II. Clients of DPLGA

DPLGA has two sets of clients:

· The Provincial and Local Level Governments who seek its support on a wide spectrum of fronts, and

· The National Executive Council (NEC), the Central Agencies Coordinating Committee (CACC) and the National Monitoring Authority (NMA) who wish to better communicate with and to be informed on the performance of the Provincial and Local Level Governments (DPLGA is their key link with the Provinces)

DPLGA’s Strategic and Corporate Objectives must necessarily be responsive to the expectations and needs of these clients. What are these expectations and needs?

The expectations and Needs of Provincial and Local Level Governments from DPLGA may be summarized as follows:

o Support in their Policy and Legislative Responsibilities

§ Support in their drafting of legislation

§ Provision of continuing Legal Advice

§ Facilitating their Policy Drafting and Submissions to NEC

§ Clarifying for them the Policies and Strategic Directions emanating from the NEC and other national bodies

o Monitoring and Coordinating their overall Governance Performance

§ Establishing Common Performance Standards

§ Facilitating receipt of allocated budgets (Coordination with Finance)

§ Information database on LLGs

§ Periodic Reporting of their performance to bodies such as the NMA

§ Coordination of Sectoral Agency support for Provinces and LLGs

§ Instituting and managing a Performance Rewards and Incentives System

o Capacity Building for LLGs

§ Providing explanatory Handbooks and Operating manuals on performance management, legal and policy issues etc

§ Training

§ Best practice and information sharing

Needs and Expectations of the NEC, CACC and NMA from DPLGA may be summarized as follows:

o Continuing and consistent dissemination of Policy and Strategic Directions emanating from the NEC

o Establishment of National Standards of Governance Performance

o Reports on the Performance of Provinces and LLGs to the NMA and the NEC

o Information on Provinces and LLGs

o Coordinated implementation of National and Sectoral Programs

These expectations are in most cases, aligned with those of the Provinces and LLGs, though from the national and macro point of view.

DPLGA is thus quite literally the link-pin between the top-down expectations of key national bodies on the one hand, and the bottom-up needs of provinces and LLGs on the other.