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The role of stakeholder monitoring and evaluation in governance
Delta Sivalo
February 13, 2012

Modern governance discourse has championed in a number of trends in national and local government functionalities. Governance has mutated over centuries bringing in new concepts and leaving out archaic tendencies in processes and practices. Just like natural selection among flora and fauna, governance has managed to withstand the test of time by constantly redefining and remodeling itself. Governance can be traced back to ancient Rome where it was a preserve of the aristocrats and the role of the people was more or less peripheral. The purpose of this paper therefore is to highlight the need for an ideological shift in contemporary governance in Zimbabwe and to bring out the importance of stakeholder monitoring and evaluation (M&E) in local and national governance issues. It is important to note henceforth that the concept of Monitoring and Evaluation in governance is a relatively new practice in local discourse. The paper will begin by defining the major components of the rubric then try to highlight the major tenants of M&E and how these concepts can enhance efficiency and effectiveness in governance the presentation will then link the role of relevant stakeholders and key players in the above mentioned processes. Monitoring will be defined as the periodic oversight of the implementation of an activity schedule which seeks to establish the extent to which inputs, outputs and other required action are proceeding according to plan. In the same light, evaluation will be described as a process which seeks to determine the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and impact of activities in light of specified stated objectives.

Attention to the need for greater stakeholder involvement in decision making and monitoring processes has been increasing over the years. Government ipso facto is an institution designed by the public for the public based on democratic processes like elections where individuals are selected to assume public office and serve the people at the same time addressing needs of the same people. The role of public entities that have a part to play in the governance processes, particularly stakeholders should assume an observatory role in the functions, obligations and activities of government. Stakeholder M&E plays a pivotal role in increasing government efficiency and effectiveness thus it is an integral part of modern day governance. The M&E process does not only create a platform to promote transparency and accountability but the interactive decision making process enhances the interests of social outers and bridges the cleavage that exists between stakeholders and governance.

The process of M&E ensures that communities and stakeholders at large are aware of their entitlement and their capacities to hold governments and public officials accountable to serve their entitlements. However this can only be feasible through stakeholders being conscious of their capacity, what should be expected from public officials and what exactly needs to be monitored. This will make the process of stakeholder M&E effective and relevant. The confines of the monitoring mechanism should be designed in a manner that will create and increase room for transparency and accountability at all levels. In this regard the monitoring process is germane. Stakeholder involvement by government at all levels creates an opportunity for participatory M&E which in turn will strengthen relationships between government and stakeholders which in return will influence government to play a pro-active role in the interests of citizens and at the same time responding to the needs of the people.

However the preconditioning factor is that, stakeholders should know their role and what is required of them in order to probe ministers and government in general. In development the role of government portfolios and their respective mandates should be clearly understood before civic and stakeholder engagement is taken into account. For example it is easy to link the failure of a parastatal or institution with its leadership, yet in essence all parastatals fall under one parent ministry and it is the mandate of the parent ministry to ensure the institution is fully operational and all needs are catered for. This factor is breeding ground for budget monitoring and expenditure tracking. If a ministry is allocated certain amounts in the national budget the parent ministry should make sure all funds cascade to institutions run directly by the line ministry. The knowledge of what to track in budgets will then act as a preamble to public stakeholder monitoring and evaluation. This knowledge will serve as a guideline to what to audit and when to audit government expenditure, obligations and activities. The guidelines will in return serve as benchmarks for coming up with indicators of success. These indicators will enable citizens to carry out monitoring activities like social audits, community report and citizen report cards respectively. The consistent and constant stakeholder M&E will enhance the verification of how much was spend in public expenditure per government department. This is however premised on the assertion that stakeholders are well aware of funds allocated to each government arm and what the expenditure would have been penned down as issues outstanding. Stakeholder M&E allows for the verification of how much has been spent, how programs and services are being carried out with the goal of making them better and reflective of social environmental objectives. The whole process in essence promotes local and national level social accountability and transparency through systematic M&E of public records and user feedback.

Government wide M&E requires thorough knowledge from within and across the sector. It involves profound knowledge of implementation functions of public sector. Various government offices have diffuse powers and functions that stakeholders need to appreciate in order to play an effective role in the monitoring process. For instance the role of Members of Parliament is usually misconstrued by constituents. The separation of the duties of an MP, in terms of parliamentary duties and the role of MPs as drivers of community development in their constituencies, need to be clarified and understood by members of the public. MPs have a significant role in processing and articulation issues affecting constituents in parliament and their role in community development issues is more or less on the sidelines. The role of M&E by communities thus is preconditioned by a thorough appreciation of the separation of the actual and peripheral roles of MPs. This misconception can be traced back to the period immediately after independence where MPs used to play the double role of ministers and this facilitated an opportunity for them to siphon ministry funds and focus them on community development initiatives which in turn would pacify and appease the electorate for future elections. The advent of Constituency Development Funds has facilitated an opportunity for MPs to assume an extra role, outside their official mandates as representatives of communities in parliament, however a lot of areas of concern have been raised especially with regard to the abuse of funds by MPs resulting in the need for close monitoring of the fund. Another common example is that of South Africa, after the apartheid era the government of the Republic wanted to do away with racially based service delivery and as a result measures were put into place to make sure the system was devolved and civic engagement through stakeholder partnerships were adopted. The monitoring system had to be accompanied by prioritised gender sensitive indicators to make the process pragmatic. To date South Africa has one of the most vibrant civic monitoring platforms where residents and key sector players can engage government to account.

Civic engagement particularly stakeholder monitoring and evaluation has a huge role to play in governance as it creates avenues for efficiency and effectiveness. The principles of transparency and accountability, which are at the core of development, are a predisposing factor to sustainable growth and governance and are thus enhanced by stakeholder M&E. As a result there is great need for stakeholders to play an active pivotal role in governance issues like budget processes, infrastructure development, government expenditure and socio-economic development so as to enhance sustainable growth at national and local level.

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