Measurable Performance and Accountability Delivery Outcome 11

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Measurable Performance and Accountable Delivery

Developing the MTSF into outcomes with measurable outputs and optimal activities

This is a DRAFT for discussionPlease send any comments to

[email protected] before 5pm, Thursday, 14th January, 2010

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January 7 , 2010

Table of Contents

Table of Contents 1The Red Circles 2Chapter 1: Improving Government Performance:The Context and Key Objectives 3

1.1. Context 31.2. Two Key Objectives : Measurable Outputs – Accountable Delivery 4

Chapter 2: Improving Government Performance: The Methodology 52.1. Motivation for an Outcomes-Based Performance Management (OBPM) System 52.2. Process for Implementing the Performance Management System 62.3. The Outcomes – Measurable Outputs – Optimal Activities Methodology 62.4. Choosing the Outcomes 82.5. Translating Outcomes into a Delivery Agreement 102.6. Coordinating Mechanisms to Drive the Outputs and Activities 112.7. Key Takeaway 17

Chapter 3: Setting Targets for Each Outcome 183.1. Outcome 1: “Quality Basic Education” Error! Bookmark not defined.3.2. Outcome 2: “A Long and Healthy Life for All South Africans” Error! Bookmark not defined.3.3. Outcome 3: “All People in South Africa Are and Feel Safe” Error! Bookmark not defined.3.4. Outcome 4: “Decent Employment Through Inclusive Economic Growth” Error! Bookmark not

defined.3.5. Outcome 5: “Skilled and Capable Workforce to Support an Inclusive Growth Path” Error! Bookmark

not defined.3.6. Outcome 6: “An Efficient, Competitive and Responsive Economic Infrastructure Network” Error!

Bookmark not defined.3.7. Outcome 7: “Vibrant, Equitable, Sustainable Rural Communities Contributing Towards

Food Security for All” Error! Bookmark not defined.3.8. Outcome 8: “Sustainable Human Settlements and Improved Quality of Household Life” Error!

Bookmark not defined.3.9. Outcome 9: “Responsive, Accountable, Effective and Efficient Local Government System” Error!

Bookmark not defined.3.10. Outcome 10: “Protect and Enhance our Environmental Assets and Natural Resources” Error!

Bookmark not defined.3.11. Outcome 11: “Create a Better South Africa, a Better Africa and a Better World” 193.12. Outcome 12: “An Efficient, Effective and Development Oriented Public Service and an

Empowered, Fair and Inclusive Citizenship” Error! Bookmark not defined.Chapter 4: Delivery Agreement Guidelines23

Summary and Next Steps 26

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The Red Circles

This document is a draft and still has many shortcomings. Where there is a red circle in the document, it means one of three things:

1. The information is still missing - If you can help, please fill in the gaps

2. The issue requires more debate and more input – please share any views or new ideas you have

3. The issue is work-in-progress and requires fresh ideas to make it stronger

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Chapter 1:Improving Government Performance The Context and Key Objectives

1.1. Context

By January 2010, the current administration will be well into its first year of political governance. The January 2010 Lekgotla will be, technically, the second, but effectively, the first of the new administration and, as such, it is a critical platform to define a coherent developmental agenda and chart a clear way forward for the remainder of the electoral period. This is a time to review where we are today with regards to our mandate and agree on where we would like to be at the end of this term in office and beyond.

We need to acknowledge two key features of the current environment in developing our thoughts. The legacy of apartheid in creating huge inequality, poverty and spatial dislocation is still very much with us and must begin to be undone by this process. The world recession may be over but the next few years will remain very challenging in generating revenues and promoting economic growth. Despite these, we must learn how to do more with less.

The broad agenda and mandate for the period has been established in both the manifesto of the ruling party and the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) adopted in July 2009. In translating this agenda into a Delivery Plan, we need to do two important things: establish detailed and measurable outputs for the broad Outcomes described in these two documents and then agree on priority areas of work. This will provide Government with the requisite level of direction to ensure and place sufficient emphasis on the most critical areas of our mandate. It will be important to make strategic choices on where to focus in order to ensure that our limited resources are deployed most efficiently against this agenda. In addition, a clear, consolidated articulation of our expectations from each area of Government enables us to measure delivery and better manage performance over the long-term.

It is also important to understand that improving performance is not only about better planning and prioritisation. Increasing our capacity to delivery also involves “stretching” and “leveraging” our resources in order to achieve more with less. A key goal should be to ensure that, in the least, the outcomes we achieve are reflective of our level of expenditure. For example, our spend in Education has tripled since the end of apartheid in 1994 and educational spend per capita is now on par with Malaysia, yet, our average scores in international tests of Grade 8 Maths and Science were half of Malaysia’s score and well below the international average (TIMS 2003). In order to achieve better results, we need to increase the efficiency of Government and move up the performance curve (see below). This document proposes a set of Manifesto and MTSF based Outcomes with measurable outputs and optimal Activities while also suggesting co-ordination and Implementation mechanisms.

Once we optimise how resources are deployed, we need to focus on further improving productivity and innovation within all areas of Government in order to achieve more for every Rand or work hour spent by Government.

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Low High

Performance

Human and System Capacity

High

Low

SOUTH AFRICA

To move us up the performance curve faster than we can build capacity (which is a longer term goal), we need to use the limited capacity available to reach further by:

making our work simpler,

reducing compliance work that adds no or little value, and

reducing the number of institutions that are required

ensure strong management team for the priority sectors

focus efforts on some key deliverables and do them well

1.2. Two Key Objectives : Measurable Outputs – Accountable Delivery

Two important results are required from this process in order to enable more effective performance management, monitoring and evaluation:

Define a clear set of priority OUTCOMES, with measurable outputs and an optimal mix of key activities. It must do this using the priorities articulated in the ANC Election Manifesto and elaborated in the 2009 – 2014 MTSF as the basis

Produce a road map and determine the best coordinating mechanisms to drive the outputs and activities to ensure that the entirety of Government works as an accountable team to deliver on the priorities

Over the past months, The Monitoring and Evaluation Ministry within the Presidency has initiated a process of defining the Outcomes and measurable outputs. Draft versions of the list of outcomes and associated outputs, metrics and activities have been discussed at several key Government meetings including the FOSAD meeting on 26 November, 2009. Furthermore, we have engaged with Ministers and Departments within most areas of Government to obtain feedback, some of which has been incorporated.

