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President Mnangagwa has said Government will not tolerant ineptitude and poor performance by local authorities and State-owned enterprises.

In his remarks at the 2022 Performance Evaluation Results and the signing ceremony for the 2023 Performance Contracts for Cabinet Ministers, permanent secretaries, chairpersons and chief executive officers of public entities, local authorities and State universities in Harare last Thursday, President Mnangagwa said poor performance was unacceptable and has no place in the Second Republic.

President Mnangagwa

He said his Government was determined to deliver the best possible results for the benefit of the people. President Mnangagwa introduced performance-based contracts as a way of fostering a high-performance culture among office bearers.

The new system is meant to enhance accountability and good governance. The New Dispensation is committed to making public, the performance of Government officials in order to promote efficiency and transparency.

President Mnangagwa said the indicators of good governance are the provision of quality and timely services to the people, high performance, promotion of economic growth as well as realisation of sustainable development.

“These can only be realised when public sector officials have high-performance culture and display commitment to wholeheartedly serve the people,” said President Mnangagwa.

He said the performance of local authorities remains worrisome and a huge draw-back in the nation’s march towards Vision 2030. President Mnangagwa said although the Government has disbursed billions of dollars through Devolution Funds that have transformed communities through the construction of clinics, schools, bridges and other enablers, local authorities had dismally failed to deliver on their mandate.

President Mnangagwa

He said the failure by local authorities to focus on their core mandate of service delivery was unacceptable. President Mnangagwa said the performance of State-owned enterprises was equally disappointing.

It is our hope that after the 2022 performance evaluation, individuals, public entities and councils have identified their shortcomings and will address them this year.

What is pleasing to note is that the performance of the public sector has greatly improved and the challenge is to build on this momentum.

The local authorities must come to the party because their performance has a direct impact on the citizens’ livelihoods. The councils should focus on their core mandate of service delivery and ensure public resources are spent on improving services.