Minister Maropene Ramokgopa: Parliamentary Capacity Building Workshop

Venue: Cape Town, South Africa

Honourable Members of Parliament,
Distinguished participants from across the Twende Mbele partner countries - Benin, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, Uganda, and our host country, South Africa,
Esteemed facilitators, experts and organisers,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning,

It is my honour and privilege to give my message of support on behalf of the South African Government to this vital Parliamentary Capacity Building Workshop, which focuses on Evaluation as a Tool for Better Oversight. I extend our warmest greetings to each one of you gathered here, especially those who have travelled far to join us in Cape Town.

This workshop is not just a meeting of minds, it is a gathering of accountability champions. You are parliamentarians coming from six African nations, who understand that democracy is only as strong as its oversight institutions. This is why Twende Mbele, the partnership which brings us together, is of particular importance today.

The name Twende Mbele is a KiSwahili phrase which translates to “going forward together". In this period of significant geopolitical alignment and a shifting multilateral order, partnership remains crucial for our nations to move forward together by advancing our collective commitment to strengthening government performance, impact and accountability.

Going forward together through partnership strengthens our collective voice as Twende Mbele partner countries to ensure that our goal to improve governance, accountability and service delivery through strengthened monitoring and evaluation is achieved.

I want to appreciate the invaluable support of the Twende Mbele initiative, which stands as a powerful example of what Pan-African collaboration can achieve. By promoting government-led peer-learning, it embodies the spirit of Sustainable Development Goal 17 on Partnerships for the Goals. It reminds us that by learning from one another, we accelerate progress for all.

This capacity building workshop should reaffirm our shared commitment to evidence-informed governance and to strengthen the capability of Parliament to hold the Executive and state institutions to account in service of our people.

The Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME), which operates at the Centre of Government in South Africa, has led a process to develop a 5-year plan of the current government administration, called the Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP 2024 – 2029). 

We picked up many lessons of synthesizing priorities of the various parties that became part of the Government of National Unity (GNU), which was established following the outcomes of the May 2024 national elections. The department is providing guidance across government to ensure that all plans of state institutions align to the MTDP and have clearly articulated development outcomes that will take the country towards our nation's National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 goals.

In its Strategic Plan, the DPME has committed to strengthen its interface with key oversight entities to leverage institutional mandates to maximise impact. These oversight entities include Parliamentary committees, the Public Service Commission, the Auditor General of South Africa and the National Treasury. 

For instance, to address what the Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PME) Parliamentary Portfolio Committee often raises, it will be useful for the PME Portfolio Committee to include in its programme a slot for the DPME to present its analysis of draft annual plans when there is still time to make adjustments ahead of their formal tabling. Any Portfolio Committee can invite the DPME to provide briefings on any of the evaluations completed.

Parliament plays an irreplaceable role of enforcing democratic accountability. This responsibility must be exercised not only with passion and political will, but with evidence that is credible, timely and robust.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The uptake and use of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) evidence in legislative and oversight processes remains uneven across African countries. This is the reality we are here to transform.

Parliamentary committees must influence the national evaluation policy and demand evaluation evidence. We envision parliaments that not only demand M&E data but know how to interpret and apply it; committees that are using evaluative evidence to improve their oversight roles; and legislative debates that are enriched by facts, research, and the lived experiences of citizens.

This capacity-building workshop, through its focus on evaluation, aims to provide peer learning opportunities and exposure to tools that can strengthen your oversight role. I am hopeful that you are learning both the theory of M&E as well as its practical application in the real-world.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Monitoring and evaluation are not just bureaucratic exercises but they are moral imperatives, helping us ensure that every amount that governments spend on service delivery programmes delivers real change.

Over the course of this workshop, I encourage you to participate fully, challenge assumptions, learn from each other, and return to your respective parliaments empowered with renewed resolve.

The people we represent are watching, not just for our words, but for the results of our leadership.

I thank you.

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