This document will present, in Chapter 2, a more detailed explanation of the methodology we have used in choosing the Outcomes and developing the output measures and optimal activities we recommend for the new Delivery Plan. Chapter 3 is a presentation of each Outcome in more detail and Chapter 4 provides guidelines on how a Delivery Agreement should be prepared and the steps required to create such a document. We than conclude with a summary and next steps.

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Chapter 2: Improving Government Performance The Methodology

2.1. Motivation for an Outcomes-Based Performance Management (OBPM) System

Since 1994, we have made some progress in many areas of our work. Government has successfully improved access to services and increased its expenditure on service delivery; however, this did not always translate into better outcomes. We would have expected that increasing expenditure and increasing activities should produce outputs and outcomes, however, this did not happen for various reasons:

We sometimes had the incorrect policy – we therefore must be willing to continuously review policy

Policies were incorrectly interpreted when being implemented – an ongoing monitoring and evaluation process based on detailed data and analysis is needed to tell us when we are going off the desired path

Policies properly interpreted but implementation was done badly – quicker feedback will allow us to correct mistakes

Incorrect assumptions regarding the links between inputs (resources), activities and intended outputs – the inputs and activities that are selected do not always result in the desired output – this calls for us to provide evidence that the activities we choose will produce the desired outputs

Absence of a performance management system and monitoring & evaluation (M&E) framework – we do not centrally articulate our detailed performance requirements and do not track delivery with a sufficient level of detail

Government structure, decision-making processes, and activity coordination mechanisms are not designed for optimal performance management –our co-ordination mechanisms need to be improved to ensure accountable delivery

Most of the abovementioned reasons for poor performance relate to Government’s ability to convert inputs into outputs through activities. If our Outcomes and Measurable Outputs approach only set targets for desired outputs, this would not highlight the strong need for improvement in the conversion process. For each priority outcome, we therefore include a shortlist of key activities that are critical in order to achieve a desired output. Data-driven insights, evidenced-based ideas and consultations with key stakeholders are used to ensure that the activities that are most likely to have a strong influence on the desired output. The progress of implementing these activities will be included in a reporting card for monitoring purposes. In this way, we hope to change behaviour towards more efficient activity selection and delivery.

It is important to understand that this approach is not to be prescriptive on how a Government Department operates, but seeks to increase focus on high priority activities and monitor their implementation. It does not specify how they should be implemented and how funding will be allocated to these activities. Each Government Department will retain full decision making rights to decide how to deliver against the output targets and activities.

A strong institutional design with good management and the ability to make changes when things don’t work will also be required in support this approach.

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2.2. Process for Implementing the Performance Management System

At a high level, the process for defining outcomes can be summarised as follows:

Politically Agreed Outcomes

Outcome Measures

Key Activities and Inputs

Delivery Forum Produces Delivery

Agreement

Set Up Coordinating & Implementation

Mechanism

The MTSF and other key strategy documents are translated into a 12 main outcome indicators

They form a clear, simple expression of Government’s mandate

The most valuable outputs that influence each outcome are defined and agreed upon

Measures and targets are set for these outcomes

A list of key activities required to achieve each output target is created

Essential inputs that form part of the delivery chain for the outputs are identified

President appoints Minister /s accountable for delivery of outcome

Delivery forum created consisting of institutions or agencies that play a role in delivering the outcome

Delivery forum negotiates terms of delivery and produces Delivery Agreement

Establish a Cabinet Cluster for each outcome

Agree on how best to implement delivery agreement

Produce six monthly report to President

Measureable Outputs Accountable Delivery

As shown above, the process can be broadly divided into two phases: 1) measurable output definition and 2) accountable delivery. The first phase involves the definition of the key outcomes associated outputs that Government will focus on. Targets and measures are set for each output and the key activities and inputs required to deliver against these targets are defined. Once measurable outputs are finalised and consensus is gained around these inputs, the focus shifts towards the next phase (accountable delivery of the desired outputs). A cross-functional sector delivery forum is created to negotiate and plan how the desired outputs will be achieved. Once negotiations are finalised, the delivery plan and accountability is formalised in a performance agreement and sector delivery agreement. An implementation cluster is then set up to function as a coordinating and implementation mechanism.

2.3. The Outcomes – Measurable Outputs – Optimal Activities Methodology

The methodology utilised to set targets is a departure from the traditional Input-Output Model where targets are set at only the output level based on fixed inputs. In this approach, we first identify the list of key outcomes that will be included (see Section 2.3). The outcomes are then broken down into priority outputs that have the largest influence on the outcome. For example, the management of HIV/AIDS (output) is a key contributor towards achieving the outcome of “live long and healthier lives” in South Africa. Targets are set at the output level based on a consultative process and data-driven research. Part of this research includes identifying the short-list of key activities that will have the most impact on the outputs. These activities are monitored as part of the reportcard on the outcome. All targets also take into consideration the limited availability of inputs in order to ensure that they are achievable. We have assumed that inputs can be reallocated from one department to another, within a department and that some limited new allocations could be made.

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Derived from ANC’s Manifesto and MTSF

Outcomes

Measure 3–5 outputs that tell us whether we are making progress in delivering the outcome

Tested with internal and external experts

Outputs

Measure delivery of key activities that we believe will fundamentally enhance the performance of the conversion process

Activities

Determine optimal allocation of inputs given desired outcomes

Reallocate inputs if necessary

Input

What are the key outcomes that

Government wants to achieve?

Which priority outputs should we measure to see if we are achieving

each outcome?

Where should the system focus in order

to achieve the outputs?

How much do we need to invest to achieve the

best mix of desired outcomes?

Step 1Step 2Step 3Step 4

Input-Outcome

Model

New Evaluation

and Monitoring Approach

8

4

The outcome relating to Human Settlements (Outcome 8) is used an explanatory example. In this example, we show only a subset of the output metrics developed for the outcome for illustrative purposes. Below, we show 4 outputs. For each output, metrics are defined for measurement of the output. Data-driven research and consultation with the Department of Human Settlements was used to understand the current reality and set targets for these metrics. Lastly, key activities that will enable the achievement of targets are defined and monitored. These activities are only selected if there is sufficient evidence to motivate their inclusion.

