Assessing the integrated development plan as a performance management system in a municipality

Abstract

This paper examines the role the IDP as a performance management system in a municipality. Notwithstanding unsurpassed planning efforts towards sustainable development, municipalities nationally appear to be losing this battle. South African municipalities are confronted with harsh realities after 12 years of legislated Integrated Development Planning (IDP) as poverty remains widespread and persists alongside affluence and increasing inequalities. Service delivery mechanisms in municipalities are hampered by bureaucratic tendencies within Local Government and the ambiguity attached to some projects. This research, grounded within the positivist paradigm, evaluates the IDP as a Performance Management System (PMS) in UGU District Municipality. Interviews were conducted amongst employees of UGU District Municipality and the community served by the municipality to evaluate the extent to which the IDP is used as a tool to deliver sustainable development. The study utilized the quantitative research approach and participants were selected using stratified sampling. The research results indicated that the overwhelming perception of the participants was that the implementation of the IDP at UGU District Municipality had been successful. The IDP was deemed to be a strategic mechanism in finding the best solution to achieve superior long-term developmental objectives.