From Plans to Progress: Capacitating Performance Management for Municipal Excellence

Dr. Emmanuel Ngcobo, President of CIGFARO, underscores the critical yet undervalued role of performance management in ensuring public servants deliver on duties and municipalities convert annual plans - like IDPs - into measurable results.

He stresses that while planning is essential, tangible achievements demand respect and expertise; thus, CIGFARO is elevating the profession by equipping practitioners with necessary skills to avoid role mismatches.

Highlighting last year's integration of performance management with internal audit and risk for robust combined assurance, Ngcobo invokes the principle: "When you can measure it, you can manage it; when you can manage it, you can improve it," ultimately driving enhanced service delivery in municipalities.

* Dr Emmanuel Ngcobo, President of the Chartered Institute of Government Finance, Audit & Risk Officers (CIGFARO) from October 2023 to October 2025.