriate should be used to improve government programmes The Presidential Hotline encourages citizens to contribute in monitoring service delivery. The intention of the Hotline is to contribute to a more accessible and responsive government. The Committee expresses its interest in receiving detailed information on the success, challenges and failures of government departments in adhering to the prescribed response time to referred complaints. The Committee notes that turnaround times to respond to the Presidential Hotline complaints have improved significantly. The Committee believes there is a lot to be achieved and the Department should work towards achieving a 100% target on response rates. The Human Resources Management in government departments was highlighted as a problematic area which need serious interventions. The Management Performance Management Tool highlighted that very few departments are operating within the human resource legal/regulatory requirements and policies that are intended to foster good human resource management in the public service. The Committee emphasises the importance of government to improve performance using the improvements plans proposed by the MPAT reports. There is a need to enforce compliance with legislative frameworks in an effort to build a capable and developmental public service. The Department received donor funding from Canada and the UK. The Portfolio Committee encourages the Department to continuously achieve its set targets with the aim of improving the performance and quality of the public service. This will build confidence and further attract donors to continuously provide the Department with the necessary funding for pursuing planning, monitoring and evaluation activities. The Portfolio Committee is concerned about the Department s delegation of authority that hampers the efficient delivery of services. There is a need for Department to improve on the management of delegated authority in the public sector. The Portfolio Committee is of the view that the Department should speed up the process of assessing the status quo of the local government through Management Improvement Model and Assessment Tool. The implementation of the model should be realised to assess the quality of the management of local government. The Portfolio Committee highlights a need to receive a comprehensive report on the Inter- Ministerial Committee on Revitalising Distressed Mining Communities and Labour Sending Areas. The report should be table in the Portfolio Committee to enable it to conduct effective oversight on the deliverables. 11

National Youth Development Agency The Portfolio Committee congratulated the National Youth Development Agency on the work done in transforming the Agency through the development and implementation of the turnaround strategy. The Committee was pleased with the manner in which the Agency has been restructured its organisation among other things and managing the high salary bill. The Committee welcomes the refocus and reprioritising of the budget on delivering the quality of services to the youth. The Portfolio Committee was concerned about the ageing loan book. The Committee is however impressed by the Agency s approach in recovering funds owed as the matter is continuously raised in the Auditor-General s reports. The Portfolio Committee requests the NYDA to re-look at its restructuring to ensure that functions in the new structure support the Agency s mandate as anticipated by the NYDA Act. The Portfolio Committee questions the budget allocated on the Matric rewrite programme and is of the view that the NYDA should transfer this responsibility to the Department of Basic Education. The funds allocated on these programme could then be used in other priorities such as the Economic Participation Programme. The Portfolio Committee is concerned about the situation of the youth in the country. The NYDA is requested to bring hope through its turnaround strategy to disadvantaged youth in an efforts to improve the quality of their lives. The Portfolio Committee encourages the NYDA to procure services of young black attorneys and law firms to assist in fast tracking its disciplinary cases. 11. RECOMMENDATIONS The Portfolio Committee recommends that the Minister of the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation should ensure that: 11.1. The Department constantly assists government departments in reviewing their Strategic and Annual Performance Plans to advance the strategic agenda of government and to ensure that they are aligned with the delivery outcomes and the National Development Plan. 11.2. The Department had made tremendous progress in the area of the monitoring and evaluation which is crucial and adding value in public policies, not only for departments that implement them but also ensure that this information is available to society. The Department should make public awareness of the work done so far and continuously upload information to its website so that citizen can track and evaluate the results of government programmes. 11.3. The Department should commission research and evaluation studies on key relevant government programmes that contributes to improving effective budgeting, policy making and better planning for the present and the future. 11.4. The Department should constantly monitor the implementation of Operation Phakisa in an efforts to fast track service delivery. The Department need to add more human capital with 12

technical expertise to monitor in order to realise achievement of better, quality and fast results of government programmes. The Department should provide the Portfolio Committee with progress report on Operation Phakisa before end of financial year. 11.5. The Department should provide Committee with a comprehensive report highlighting the achievements, success, failures and challenges on the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Revitalising Distressed Mining Communities and Labour Sending Areas. The report should be table in the Portfolio Committee to enable it to conduct effective oversight on the deliverables. 11.6. The Department should speed up the process of monitoring the quality of the management in local government through Management Improvement Model and Assessment Tool to improve efficient service delivery. The Department should report to the Committee on the Local Government Improvement Model and Assessment Tool report in March 2016. 11.7. The Department should intensify its monitoring on improving the quality of frontline services and empowering communities to monitor government services. 11.8. The Department should provide the Committee with a comprehensive report on the impact of the President Hotline since inception in 2009. The Department should continuously manages, monitors responsiveness and resolution rates and provide technical support to other departments to improve responsiveness. 11.9. The Department should through its Planning (Programme 4) strengthen planning in government by facilitating the development of sectoral plans. The Department should work in collaboration with Stats SA in commissioning most of its research studies such as the Income Dynamic Studies. 11.10. The Department should develops and cost the National Youth Policy to determine the implication thereof. National Youth Development Agency 11.11. The National Youth Development Agency should take effective measures to collect all revenue due to the Agency. The Portfolio Committee support the Agency on the four-point plan approach which directed at closing the loan book. Revenue collected through a loan book should be channelled into the Agency programmes to improve the life of more young people in the country. 11.12. The NYDA should fully implement the turnaround strategy to reposition the Agency to deliver more services to the young people. In a process of recruiting, the NYDA should utilise government security agencies to verify qualifications when appointing employees into the new structure. 11.13. The NYDA must take appropriate action and come up with strict measures on officials who were found without proper qualifications through a disciplinary process. There is an urgent need of creation of database of officials who were found guilty in government departments to avoid reappointment of them in other State institutions. 12. CONCLUSION 13

The Portfolio Committee expresses satisfaction on the Strategic Plans and Annual Performance Plans of the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation and the National Youth Development Agency. Furthermore the Committee wishes to highlight the importance of the Department in strengthening the use of monitoring and evaluation to improve performance and quality of services. Numerous tools introduced in the department are bearing the fruits in the public service such as the Frontline Service Delivery Monitoring and the Management Performance Assessment Tools. Various reports produced by the Department provide Parliament and the provincial legislatures with useful information which can be used for oversight to monitor improvements in provision of service delivery. The Portfolio Committee recommends as follows: That the House adopts and approve the Budget Vote 8 of the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation. Report to be considered. 14