09 Sep 2020

Members of Parliament have expressed concern about ineffective implementation efforts which tend to have a negative impact on government spending and financing.

They were responding to Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration Mr Kabo Morwaeng’s presentation on the mid-term review of the NDP 11 chapter on monitoring and evaluation on Tuesday.

The chapter is intended to strengthen implementation and public sector performance.

Minister of International Affairs and Cooperation, Dr Lemogang Kwape said monitoring and evaluation would usher government projects timely and at lesser costs.

He said delayed projects were a concern as they implied that government was dragging its feet at bringing services to citizens, which was not the case.

He applauded Minister Morwaeng’s presentation saying that it was relevant to the socioeconomic development plans. 

Dr Kwape encouraged the use of Information and Communication and Technology (ICT) in monitoring and evaluation as it was an essential public service management tool.

He said there were unnecessary cost overruns in some instances due to lack of the correct application of ICT. 

Dr Kwape said the presentation of the chapter was a welcome development that would ensure efficiency of the National Monitoring and Evaluation System.

Serowe South MP Mr Leepetswe Lesedi said unutilised infrastructure was proving costly to government. 

He cited Orapa House which he said was purchased at a high cost and had turned into a white elephant. He also gave an example of a youth agriculture project in Serowe which had gone to waste due to lack of proper monitoring and evaluation.

Regarding the presentation by the minister, Mr Lesedi said it should not only be talk but put to good use. Mr Lesedi said implementation remained a big challenge for government.

He said government was in the habit of making false promises and urged the minister to assure Batswana that he was going to fulfill the promises he made.

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Eric Molale said monitoring and evaluation was a necessary instrument that cut across any sector of development.

He urged legislators to develop coordinated activities as they had the sole mandate of serving Batswana.

Minister Molale said given competing needs of resources there was need to prioritise projects. He explained that there was need for an expanded and efficient national monitoring and evaluation system.

He said transformation would be possible if things were looked at differently and improved.

Assistant Minister of Local Government, Mr Setlhabelo Modukanele said NDP’s were a planning process and not the end process.

He explained that the NDP 11 would lead to the ideals of Vision 2036 saying the fundamental importance of the development plan was to improve the quality of life. Mr Modukanele who is also MP for Lerala- Maunatlala said there was need to work and improve the current monitoring and evaluation process to better standards planning forward.

He said the process should talk to every citizen so as to be seen to be effective and should have consequences for every action taken. He said the performance audit was vital and there was need to digitize the monitoring and evaluation process to make it more effective.  

Bobirwa MP Mr Taolo Lucas said the purpose of having a monitoring and evaluation tool was to develop a person.

He urged government to stick to constitutional obligations of improving the quality of life. 

He said other tools such as total quality management, performance management system and national productivity initiatives were still lacking.

Mr Lucas said failure to implement projects was a serious drawback for national aspirations.

He said conflict of interest in tendering processes bred corruption and also highlighted that political appointees in the public service were unwarranted.

He said generally the BDP led government had proved to have no capacity in implementing national development plans.

For her part Minister of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs Ms Annah Mokgethi said presentation of the monitoring and evaluation tool was a gratifying gesture.

She said Botswana had a proud history of setting up good programmes but sadly let down by poor implementation. 

Ms Mokgethi who is also Gaborone Bonnington North MP said poor planning led to wasteful spending on the part of government.

She said several programmes which had good intentions across government departments did not reach desirable results owing to poor implementation. 

Therefore, she said the tool would capacitate government departments to effectively monitor and evaluate. ends