EXECUTION, MONITORING & EVALUATION AND REPORTING
The Government acknowledges the critical role that execution, monitoring & evaluation and reporting (collectively referred to as “M&E”) plays in improving the delivery of public goods and services. Conducting good M&E provides indispensable information that can be used to improve programme planning, implementation and reporting. Lessons drawn from the HPPI Final Report, pertaining to implementation of the Plan include:
These experiences and others necessitate a re-engineering in Government’s calibration to the M&E function. The M&E Chapter under HPPII therefore aims to maximize outcome and impacts and ensure cost-effective delivery.
Pursuant to the Cabinet Retreat, convened by His Excellency President Dr. Hage G. Geingob in December 2020, clear priority themes emerged that require immediate consideration, to deliver improved public service for all Namibians. The Retreat acknowledged the need for the creation of “Delivery Unit(s)”, deliberated on the concept as a means to improving the implementation rate and resolved to consider the establishment of such a Unit. A professional level of execution capability and service delivery was identified as a key element to unlocking an effective culture of M&E.
The focus of the PDU will be the delivery of expected outcomes relative to the goals and activities of HPPII. This expectation will be achieved through the crafting of project management plans for each of the goals under the five respective pillars.
Further, performance dialogues and Improvement Plans on areas lagging behind, will be integrated into the Performance Management System of Ministers and Senior Government Officials, subject to Quarterly Reviews. Ultimately, progress reports will be further extended to citizens through the established communication channels.
This Chapter outlines the establishment of a Performance Delivery Unit (the Unit/PDU) which is envisaged to meaningfully support planning, execution, augment monitoring & evaluation, closeout and reporting of key projects under HPPII. Given the focused nature of programmes contained in HPPII and the need for impactful implementation of an economic recovery plan, the success of the Plan will be dependent on the expeditious implementation of catalytic developmental projects, with a large multiplier effect.
Programme management is the coordination of related (individual) projects that are grouped together. The HPPII Programme consists of a collection of Projects, that are to be managed as a group, in order to achieve economies of scale, conformity to standards and integration into existing frameworks, institutional arrangements, and platforms. In this regard, the M&E function is aligned to the principles of Integrated National Performance Framework and requires tight integration to the efforts of the NPC and the OPM. Coordination of individual projects will increase the probability of overall success.
The primary benefit to Government of implementing a PDU is to holistically monitor implementation and reporting of the Plan, including prioritised projects. In summary, the benefits of a well-functioning PDU include:
Considering the prevailing economic climate, implementation and delivery of the HPPII is an ambitious undertaking, of both financial and project resourcing. Numerous projects and activities will be implemented concurrently, each with its own set of inputs, timeframes, constraints, risks and deliverable outcomes. The delivery of Projects committed to during this period will require inputs from multiple OMAs, creating a complex coordination process. This potential project risk will be mitigated by managing each goal through the 49 Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK) international best practices.
Time management of projects under the PDU will stand to create efficiency gains and direct savings to Government, through the avoidance of cost-overruns, delays and penalties from extended legal disputes. Ultimately, a focused and competent Unit supporting OMAs to deliver on strategic developmental projects in key sectors, will not only strengthen public sector institutional capacity but will, over time, increase stakeholder and public confidence, in the delivery of public goods and services.
HPPII performance indicators and targets are cascaded into the Performance Management Agreements of Ministers for high level accountability and reporting on quarterly basis. The OPM will ensure that there is alignment between Ministers’ Annual Workplans and HPPII targets. Furthermore, the OPM will also ensure that there is cross-referencing of targets among Ministries (i.e., for many rural schools to go for online learning, Ministry of Mines and Energy, Ministry of ICT and Ministries of Education need to work together). OMAs are responsible for reporting on quarterly basis to OPM as per agreed timetables.
The Quarterly Reports will culminate into an Annual Report which forms part of the President’s Annual State of the Nation Address (SONA).
The PDU will be driven by Presidential Advisors, supported by dedicated officials from the OPM, NPC, Ministry of Finance and other relevant sectoral Ministries, members from the Project Management Institute Namibia Chapter (www.pmi-namibia.org) and private sector experts to bolster capacity and skills transfer. For sustainability, it is envisioned that after the 3-year period, the NPC will integrate and lead the work of the PDU from 2025. This approach provides a tried and tested project management model, implemented across both the globe and commercial sectors, and epitomises a public private partnership approach to project management and problem solving.
Each of the Five pillars of HPPII, will have a focal person/Government official. The focal person is expected to allocate a portion of their time to the PDU as part of a critical skills transfer objective of the PDU. These are middle to senior Government officials, with the necessary professional and/or educational alignment to Project Management, seconded to the Unit for a pre-determined duration. After the 3-year PDU programme implementation period, it is envisioned that the public sector focal persons would be adequately capacitated to continue the functions of the PDU and establish similar interventions within respective OMAs.
Over the life span of the PDU, the role and involvement of the private sector experts would reduce as more Government personnel are incorporated into the Delivery Unit structures. Below is an illustration of the skills transfer envisaged over the PDU lifecycle.
The cost to maintain the Delivery Unit over the MTEF, would reflect a reduction in external resourcing over the period. It is useful to note the following:
The Delivery Unit is a supportive unit. While the respective OMA’s will still be required to execute and allocate the resources to projects, the PDU will supplement and support them to ensure cross-cutting coordination and effective delivery on strategic projects. Skills transfer is a key objective and part of the mandate of the Unit. The PDU will conduct a sizeable amount of problem solving, resource management and coordination, using the 49 PMBOK processes, tools and techniques to deliver on projects on time, over the period.
Below is an illustration of the skills transfer envisaged over the PDU lifecycle.
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