We have worked hard to ensure that the building blocks are firmly in place with planning, monitoring and evaluation systems becoming more integrated, transparent and citizen-focused than ever before.

Listen to this article 5 min Listen to this article 5 min Daily Maverick's Managing Editor for News and Maverick Citizen, Ms Zukiswa Pikoli, penned an opinion piece published on 19 May 2025, lamenting a perceived lack of monitoring and evaluation in the country's governance.

While Ms Pikoli is entitled to her views on the "state of things" as she sets out, her opinion piece shows a misplaced understanding of the work of the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME), and the interventions of the department in efforts to deepen the state's capacity.

South Africa, like many democracies facing complex developmental challenges, is at a critical juncture. While concerns about departmental and institutional performance are legitimate, the idea that the state is teetering on the edge of complete failure misses the real, measurable progress being driven in key areas of government, particularly by the DPME.

The DPME is not an inspectorate or a police force for other government departments. Rather, the department promotes coherence in government through the institutionalising of planning, developing a robust evidence-based and integrated monitoring system to monitor the implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP) Vision 2030 and the recently approved Medium-Term Development...