Parliament, Tuesday, 15 May 2018 – As part of the process of finalising the 2018 Appropriations, the Standing Committee on Appropriations today received a briefing on the alignment of department’s Annual Performance Plans (APPs) to the National Development Plan (NDP).
Ms Edeshri Moodley, Chief Director of government performance information at the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME), highlighted a number of instances where departments have misalignments between estimates of national expenditure (ENE) performance targets and performance targets reflected in APPs.
One of the biggest discrepancies is in the Department of Health, where the 2018 ENE performance targets for the number of functional ward-based primary health care outreach teams is 3 500, whilst in the tabled 2018/19 APP, the performance targets is reflected as 2 000. DPME will engage the Department of Health and the other departments where the misalignment of targets could pose a barrier to achieving the goals outlined in the NDP.
Meanwhile, the committee requested DPME to compile a list of redundant assets in government departments, which could be used to generate income. Ms Moodley indicated that the DPME has already conceptualised this process. She also said that the National Treasury and the Auditor-General will be consulted on drafting the terms and criteria on which assets can be declared redundant.
The committee also requested DPME to monitor departments by collecting, analysing and providing departments with feedback on their income statements and balance sheets on a quarterly basis.
The Chairperson of the Committee, Ms Yvonne Phosa, said: “The alignment of targets plays a pivotal role in realising the NDP goals and departments should continuously be encouraged to align their planning with the available budgets.”
The DPME plays a key role in assisting the committee in identifying key areas where it can timeously intervene to deepen transformation and ensure that allocations are effective and accelerate the implementation of the NDP, said Ms Phosa.
ISSUED BY PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, MS YVONNE PHOSA.
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