Thesis (MPAM.(Public Administration)) --University of Limpopo, 2021 / The study investigated the impact of Government-wide Monitoring and Evaluation System on the performance of government. Cloete (2009) postulates that in 2005, the Executive of the State approved the Government-wide M&E System (GWM&ES) as a broad framework to examine monitoring and evaluation of activities in all government departments with a view to guaranteeing effective executive decision-making in support of execution; advisory evidence-based resource apportionment; on-going policy development; as well as review. This study specifically investigated the impact of the Government-wide Monitoring and Evaluation System to enhance performance in the Office of the Premier in Limpopo provincial government. The common thread according to majority of the scholars and review reports on this system as shown in the literature review of this study is that government’s major challenge is that it is has become ineffective and, in the process, fails to attain the objectives it has set itself to achieve. This is largely on account of the absence of a clear-cut and coherent systematic mechanism that could enable the public sector to evaluate its performance and identify the factors which contribute to its service delivery outcomes and overall performance. In the same vein, the those charged with the responsibility to help assess the performance of government are unable to draw causal connections between the choice of policy priorities, the resourcing of those policy objectives, the programmes designed to implement them, the services delivered and their ultimate impact on communities. In this study the qualitative research methodology was adopted which was utilised to gather data. The findings of this research identified certain factors which undermine the impact of GWM&ES on government performance; the limitations to fully comprehend and integrate the system within the planning processes and above all implement the required institutional arrangements and/or mechanisms so that there is a visible impact and enhancement of the planning regime and service delivery capacity of the various institutions of the state. Although work has since begun in this regard, including the establishment of the Ministry of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation in The Presidency, an inadequate institutional merger of the M&E and Planning branches in the Office of the Premier in Limpopo in particular, remains an impediment. Following the analysis of the data collected, of which was sufficient to suffice, the study concludes by proposing a set of measures to ensure that the Government-wide Monitoring and Evaluation System has the necessary impact towards enhancing the performance of the Office of the Premier, and by extension, the entire government because the system is not only limited to one institution of the state, but also integrative by design. These measures include, amongst others, that the Government-wide Monitoring and Evaluation System, as a system of systems, should be fully comprehended, adopted and implemented in government. This will inevitably produce the requisite results in terms of strengthening and improving evidence-based planning, policy development and budgeting, and thereby improve the performance of government, and in particular, the Office of the Premier in Limpopo. A replica study in other areas is further recommended to enhance the implementation of the system

Financial problems have become a serious problem that enjoys high priority within the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) in the Office of the Premier, Limpopo Province. It is a major concern shared by management and staff, as it continuously impact negatively on job performance due to absenteeism and the low morale of employees. The researcher became motivated to undertake this research study due to her practical and professional experience as an EAP Practitioner within the Office of the Premier. It has been observed and established by the researcher during her professional working career that financial problems are at the top of the list in terms of statistics of cases handled within the EAP Office. Furthermore, no prior study was done that could determine the nature of the problem. This situation therefore triggered the researcher to conduct a study that will determine the nature of the problem. The aim of this study is to explore the nature and effects of financial problems on employees in the Office of the Premier, Limpopo Province. In conducting this study, the researcher followed a qualitative research approach in order to elicit the views and opinions of the respondents regarding the nature and effects of financial problems. The semi structured one-to-one interview schedule was used in order to gather the data. A total of nine (9) respondents, obtained from the database of statistical records in the EAP Office, were interviewed. A purposive sampling method was used to select the sample of nine respondents from a population of eighteen (18). The researcher selected those respondents with two or more garnishee orders or loans. A theoretical discussion focusing on: the nature of financial problems as a common phenomenon, the causes of financial problems, the symptoms of financial problems, the effects of financial problems on employees, as well as guidelines on how to assist troubled employees will be presented in Chapter two. The research findings indicated that there seems to be a positive relationship between financial planning and financial problems. Few respondents believed that financial problems could result from poor financial planning. The findings further revealed that other social factors such as: overwhelming parental responsibilities of raising offsprings, loss of income by a spouse, high financial demands placed upon single parents and the rapid increase of inflation contribute towards financial difficulties. The effects of financial problems can be devastating since it impacts negatively on employees’ psychological and physical well-being. Thus, job performance suffers. / Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Social Work and Criminology / Unrestricted

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Refer to the document