The development and assessment of the mayoral dashboard performance monitoring system in the City of Cape Town

[摘要] ENGLISH SUMMARY : South Africa's negotiated transition to a democracy in 1994 was hailed by many as an exceptional example of a peaceful democratisation process. The Constitution adopted in 1996 was widely endorsed as a model for building an equitable and developmental state that strived to unite the diverse aspirations of citizens. The institutionalisation and participation processes that form an inherent part of democratisation are challenging and complex. Whilst both these afore-mentioned processes were developed at a rapid rate and given the strong South African statutory governance framework within which the new democratic state was supposed to function, particularly the institutionalisation process was and is seriously challenged. Such threats are evident through political power greed, managerial incompetence and systemic corruption through the abuse of power and tender irregularities. Furthermore evidence of the realisation of human rights enshrined in the RSA Constitution and progress towards demographic equity in the post 1994 democracy through effective public service delivery remains a major and ongoing challenge. Municipalities, as prominent providers of public goods and services to communities, were also subjected to major transformation since 1994, which required a new approach to municipal administration and management. Not only was the local government legislation environment completely overhauled and made more complex but the concept of an executive mayor was also introduced. Besides the challenge in becoming acquainted with the interpretation and implementation of the new Constitution and statutes, municipal administrations had to become accustomed to a new form of executive political leadership that has the statutory authority to direct the administration. This dramatically changed governance environment required a major adjustment to management approaches. A very significant change in administrative approach was the introduction of performance management and monitoring in the local government sector. New terminology was introduced such as Integrated Development Plans, Service Delivery Budget Implementation Plans, Key Performance Areas, Strategic Focus Areas, Key Performance Indicators, Measurable Objectives, Targets, Inputs, Outputs, Outcomes and Impact became the basis for determining effective, efficient and economic application of resources and the achievement of predetermined objectives. In all of the afore-mentioned new management and leadership dispensation in local government, the executive mayor features prominently. The particular focus of the thesis is therefore on the performance monitoring role of executive mayors in South African municipalities and the success or not of the City of Cape Town's Mayoral Dashboard System. Within the current statutory regime executive mayors must among other manage the development of the municipality's performance management system. Very significant in this regard is section 56(3) of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998, which obligates and specifically directs executive mayors in relation to performance monitoring. It is common cause that municipalities are in certain instances struggling with the new way of working and performance management in particular remains problematic in the sector. The main reasons for this is probably because of resistance to accountability, the punitive approach followed by certain municipalities, the fear of possible financial loss where targets are not met by managers and poorly defined key performance indicators. This study, albeit inconclusive in respect of the total context of performance measurement in South African municipalities, is part of a unending search for solutions towards making the statutory role of executive mayors in relation to performance management more clear by: • Offering a literature review of performance monitoring in the public sector; • Offering the learning experience within the City of Cape Town to avoid duplication of mistakes and to embrace sound practices; • Developing an assessment model for performance measurement in local government against which municipalities can assess their respective performance measurement systems; Proposing a measurement tool that can assist executive mayors elsewhere in South African municipalities with performance monitoring in their respective municipalities; and • Reporting on the contribution, if any, of the mayoral dashboard performance measurement system towards the overall enhancement of performance management in the City of Cape Town.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University