* Gap” market is currently defined as households earning between R3,500 to R9,000 per month who do not qualify for subsidised housing and cannot access mortgage finance

Note: Only contains subset of the outcome metrics, targets and activities

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2.4. Choosing the Outcomes

The point of departure is the ANC Election Manifesto of 2009. The Manifesto defines the objectives as follows:

Continued democratisation of our society based on equality, non-racialism and non-sexism; National unity in diversity which is the source of our strength; Building on the achievements and the experience since 1994; An equitable, sustainable, and inclusive growth path that brings decent work and sustainable

livelihoods; education; health; safe and secure communities; and rural development; Targeted programmes for the youth, women, workers, rural masses, and people with disabilities;

and A better Africa and a better world.

It goes further to identify 5 Priority areas of work to give effect to the objectives:

1. Creation of decent work and sustainable livelihoods2. Education3. Health4. Rural development, food security and land reform5. The fight against crime and corruption

Informed by the Election Manifesto, Government adopted the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) for the mandate period 2009 – 2014 in July 2009. The MTSF translates the Election Manifesto into a Government strategic framework. It elaborates on the Election Manifesto and identified the Ten (10) Strategic Priorities, that serve as the basis for determining the Governments Implementation Plans for the period to 2014. The MTSF states:

“The MTSF base document is meant to guide planning and resource allocation across all spheres of government. National and provincial departments in particular will need immediately to develop their five-year strategic plans and budget requirements, taking into account the medium-term imperatives. Similarly, informed by the MTSF and their 2006 mandates, municipalities are expected to adapt their integrated development plans in line with the national medium-term priorities”.

It proceeds to articulate the Ten Strategic Priorities as:

1. Speed up economic growth and transform the economy to create decent work and sustainable livelihoods

2. Massive programmes to build economic and social infrastructure 3. A comprehensive rural development strategy linked to land and agrarian reform and food

security 4. Strengthen the skills and human resource base 5. Improve the health profile of society 6. Intensify the fight against crime and corruption 7. Build cohesive, caring and sustainable communities 8. Pursue regional development, African advancement and enhanced international cooperation 9. Sustainable resource management and use 10. Build a developmental state, including improving of public services and strengthening

democratic institutions.

To ensure that planning and implementation reflect the priorities contained in the two strategic documents, Government established two new functions within the Presidency; Ministries in The Presidency for The National Planning Commission and Performance Monitoring and Evaluation. Both Ministers committed themselves to developing the MTSF into a more detailed set of Outcomes with Measurable Outputs with some key activities being recommended as the way to best achieve the outputs. This will also require

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changes in the allocation of inputs and resources to ensure delivery on the priority areas.

In translating the Manifesto and the MTSF into Outcomes, twelve (12) key outcomes and have been identified:

1. Quality basic education2. A long and healthy life for all South Africans3. All people in South Africa are and feel safe4. Decent employment through inclusive economic growth5. Skilled and capable workforce to support an inclusive growth path6. An efficient, competitive and responsive economic infrastructure network7. Vibrant, equitable, sustainable rural communities contributing towards food security for all8. Sustainable human settlements and improved quality of household life9. Responsive, accountable, effective and efficient Local Government system10. Protect and enhance our environmental assets and natural resources11. Create a better South Africa, a better Africa and a better world12. An efficient, effective and development oriented public service and an empowered, fair and

inclusive citizenship

The conversion of the Election Manifesto and the MTSF into a set of 12 outcomes backed by measurable outputs and key activities to achieve the outputs was the product of consultation and discussion at both the Ministerial and Administrative levels. The Table below places the Election Manifesto and MTSF key strategic objectives and the Outcomes alongside each other. It is clear from the table that there is a high degree of correlation and consistency across the three. The outcomes are not another set of priorities per se. They reflect the desired development impacts we seek to achieve given government’s policy priorities as contained in the Election Manifesto and the MTSF. In this sense the outcomes with measurable outputs and key activities is thus the core strategy to achieve the Election Manifesto and MTSF priorities.

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The process from priority setting based on the Election Manifesto and MTSF through the outcomes definition with measurable outputs and key activities, has laid a solid basis for signalling what the current Administration will be seeking to achieve by 2014.

2.5. Translating Outcomes into a Delivery Agreement

The process steps of translating outcomes into an agreement are shown below. The responsibility for coordinating and managing such a process needs to be assigned to a Minister or group of Ministers for each outcome in order ensure that there is only one point of accountability. The President will appoint the Minister/s and meet with the Minister/s on a six-monthly basis to discuss progress and results.

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Manifesto MTSF Outcomes

1. Creation of decent work and sustainable livelihoods

1. Speed up economic growth and transform the economy to create decent work and sustainable livelihoods

4. Decent employment through inclusive economic growth

2. Education 4. Strengthen the skills and human resource base

1. Quality basic education5. Skilled and capable workforce to support an inclusive growth path

3. Health 5. Improve the health profile of society

2. A long and healthy life for all South Africans

4. Rural development, food security and land reform

3. A comprehensive rural development strategy linked to land and agrarian reform and food security

7. Vibrant, equitable, sustainable rural communities contributing towards food security for all

5. The fight against crime and corruption

6. Intensify the fight against crime and corruption

3. All people in SA are and feel safe

2. Massive programmes to build economic and social infrastructure

6. An efficient, competitive and responsive economic infrastructure network

7. Build cohesive, caring and sustainable communities

9. Responsive, accountable, effective and efficient Local Government system8. Sustainable human settlements and improved quality of household life

8. Pursue regional development, African advancement and enhanced international cooperation

11. Create a better South Africa, a better Africa and a better world

9. Sustainable resource management and use

10. Protect and enhance our environmental assets and natural resources

10. Build a developmental state, including improving of public services and strengthening democratic institutions.

12. An efficient, effective and development oriented public service and an empowered, fair and inclusive citizenship

Once the outcomes Government wants to achieve, the output measures that must be used and associated activities and inputs have been finalised, the next step involves creating the institutional framework to manage delivery and assign accountability for the outcomes. These delivery requirements will be formalised in a performance letter from the President to a Minister, group of Ministers or Sector including the MECs. The President appoints this entity (or these entities) as accountable for the delivery of the outcome.

