Making public representatives more accountable through a clear monitering and evaluation system

Over the past few weeks we have been bombarded with articles and editorials that seek to question the appropriateness of the ANC intervention in government. There was particular outrage at the Secretary General's " summoning" of cabinet ministers to Chief Albert Luthuli House in relation to two incidents.

There was the facilitation of discussions between the COSATU unions and the relevant ministers on how to resolve the Occupation Specific Dispensation (OSD) dispute; and thereafter, the questioning of the pronouncement by a minister that non-performing State Owned Enterprises would be disposed of.

Without getting into the content of the discussions one has to talk to the correctness of such intervention. Will we see more of such interventions or has the ANC learnt a lesson and will, therefore, observe the "distance" between the party and the state?

Our premise is, we have a political system wherein political parties contest elections on the basis of their policies. The manifesto of each party is its summary policy position, and the ANC is no exception. During the election campaign we make specific commitments to the electorate and society, and when we win the elections, there is a reasonable expectation from the people of South Africa that the ANC will deliver on its commitments.

In the past fifteen years we committed a mistake of taking it for granted that when the movement deploys its cadres they will, of necessity, implement the policies of the ANC. The assumption was that policies of the movement were not an area of contestation. Therefore we would all move in the same direction like a stream of water.

As a result, we discounted individual passions for certain aspects of policy, and the inherent danger of individual temptation to follow their own passion. For example, the discourse on our HIV and AIDS policy and the debate on economic policy, accompanied by sharp disagreements among the alliance partners, are testimony to the imperative of the movement keeping a close eye on the implementation of its policies by its government.

Emboldened by fourteen years of experience, the 52nd National Conference of the ANC took specific and deliberate resolutions on how to manage cadre deployment, policy formulation, and monitoring and evaluation. Let us highlight few points from this resolution:

Conference re-affirmed that the ANC remains the key strategic centre of power, which must exercise leadership over the state and society, in pursuit of the objectives of the National Democratic Revolution.

Conference instructed the incoming NEC to review and strengthen the deployment process with the view of strengthening collective decision- making.

These two points capture the longing of conference delegates to ensure the ANC is not relegated to the periphery, only to emerge during the elections. This is a call on the leadership of the ANC to provide leadership in line with the policy sold to the electorate. Delegates were reminding the leadership to take responsibility for the performance of the cadres deployed in government.

The Polokwane conference reaffirmed the centrality of the structures of the ANC in the policy formulation process. The branch as a primary organ of the ANC is critical to the success of the ANC. Hence the decision to establish a Policy Institute and a Political School, respectively, with the sole purpose of developing the capacity of branches to play their role in policy formulation, monitoring and evaluation.

Informed by this resolution the ANC has elevated Monitoring and Evaluation to the level of a ministry in government. In addition to this, one of the three units of the ANC Policy Institute will be the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit. We are presently refining tools thereof. Furthermore, a tool for evaluating performance of public representatives is being reviewed, in order to avoid evaluating them at the end of their term.

We will assess them on an annual basis. Feedback will be given to them so that weaknesses can be corrected early, instead of waiting for opposition parties and the media to do an unscientific performance assessment. We should, ourselves, give the rating of the performance of each public representative.

Inherent to this is an ambitious programme of evaluating the development impact of the programmes implemented by the government. We seek to progress from an output to an outcomes approach, that is, not just a head count of what has been achieved but also delve on the impact of a project on society. For example, assessing the impact of a water or sanitation project on the prevalence of water borne diseases in a particular community. Monitoring will help us in track progress on priority areas and baseline requirements as set by the ANC.

In the event of deviation from the set objectives, corrective measures would be taken in time before the project is derailed. This will result in ministers not only seen from a distance by the party leadership, but will be elevated into true champions in their areas of responsibility. In return the ANC will be in a better position to defend its cadres when they are attacked. Decision-making will be more transparent and based on scientifically tested information, and talk of non-performance will not be based on anecdotal information.

The relationship between the party and its cadres will improve as everyone involved will know exactly what is expected of them. Monitoring and evaluation will force the ANC to engage directly with the deployees on an ongoing basis.

This worldview would assist us, particularly in relation to community protests.

First, we will be able to understand the underlying factors and address them.

Second, we will be in a position to appreciate situations where protests are more a manifestation of political infighting and people positioning themselves for the next list processes.

The intervention in any situation should not be ad hoc, but be informed by the objective circumstance. In dealing with all these protests the ANC must take direct responsibility, and the deployees in government must see it as a call of duty to address these problem diligently in defence of their party.

Service delivery is, therefore, not just the responsibility of the minister but, equally, that of the ANC. When the ANC reconfigured the cabinet structure, the driving force was the desire to deliver on our manifesto as the ANC, not just an ANC led government.

At the end of this term, the electorate will judge us on whether we have delivered on the much-pronounced priorities, namely;

• Creating more jobs, decent work and sustainable livelihoods.
• Education
• Health
• Rural development and
• Fighting crime and corruption.

In the final analysis, it is not the individual minister who will face the electorate, but the ANC.

Let me conclude by emphasising that we will not get into the engine room of government and micro-manage departments. We will keep a healthy distance for the individual deployees to prove their ability and expertise. The engagement will be at the level of policy and the monitoring and implementation thereof. South Africans must expect a more dynamic interaction between the ANC and the deployees in government.

Our experience is that the media treats such engagement on the basis of the person involved and the issue that is being raised. For calling in the minister on the issue of possible privatisation of state assets, the Business Day gave me a red robot. Engaging a number of ministers on finding a solution on the OSD dispute there was no robot at all.

The headlines on who runs the country reflect the position taken by the different media houses. Some would like to see an ANC that is an absentee landlord so as to create space for critics and the opposition. For us, the debate itself sent a clear message that there is something that we are beginning to do right.

This is the text of the lecture delivered by Gwede Mantashe, Secretary General of the ANC, to the Wits Business School: P&DM. It was republished in ANC Today, July 10 2009

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