Performance management in South Africa’s municipalities: A case study of Buffalo City Metro

Background: The performance management system (PMS) allows employees and employers to clearly state the objectives and ways through which those objectives must be accomplished in an organisation. Against this background, this study investigated the challenges facing PMS at Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM).Aim: This study examined performance management and organisational success in local government administration in South Africa.Setting: The study was conducted in the BCMM, located in the central business district of the Eastern Cape province in South Africa.Method: In-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted with a sample of 20 participants from BCMM. The participants were selected using the purposive sampling technique. The target population of the study was the employees of BCMM.Results: Based on the analysis of data, the study found that the municipality did not have an electronic system; they were using a manual system in their performance management. Furthermore, the participants also highlighted that there was no approved PMS policy framework that had been endorsed by the council of the municipality.Conclusion: This study recommended that the municipality must have an approved PMS policy framework, and it should be implemented at all levels of employment within the organisation.