After the initial performance letters are finalised, each responsible Department or group of Departments will meet with all institutions and agencies that play a role in delivering an outcome for a sector. They will meet in a DELIVERY FORUM to negotiate a DELIVERY AGREEMENT that describes roles and responsibilities against timelines and budgets. The sector delivery forum should ideally meet for two days of tough negotiations that will allow for delivery agreements to be brokered. The departure point will be the outcomes, outputs and activities required of the sector. The forums will focus on designing and agreeing the implementation process and activities underlying the outcomes/outputs. They will specify what each institution or agency is undertaking to implement, within specific time frames and budgets, and for which they are fully mandated and willing to be held accountable.

The implementation of delivery agreements will typically be financed from budget savings and reprioritization across Departments and agencies. A part of the delivery agreement also relates to producing information on outputs and outcomes required for monitoring and reporting purposes. Both these aspects need to be included in the delivery agreement. Other elements such as details of the delivery strategy, accountability and governance mechanisms and consultation processes followed should also be included in the delivery agreement.

Delivery forums may also wish to form a special purpose DELIVERY UNIT to address select areas of blockages in delivery. It will partner the appropriate delivery institutions in working towards removing the blockages. More importantly its interventions would create models for improving delivery that can be followed by others.

Once the Delivery Agreement is finalised, an outcomes cluster is set up to manage coordination and implementation of the outcome. The cluster periodically will review agreements and decide whether any changes are required.

Regular Report-back meetings with the President every six months will evaluate progress and provide guidance on how to overcome obstacles related to delivery. Reports will comment on all four aspects of the Delivery Chain – Outcomes, Outputs, Activities and Inputs. The report-back will be in the form of a concise, one-page report.

2.6. Coordinating Mechanisms to Drive the Outputs and Activities

The second objective of the performance management framework relates to producing a road map and determining the best coordinating mechanisms to drive the outputs and activities to ensure the entirety of


This section requires more debate

Government works as a results driven, accountable team to deliver on the priorities. The logic being that having a core strategy is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for effective implementation. To succeed in meeting the outcomes set we also need appropriate implementation coordination structures.

As the well known axiom goes – structure follows strategy. The question is which structures and mechanisms are most conducive to driving the core outcomes-based strategy? Government has in place policy coordination and implementation structures both at the political (Cabinet) level and the administrative (FOSAD) level, but it is generally held that current structures of coordination have not worked too well.

2.6.1. Concerns with Current Coordination Structures

Analysis and evidence from various reviews reveal that the current cluster system is not working well and is not optimally delivering on many of government’s key policies and priorities.

Cabinet has three key roles of developing coherent policy, managing and overseeing delivery and intervening on ad-hoc and urgent issues.

At the Cabinet level the following key concerns have been recorded by a number of parties:

Cabinet clusters formed on basis of common area of work – not a specific set of objectives Agenda of meetings not focused. Too many unproductive meetings – led to poor attendance by

Ministers Ministers not properly briefed about proposals from sister departments that impact on them Quality of information in Cabinet memorandums not adequate – does not present options,

strategy and strategic consideration

At the FOSAD Cluster level the concerns expressed are as follows:

Clusters groupings too generalised – structure did not follow a strategy so have broad groups with little substance in common

Nature of the agendas at these meetings – more about information sharing, a clearing house for process, general policy discussion – little focus on implementation

FOSAD clusters discuss matters but not decision making – cannot hold people accountable Attendance poor 40% of DGs attend – value of time spent limited, mostly junior officials attend

The above concerns suggest that the current system is primarily geared towards supporting policy matters with very weak attention to implementation. This is a structural problem in that the system fails to distinguish between coordination of priority setting and policy on the one hand and the coordination of implementation on the other. This conceptual distinction is important as each involves different dynamics and challenges requiring different mechanisms. The offshoot of this is that while Cabinet has been able to give strong expressions to its role in policy coordination, its role in driving implementation has been hampered and weakened.

2.6.2. A New Approach is Needed – Coordination to Give Expression to Priorities

The new approach is built on the understanding that there is an important distinction between policy coordination and the coordination of implementation. Form should follow function and coordination practice should be seen as a concrete manifestation of policy priorities.

The policy coordination and coherence function relates to structures at the centre of government responsible for generating coherent government policies, resolving conflicts and contradictions in policy and taking decisions on policy proposals, especially where we have choices. The policy function continues to reside with individual departments and final authority with Cabinet.

Implementation coordination refers to institutional arrangements to effectively deliver on commitments contained in government’s plans and policy frameworks. In other words these are organisational arrangements that help get things done such as ensuring better education outcomes and that houses get built and in proper locations. Cabinet’s role in this process needs to be strengthened and key institutions


would be Cabinet Committees and appropriate cluster system arrangements.

Quite clearly the two involve different dynamics and challenges and require different focus with actors and institutional arrangements appropriate to task. In the sections below we elaborate on the institutional arrangements and modes of coordination for these two coordination functions. The main argument being that it is in the field of policy implementation that the design of structures and the practice of coordination require major reform. Proposals in this regard as well as the ongoing coordination of policy are presented below.

2.6.3. Policy Coordination

Policy development continues to reside with individual departments and with Cabinet having the final authority. The structures by and large remain the same, but some process changes are proposed to improve the evidence base for policy decisions at Cabinet level. On matters of policy, the relevant Cabinet Committee receives information after the matter has been deliberated on in Cabinet Clusters.

The Cabinet Office will monitor to ensure that all affected Departments have been consulted and where opposing or contrary opinions have been raised these are reflected so that the Cabinet Committee can properly discuss the policy issue. The requirement that originating departments consult with relevant departments on cross cutting issues and reflect the different views (opposing and supporting) already exists. The Cabinet Office will have to ensure this is strictly adhered to in the future.

From the Cabinet Committee the matter is passed on to Cabinet.

In terms of the long-term vision and strategic planning process, the National Planning Commission once it begins its work, will generate a number of ideas issues. Departments and the Implementation Clusters and Committees will need to interrogate these and where necessary translate them into well developed policy proposals.

