The Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) in collaboration with the Northern Cape Office of the Premier, initiated the first Citizen Based Monitoring (CBM) training for the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) Citizen Survey in the local government sphere. The survey training for the IDP consultation was held over two days, 26 and 27 January, 2017 at the Umsobomvu Municipality in Colesberg.
The CBM survey in the Northern Cape is premised on creating a mechanism for citizen participation in monitoring of decision making and implementation on local government requirements of the Municipal Systems Act.
The CBM programme will continue on the 09th of February 2017, in Colesberg, with an IDP Representative Forum which will lay the ground for community survey and multi-stakeholder feedback meetings. The survey will run from the 13 – 17 February 2017.The process is designed to set the conditions for establishing citizen-based monitoring of service delivery priorities agreed upon and contained in the IDP. The community of Colesberg is expected to input into the IDP through a door-to-door survey, which will be conducted by a team of selected community members.
To date, five CBM sessions have been facilitated by the DPME in partnership with the South African Police Service (SAPS) in various provinces since May 2016. Members of the community were trained on how to conduct a survey of citizens’ perceptions and experience of services rendered at police stations in Cape Town, Rondebosch, Butterworth in the Eastern Cape, Amangwe in Kwazulu- Natal and Kopanong in the Free State. Police officers and administrative staff were also invited to give their views on service delivery during the sessions.
The National Development Plan (NDP) highlights the need to make citizen engagement more meaningful to build and active citizenry and a capable developmental state. CBM is an approach to monitoring government performance that focuses on the experience of ordinary citizens in order to strengthen public accountability. The pilot phase of the CBM started in September 2013 until March 2015.
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Issued by the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
27 January 2017
