New planning commission starts to take shape, but what’s the overall game plan?

Written by Derek Powell Monday, 08 June 2009 10:10

The central policy thrust is that improvements in planning and performance management will lead to better policy outcomes, for five main reasons:

One, it will improve co-ordination in government, which is essential for better outcomes given that service delivery functions are dispersed amongst the three spheres of government.

Two, it will firm up linkages between the spheres of government and provide a mechanism for regional equalisation – i.e. to invest in rural areas to check growing urbanisation.
 

Four, it will provide focus for building a more competent, focused and accountable public administration.

Five, it will provide a basis for dealing with `resources today to meet tomorrow’s needs.'

Government will release a Green Paper on how the planning commission will work to stimulate a national debate. This signals an intention to create a formal system in the interests of stability and certainty. It could also mean that institutional reforms are on the cards to implement the new planning system.

The Minister provided some broad insights into the architecture of the new planning system:

·A clear and achievable plan for the longer term (15 year horizon)

·Detailed and costed 5 and 10 years plans with measurable development targets

·A Medium Term Strategic Framework (3 year), with detailed plans for each strategic priority area, aligned with the Medium Term Expenditure Framework

·Synchronized planning frameworks for provincial and local spheres

·Continuous, evidence based policy research to inform plans

·New emphasis on mutual accountability of Ministers, public servants and spheres

·`Concerted action to avoid or prevent fragmentation in government.’

There is strong emphasis on better co-ordination, overcoming fragmentation, accountability, and performance – but aligning planning cycles and medium term strategic and expenditure frameworks have all been around for some time and are part of the institutional landscape. The longer term plan is a new idea at national level, though for many years some metropolitan municipalities have been working on plans with even longer time horizons.

Hopefully, the Green Paper will also deal with two questions that are nagging me:

1.        What is the plan for building a more competent, accountable and focused public service? Several Ministers have raised these issues, but what are the detailed proposals?

2.       Where is public sector reform being co-ordinated and what’s the long term game plan? There are a large number of public sector reforms on the table or in the pipeline – the single public service, constitutional amendments to open the way for REDs, FFC proposals on funding health and education, planning commission, new Monitoring system. It seems to me that a myriad of departments are initiating major institutional reform processes. But where do all of these come together in a coherent approach to public sector reform?