2.6.4. Implementation Coordination

To strengthen the role of Cabinet in implementation, a system of Cabinet Clusters is proposed. The aim of these Committees is to bring all relevant parties into the implementation process at the political level. Every second month (8 weeks) the Cabinet Clusters would include relevant provincial and local political principals. This would facilitate vertical (national, provincial and local) integration. In so far as existing structures such as MinMECs are appropriate, these will be used.

Week Month 1 Month 2

Week 1 Implementation Clusters (Senior Officials all spheres)

Implementation Clusters (Senior Officials all spheres)

Week 2 Cabinet Cluster (Ministers, MECs and Senior Officials)

Cabinet Cluster (Ministers and Senior Officials)

Week 3 Cabinet Committees Cabinet Committees

Week 4 Cabinet Cabinet

The Cabinet Clusters will focus on Outcomes, monitor progress, iron out bottlenecks, overcome delays and secure mutually supporting action across the relevant parties. The Cabinet Clusters table progress reports to Cabinet on a bi-monthly basis.

The existing Programme of Action will be replaced by the measures, targets and key actions that make up the delivery chain for the achievement of each Outcome – called Government Implementation Actions (GIA) in future. The Implementation Actions will become the basis for the Performance Agreement between the President and Ministers.


At the level of officials, an Officials’ Implementation Cluster is to be formed. It is proposed that officials directly involved in implementation attend and not necessarily the DG. The officials attending should have delegated authority to make decisions. The Officials’ Implementation Cluster will be co-chaired by the lead Department and the Outcomes Coordinator in The Presidency. The Presidency will be the secretariat and have the responsibility to prepare regular data report cards detailing progress against the targets. This process will be overseen by the 2 Ministers in The Presidency.

The table below presents two examples of the composition and agenda of Cabinet Clusters. It is evident from the examples that the Agenda relates to the outcomes and associated output measures and activities, i.e. the supportive delivery chain of the outcomes. This makes for more focused discussion and deepens the quality of the discussions.

The table below depicts the proposed membership of the Cabinet Clusters.

Outcome Area Outcome Proposed Members


Proposed Cabinet Cluster Agenda

Basic EducationImproved Quality of Basic Education Basic Education, Higher Education and Training and nine MEC’s

Health A long and healthy life for all South Africans

Health plus nine MEC’s

Justice, Crime Prevention and Security

All people in South Africa are and feel safe

Justice & Constitutional Development, Police, Correctional Services, Home Affairs, State Security and nine Safety and Security MEC’s

Employment and Economic Growth

Decent employment for people through facilitation of inclusive economic growth

Economic Development, Finance, Trade and Industry, Public Enterprises, Rural Development and Land Reform, Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries, Tourism, Science and Technology, Labour, Communication, Higher Education, Mineral Resources, Public Works, Energy, Environment, Water, Transport, Presidency (NPC), and Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs

Human Resources and skills

A skilled and capable workforce to support an inclusive growth path

Higher Education and Training, Trade and Industry, Science and Technology, Premiers Offices, Youth Development Agency

Rural Development and Food Security

Vibrant, equitable, sustainable Rural Communities and Food Security for all

Rural Development and Land Reform, Agriculture, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Water and Environmental Affairs, nine MEC’s for Agriculture, Economic Development, Finance, Trade and Industry, Forestry and Fisheries, Health, Transport, Presidency (NPC)

Sustainable Human Settlements

Sustainable human settlements and an improved quality of household life

Human Settlements, Finance, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, nine MEC’s for Housing and Local Government

Local Governance

A responsive, accountable, effective and efficient Local Government system

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Finance, Human Settlements, Water, Rural Development, Transport, nine MEC’s for Local Government and Housing, SALGA

Environment

Environmental assets and natural resources that are well protected and continually enhanced

Water and Environmental Affairs, Forestry and Fisheries. Nine MEC’s for Agriculture and Environmental Affairs

International Cooperation, Trade and Security

A better Africa and a better world as a result of our contribution to global relations

International Relations and Cooperation, Defence, State Security, Trade and Industry, Tourism.

Public Sector Capacity and Citizenship

An efficient and development-oriented Public Service and An empowered, fair and inclusive citizenship

Public Services and Administration, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Finance, The Presidency (National Planning Commission), Office of the Premiers, Arts & Culture, Social Development, Sports & Recreation

Infrastructure An efficient, competitive and responsive economic

Economic Development, Public Works, Finance, Trade and Industry, Communication, Water, Transport, Presidency (NPC),


infrastructure network Human Settlements, Rural Development and Land Reform, Environment, Science and Technology

The core elements of the new approach can be summarized as follows:

Configure new cluster system around (12) Outcomes Create Cabinet Clusters that will include Ministers, Deputy Ministers and appropriate MECs (and

senior Officials) Cabinet to focus on performance of government – each meeting to review implementation,

identify blockages or interventions required to speed up delivery – make decisions Cabinet Clusters supported by Officials’ level “Implementation Clusters” – FOSAD Clusters to be

discontinued

2.6.5. President’s Coordinating Council

While the above implementation coordination system consisting of the Cabinet Clusters strengthens intergovernmental coordination through the inclusion of provincial MEC’s and HODs, the President’s Coordinating Council remains an important structure. Some modifications are however necessary. The President’s Coordinating Council renamed the Presidents Intergovernmental Forum (PIF) should have Implementation issues and performance with an emphasis on concurrent functions as explicit agenda items for this important institution. More specifically the PIF should include five specific items on each agenda – Budgets/Financial Performance, Education, Health, Local Government (including human settlements) and job creation (emphasis on the PWP and CWP).

The administrative and secretariat functions including Agenda setting should shift to the Presidency. The Cabinet Office in The Presidency should serve as the secretariat for the PIF. As is currently the case the PIF should meet four times a year. Two of its meetings that precede the major Cabinet Makgotla should have as a standard agenda item the work of the National Planning Commission to ensure inputs and alignment. Consideration should be given to include executive mayors of metros.

2.6.6. Cabinet Makgotla

The Cabinet Makgotla are critical nodal points for deep reflection on progress in terms of governments priorities, the major challenges and obstacles standing in the way of meeting our goals and considering new policy directions. Past Makgotla have not always lived up to this expectation. Instead they have been characterised by thick wads of paper in several files. In this situation substantive discussion gets limited and has been hampered.

