An assessment of alignment between development interventions and monitoring and evaluation in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

Background: The Limpopo Provincial Government, like other provinces of South Africa, has developed the Limpopo Development Plan (LDP) 2015/2019. This has been a revision of the previous developed plans that also had to be revised without the realisation of their goals. It has come to be the norm in government to develop plans that fail to be implemented. This is attributed to a lack of effective monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems in departments. Most of the departments in Limpopo have under-capacitated and under-staffed M&E directorates; hence, they fail to align development interventions as in the LDP and M&E processes.

Aim: The aim of this study was to probe the alignment between intervention plans and M&E. When there is a lack of alignment, there is an obvious lack of monitoring if government activities are geared to strengthen the realisation of the development plan, failure of which leads to a waste of resources and continuous under-development in the province. Failing to realise that the set goals results in government are being postponed by the continual drafting and redrafting of the same goals in different tones and sentences.

Setting: The M&E should be at the centre of decision-making as it gives evidence-based decisions. This is important in the Limpopo Province which is one of the poorest provinces in the country.

Method: This study adopted the techniques of qualitative methodology where assessment is conducted to find out the alignment between the development interventions as set out in the LDP and the concept of result-based management which is key in M&E. The Annual Performance Plans that are not directly responding to the goals of the National Development Plan 2030 and the LDP 2015/2019 in particular.

Results: This study demonstrates that the lack of alignment between the LDP and M&E processes leads to failure in realising the goals of the LDP on the one hand, and the ability to improve the living conditions of its citizenry on the other hand.

Conclusion: It can be concluded that without effective M&E systems government will continue to waste resources without getting improvement. All that is done by the government should be aligned to proper M&E systems.