| Summary: | Eradicating poverty is one of the biggest challenges in South Africa. A Development Centre
Model was developed by the Department of Social Development as a strategy to empower
citizens of South Africa to become independent and self-reliant in an attempt to alleviate
poverty. The Department fulfils the role of programme monitoring and evaluation of different
programmes offered by the Development Centres. A Social Development Approach was used
as a guide to the theoretical framework of the study. The primary aim of the study was to
explore the perceptions about the effectiveness of monitoring and evaluation of incomegenerating
projects rendered to the development centres by the Department of Social
Development in the Gauteng North Region. A qualitative research strategy was followed and
a multiple case study design was applied. Purposive sampling was used to initially select six
beneficiaries, six centre managers, two service providers and two departmental officials
involved in the development centres that are government-funded. However, the total number
of the participants in the end came to thirteen; five beneficiaries; five centre managers; two
evaluators and one departmental official. Data was collected via face-to-face interviews with
participants and the interviews were tape recorded. To analyse data, thematic content analysis
was applied. Some of the findings and the recommendations are, firstly, that the study
contributes to the understanding of the effectiveness of programme monitoring and
evaluation; secondly, that programme monitoring and evaluation is in fact effective; and
thirdly, that beneficiaries should participate in monitoring and evaluation of their projects.
Fourthly, the majority of the beneficiaries and the centre managers felt that the process has no
impact on the actual programme or projects. These participants felt that there is no follow-up
to solve problems that have been identified during this process of monitoring and evaluation.
The participants recommended that the department do more visits thereby making sure that
problems identified during monitoring and evaluation are immediately resolved through
constant visits to the development centres.
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