Clearly the Cabinet Makgotla should be more focused on the key strategic policy issues facing the country, progress against key policy objectives, as well as, the performance of government with particular reference to the institutional / policy / legislative / regulatory blockages to better performance. Specifically more discussion is needed on the options available, the trade-offs that may be required and the strategies necessary advance the development goals and objectives.

For the January 2010 Lekgotla this translates into the following main agenda items:

Our policy commitments Assessment – where are we now New outcomes matrix – Government Implementation Actions – what we need to do and the

targets to be achieved

2.6.7. Conclusion

The effective development of policy and the implementation and delivery of services are often hindered by


poor coordination structures and mechanisms. Evidence and analysis based on reviews show that existing structures are not working well.

Government or the state more generally, is a complex organisation involving over one and a half million people, thousands of managers, hundreds of policy makers, hundreds of politicians and hundreds of institutions. Over the past fifteen years, government has become more fragmented. Senior officials and members of the executive sit in too many meetings, processes have become too complex and institutions have become bureaucratised. The effect of this fragmentation is that the state is not as effective as it should be and the coordination function at the centre is not able to drive the implementation or delivery of government’s key priorities1.

A key conclusion of this document is that the system of coordination at the centre is designed to enhance policy coordination and not the coordinated implementation of government’s key programmes. While the development of policy is a critically important task of government (and will always remain so) it is generally accepted that government’s ability to implement its policies is what is lacking. While policy inconsistency is a problem in specific instances, it is in the implementation of those policies where the greater deficit arises.

The proposals in this document attempt to rectify this weakness. Specifically, it calls for a new approach which:

Better distinguishes between policy coordination and implementation coordination Focuses on implementation of outcomes Creates Cabinet Clusters to strengthen vertical integration by including provinces and Local

Government where necessary Proposes a 4 week Cabinet cycle giving Ministers time free from meetings Replaces FOSAD clusters with Officials Implementation Clusters co-chaired by the outcomes

Coordinator in The Presidency and lead Department Focuses the Makgotla on key priorities related to strategy, budget and trade-offs Refocuses and renames the PCC to highlight provincial and municipal issues

1 The defining characteristic of a developmental state is that it is a capable state, able to drive an agenda for development that requires both focused implementation and effective coordination. * Secret * | Page 17

2.7. Key Takeaway

The performance management process outlined in this chapter consists of four key steps. These are shown below as a summary of the Chapter.

Target Setting for Outcomes:

Outcomes Measurable Outputs Optimal Activities Inputs

Delivery Forum:

Negotiate a Detailed Delivery Agreement

Implementation and Cabinet Clusters Based on Delivery

Agreement

Six Monthly Reports Produced and Delivery Agreement is

Periodically Reviewed


Chapter 3: Setting Targets for Each Outcome

The twelve outcomes are:

1. Quality basic education2. A long and healthy life for all South Africans3. All people in South Africa are and feel safe4. Decent employment through inclusive economic growth5. Skilled and capable workforce to support an inclusive growth path6. An efficient, competitive and responsive economic infrastructure network7. Vibrant, equitable, sustainable rural communities contributing towards food security for all8. Sustainable human settlements and improved quality of household life9. Responsive, accountable, effective and efficient Local Government system10. Protect and enhance our environmental assets and natural resources11. Create a better South Africa, a better Africa and a better world12. An efficient, effective and development oriented public service and an empowered, fair and

inclusive citizenship

For each outcome, we have provided the following:

A brief summary

Some background information regarding its importance

A perspective on the current state of the outcome

The key section specifies outputs with metrics (how will it be measured) and targets (unless otherwise stated, all targets are for 2014)

The optimal activities we think will best contribute to achieving the output


3.1. Outcome 11: “Create a Better South Africa, a Better Africa and a Better World”

3.1.1. Executive Summary

There is evidence that South Africa is currently already involved in creating a better South Africa, a better Africa and a better world

SA has become an important player in Africa and the world and has made an important contribution to world peace and stability as a non-permanent member of the Security Council over the past two years

FDI inflows were as high as $9bn during 2008 and is them most diversified FDI on the African continent

9 South African corporates made UNCTAD's Top 100 list of nonfinancial corporations from developing countries

The key outputs and activities for Outcome 11 include:

Develop a forward-looking strategy that factors in the geopolitical situation, energy and security challenges, international migration issues , intra-trade in Africa

Develop a strategy on negotiating trade and investment agreements that focuses on the quality of agreements not the quantity

Identify and implement structured bilateral mechanisms and agreements with clear economic benefits for South Africa

Contribute supported, operational, mission ready forces to UN/AU Peace Missions within the thresholds (people, finances & capabilities) as approved by Cabinet for the financial year

Establishment and participation in regional and continental peace and security architecture

Free Movement of South African

Goods and People

1

Preservation of Regional & Global

Peace, Security and Sustainable

Development

Share of World Trade & Growth in Exports

Volume of FDI inflows & outflows

Visa- Free Movement Agreements

Involvement in Peace Missions

Population Representation in Military

Membership in Peace & Security Councils

Key Activities RequiredOutputs Metrics

2

3.1.2. Outcome Definition and Importance

Creating a better South Africa, a better Africa and a better world involves external partnerships that promote our domestic agenda:

Economic: Promotion of socio-economic development and regional integration

Political / Military: Promotion and maintenance of a peaceful, stable and secure Africa

The outcome is important because South Africa has to contribute to the global economy because understanding and contributing to global issues is part of improving quality of life for South Africans

3.1.3. Current Reality

South Africa recorded FDI inflows of $9bn during 2008, a substantial increase on the 2007 figure of $5.7bn.


This is the highest and most diversified FDI in Africa as it includes energy, machinery, mining, as well as banking (largest share). These inflows have been supported materially by single large deals, for example, the $5.6bn investment by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China into Standard Bank in 2008. In addition, South Africa is also obtaining more of a presence on the global corporate stage. 9 South African corporates made UNCTAD's Top 100 List of nonfinancial corporations from developing countries as ranked by their 2007 foreign assets (Sasol, Gold Fields, Naspers, Steinhoff, Sappi, MTN, Barloworld, Datatec and Bidvest).

