The effectiveness of performance management systems employed by rural local authorities in Zimbabwe: The case of Marondera Rural District Council

Abstract

Rural local authorities in Zimbabwe play a critical role in national development through the provision of services to the people within their areas of jurisdiction yet they have continued to face criticism from various quarters for failure to adequately provide the required services. In line with international trends, local authorities in Zimbabwe have introduced performance management as a way of enhancing service delivery and holding the local authorities to account for the public resources they use. However, little is known about the effectiveness of the performance management systems that have been implemented by rural local authorities in Zimbabwe. Using a qualitative methodology and a case study strategy the study set out to examine the effectiveness of the performance management systems implemented by rural local authorities in Zimbabwe based on the case of Marondera Rural District council. Fifteen participants took part in the study. The study was premised on the proposition that rural local authorities fail to meet their service delivery objectives due in part to a lack of well crafted and implemented performance management systems. The objectives of the study were met. The study found that the case organisation had no strategic plan to guide its operations and processes including the performance management system in use. It had no formally defined service delivery and performance management objectives making it difficult to see any link between the two. While performance agreements were in place there was no evidence that there was regular performance evaluation or that there was any information generated from the performance management system that was used to influence other human resource processes. The case organisation treated the performance management system as an isolated system that was not linked to other human resource processes in the organisation such as the reward management system. The performance management system did not have much influence on performance. Implementation of the performance management system could be improved through the development of a strategic plan that would provide guidance to the organisation. There must be regular performance evaluation and the performance management system should be linked to other human resource processes. The case organisation needs to have a rethink of its performance management system with a view to integrating it with the rest of the human resources management processes. A performance management system in which employees do not see any benefit for themselves is not likely to succeed in raising levels and standards of service delivery in the local authorities.