Abstract
Policy implementation in South Africa has not been as successful as the policy
formulation phase. In the last ten years of democracy and the shift from
apartheid minority white rule to the present majority rule, a lot has been
achieved. Among the achievements is the ability to formulate policies directed at
integrating society and the fragmented administrative systems. While the
performance of government organisations has not been as good as anticipated,
several mechanisms, though insufficient, have been put in place to assist with
policy implementation and in an attempt to make government more efficient and
effective in delivering public services.
This research considers whether having a performance measurement and
management system to oversee and evaluate the organisational side of
performance might address the question of service delivery in the public service.
Both policy implementation mechanisms, those referred to as alternative service
delivery methods and strategy implementation using performance measurement
as a tool are considered. The finding of this research project is that an
improvement in policy implementation and strategy deployment using a
performance measurement system, will lead to an increase in the current levels
of service delivery. Two cases are considered, one, a city government of
Tshwane, where performance management is mandatory in terms of the
Municipal Systems Act (1999), and the National Department of Labour, which,
through its own recognaizance, has implemented a performance measurement
system.
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