Since 2000, SA has been a major contributor to UN and AU peacekeeping missions. Examples include the troops and military observers deployed in the DRC, Burundi, Darfur (in Sudan), Cote D’Ivoire and Nepal among others. Currently, SA is involved in peacekeeping missions in Sudan, Burundi, DRC, CAR, Ethiopia and Eritrea. We also played a strong role in the reconstruction of the DRC, having helped end the country’s civil war.

The above examples suggest that South Africa has become a more prominent “citizen” in a more globalised world. We have also worked on several missions to create a better, more stable Africa and world


3.1.4. Desired Outputs and Performance Scorecard

0.52%

2.8%

$3,597

1%

5%

$5,800

Share of World Trade

Growth in Exports

Trade per capita

Share of World Trade & Growth in Exports

Volume of FDI inflow

Volume of FDI outflow

FDI Confidence Index rating

# of business delegations into SA

Volume of FDI inflows & outflows

Metrics that reflect trade openness are accepted indicators for foreign policy

Targets are consistent with a 10% annual increase

MetricCurrent Value1

Target Value2 Rationale

$9 bn

$4.8 bn

18th

N/A

$18 bn

$10 bn

12th

Start tracking

Note: 12007 or 2008 value unless otherwise indicated; 22014 value unless otherwise indicated; Sources: “How the World Rates South Africa”, SouthAfrica.info; World Bank World Trade Indicators 2008; ”Foreign Direct Investment”, African Economic Outlook; www.africaneconomicoutlook.org; South Africa Had Record Foreign Capital Outf low in 4th Quarter “, Nasreen Seria, Bloomberg news March 25, 2009; http://travel.iaf rica.com/destin/1797820.htm ; http://www.ioltravel.co.za/article/view/5088956; CIFP (Country Indicators for Foreign Policy) website

Free Movement of South African

Goods and People

Fostering partnerships for trade and investment will allow government to find new markets for South Africa’s higher value products

Fostering knowledge sharing, technical cooperation and priority skills development partnerships will allows South Africa to strengthen its productive capacity and long term competitiveness

# of bilateral agreements on visa exemptions for South Africans

Visa- Free Movement Agreements

~18 Increase

1

FDI inflow is an accepted indicator for foreign policy

Targets are consistent with a 15% annual increase

Metric allows assessment of how free South Africans are to travel / move globally

9

2729

N/A

TBD

# of DOD external operations

Average # of personnel deployed daily in external operations

% of Af rican conf licts with SA peacekeeping involvement

Involvement in Peace Missions

Metrics allow assessment of a country’s relationship with its neighbours by examining the number of international disputes in which the country was involved

MetricCurrent Value1

Target Value2 Rationale

Note: 12007 or 2008 value unless otherwise indicated; 22014 value unless otherwise indicated; * In this case, prolonged civil unrest refers to civil unrest that has lasted for more than 1 yearSource: Development Indicators 2009, Of f ice of the Presidency; Department of Foreign Af fairs; Department of Defence Multi-Year Strategic Business Plan 2009 ; Monitor Analysis

Preservation of Regional & Global

Peace, Security and Sustainable

Development

2 Promoting and maintaining a peaceful and stable external environment is a significant contribution South

Africa can make to creating a better Africa and a better world

Regional stability also enhances regional integration and trade opportunities

0.15%

74,000

N/A

TBD

24,565 by 2012

Ratio of SANDF active personnel to total population

# of SANDF personnel

# of youths trained in Military Skills Development System

Population Representation in Military

Yes Yes

Membership of AU Peace & Security Council and UN Security Council

Number of UN organizations

Membership in Peace & Security Councils

Metrics allow assessment and comparison of the portion of a country’s population involved in the operation of the military

Estimates of ef fective reservist strength are based on the numbers available within f ive years of completing full-time service.

Metrics allow assessment of South Af rica’s stature within the United Nations and African Union

Used as an indicator of a country’s relative dominance)


3.1.5. Key Activities

The key activities that have to be implemented for this outcome are as follows:

Public Sector Capacity-Specific:

Develop a forward-looking strategy that factors in the geopolitical situation, energy and security challenges, international migration issues , intra-trade in Africa

Develop a strategy on negotiating trade and investment agreements that focuses on the quality of agreements not the quantity

Identify and implement structured bilateral mechanisms and agreements with clear economic benefits for South Africa

Contribute supported, operational, mission ready forces to UN/AU Peace Missions within the thresholds (people, finances & capabilities) as approved by Cabinet for the financial year

Establishment and participation in regional and continental peace and security architecture


Significant Government work and resources are used in this area. We need a better set of metrics to measure whether we are being successful

Chapter 4: Delivery Agreement Guidelines

4.1. Introduction

Once we have agreed Outcomes, Output measures with targets and optimal activities for each of the 12 outcomes, our next key challenge is to convene a Delivery Forum and negotiate a Delivery Agreement which is implemented and co-ordinated by the outcome based cluster.

For the purposes of providing guidelines for how to produce the Delivery Agreement we will use Outcome 8 – sustainable human settlements as an illustrative example.

4.2. The First Task – Selecting Participants of the Delivery Forum

The Delivery Forum is made up of all institutions that are required to contribute in some significant way to the achievement of the outcomes and, in particular, the outputs. We cannot invite every single person/institution that may have some small contribution to make as this will complicate the process and create an unnecessary administrative burden. For example, we could say that Safety is a key part of the human settlement outcome – and, therefore, we should invite the Police to the delivery forum; however, they are not a significant contributor to the outputs in human settlements and their absence will not jeopardise the process. Only Major partners and contributors need to be present at the Delivery Forum. The Minister responsible for delivering against the Outcome (in this case, the Minister of Human settlements) should strive to select only the major partners that will deliver the respective outcome.

For the Human Settlements outcome, the most likely list is as follows:

Category A (Partners who are central to the entire process): Department of Human settlements, the Treasury, The nine provincial departments of human settlements, Cogta, Department of water, Department of Energy / Eskom, the HDA, the NHFC and other Government agencies, the 27 large Municipalities, Department of Transport.

Category B (Partners who contribute significantly to specific outputs): Department of Land Affairs, the Deeds Office, Department of Public Enterprises, Department of Public Works, DTI.

