Performance Management and the Integrated Development Plan of the Msunduzi Municipality in South Africa

Poor local government performance has been detrimental to South Africa’s development. The study explores the challenge(s) the Msunduzi Local Municipality is facing in ensuring good performance necessary for achieving its planned development. The study argues that flaws in the management of performance lead to poor performance. This research was interpretivist, used a case-study strategy and adopted a qualitative design / approach. Secondary data in the form of municipal publications and primary data in the form of interview information was collected and analysed. The findings demonstrated that there is a lack of alignment between the planned development and the necessary performance to achieve it in the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The Key Performance Areas of top managers were not aligned to the Integrated Development Plan goals; Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were internally rather than externally focused; some of the KPIs were too vague to be measurable, and there was no agreement on the top five strategic objectives of the Municipality. This research investigation sought to contribute to the limited understanding of municipal performance and development policy alignment by improving municipal service delivery in developing countries. Lessons have been learnt on the need for policy alignment based on holistic thinking.