Further institutions may need to be added to Category A and B. Note that this example is for illustrative purposes only and therefore may not contain the full list. The difference between Category A and Category B partners is that Category A will play a lead role in delivering a large portion or sub-component of an activity. A third category could also be created for external partners with whom we need to negotiate after we have internal agreement, e.g., the Banking Council, the NHBRC, etc.

The Delivery Forum should only be convened once each partner has been given time to prepare and has provided all the basic information required to engage with other partners at the meeting. This is to ensure that the Delivery Forum has the information it requires to produce the agreement. The kind of preparation involves:

For land providers– going through their asset register and collating information about potential land parcels for housing

For Local Government – a comprehensive list of informal settlements with as much detail about current ownership of the land occupied, the current levels of service, costing for upgrading, assessment of project management capacity in their area, etc.

Once this kind of preparation has been completed, the Delivery Forum should meet for two days. The forum should be facilitated by a small group of experienced facilitators who understand what is required and have the ability to produce a negotiated agreement at the end of two days.


4.3. Creating The Delivery Agreement

The Delivery Agreement is a very detailed document as it specified exactly how outputs will be achieved. This includes a responsibility matrix for each outcome, timelines, actions plans, funding plan, data, monitoring plan and a process for implementation.

As an example, we explain the steps required to create the delivery agreement for 2 areas of Outcome 8: 1.) Acquiring public land for low income/affordable housing and 2.) Upgrading of 500 thousand informal units of accommodation.

1). Acquiring Public Land

The key partners are the DHS, land affairs, public enterprises, public works, HDA, treasury and the 27 Municipalities.

Each partner is asked to review their asset register and identify parcels of land that are well-suited from a location point of view for medium/high density, low income/affordable housing.

The target is 6,250 ha of land over the four years. Available land could then categorised as follows: – easily usable free land which will take time to release but has no financial cost and easily available but has financial implications, which will take time to release and incurs costs.

The long term benefit of spending money to acquire the land for housing must be explained, understood and agreed by all.

The institutional capacity to land bank must be established.

The principles for determining market values must be agreed.

The next step is to review each parcel of land and determine if it meets the criteria and is affordable.

The negotiation will probably arrive at a point where only a few parcels are problem-free and can be made available. The rest will are likely to have some or other bottleneck that must be resolved.

The agreement will aim to identify ideal parcels of land, define the bottlenecks and put them in an ordered list from “easy to resolve” to “difficult to resolve”.

This completes Phase 1. The next phase involves setting up the land banking capacity to work with the relevant partners to resolve bottlenecks and transfer land. The goal is to secure 6,250 ha of land in the next 4 years.

2). Upgrading of 500 Thousand Units of Accommodation in Informal Settlements.

The partners will include the DHS, National Treasury, CoGTA, Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Eskom, 27 Municipalities, the 9 Provincial departments and any other agencies of government involved in this area of work.

Step 1 is to agree the definition of the outcome, i.e., what does upgrading mean?, what standards will be used?, etc.

Step 2 is to choose the actual projects so we end up with a list which shows the area, the specific informal settlements, the total number of units to be upgraded and the funding contribution from that Municipality. An illustrative example follows:


Area Settlement Number of Units Funding Source

Johannesburg Thembalihle 47,000 units 20% Cash contribution from Metro

Cape Town KTC Squatter Camp 34,000 units 30% Cash contribution from Metro

… … … …

Step 3 is to resolve funding for the output as a whole and then each individual project. – The funding is likely to come from three sources: reallocation of the current budget, contribution from the Municipality and a new allocation from the budget.

Step 4 involves gaining mutual agreement on the institutional delivery process. Many guidelines and handbooks describe the process for upgrading, one or some of these must be adopted as the preferred model. The actual project management process which describes roles and responsibilities for each partner must also be defined. The process to enable community participation should also be finalised as well as the decision making powers of the Municipalities, Provinces and National Departments. i.e., what process do we use?, who does the project management?, etc.

Step 5 is to determine the timelines and milestones to be achieved each year.

A similar exercise is undertaken for each output measure and we end up with a fairly comprehensive delivery plan. The lead Minister or group of Ministers and their Departments must then manage the process of ensuring that the Delivery Agreement is implemented and reporting on progress. The implementation cluster is the main forum to ensure co-ordination, co-operation and deal with problems as they arise. The six monthly report will be based on the Delivery Agreement and will include a review of the Delivery Agreement and make changes where needed.

The challenge is to produce 12 such agreements and begin implementing them before the July Lekgotla


Summary and Next Steps

12 Outcomes: Describe the mandate of Government and are based on the MTSF – these need to be politically approved

Measurable Outputs: For each Outcome, we have identified a limited number of Outputs; we need to agree that these Outputs are the best ways of delivering the desired Outcome. Outputs need to be debated and agreed.

Targets: For each Output, we have developed a measurable target which needs to be approved. In many instances, data does not exist – if it is available we need to fill in the gaps and where it does not exist we need to develop the system to get the data and have a baseline.

Optimal Activities: Using data and evidence from other experiences we have identified optimal Activities that are most likely to help achieve the Outputs. These Activities will also be monitored and measured when a report card is prepared every six months. We need to debate the Activities being proposed and then either discard, improve modify them so that we adopt a fully supported list of Activities.

Set up a Delivery Forum: Made up of the major and supporting partners with whom we need to work closely to deliver the Outputs.

Delivery Agreement: The Delivery Forum negotiates an agreement which describes how the Outputs will be achieved and how the Activities will be conducted in detail. The roles and responsibilities and undertaking of each partner are documented.

Outcome based “Cluster”: The key partners for each outcome – lead by a Minister/group of Ministers form themselves into a “Cluster” The main task of the cluster is to co-ordinate and facilitate the implementation of the Delivery Agreement. It will also take responsibility for new policy ideas, reviewing the Delivery Agreement and making changes and finally for producing a six monthly report on progress while identifying the blockages.

By July 2010 Delivery Agreement in place, cluster in place, some implementation done and first report ready.


Measurable Performance and Accountability Delivery Outcome 11

Documents

mission ready

badly quicker

task selecting

poor performance

successfully

unnecessary

low incomeaffordable

south african