ONLINE FEEDBACK

On February 10, 2022, Cabinet ministers and heads of public institutions signed performance contracts which had their first evaluation, review, and assessment. Performance contracts are part of strategic human resource management, tailor-made to ensure organisational optimum efficiency by evaluating one’s performance against the agreed milestones in his or her contract.

Ideally, performance contracts are a welcome development as they project government’s positive attitude towards improving accountability in public service delivery. However, in Zimbabwe the potential positive impact of performance contracts is undermined by an unchecked culture of impunity amongst political elites.

In this regard, apprehensive commentators view the contracts as an electoral “populism stance” aimed at recalibrating the regimes image with respect to public service delivery, accountability, and transparency.

Only deep-seated reforms and tangible service delivery outcomes will make the electorate believe that the government is serious about getting senior public officials to deliver. According to the performance assessments done, a total of 19 out of 21 ministers were evaluated. Two of the ministers performed beyond expectation while the other two performed below set target.

The remaining 15 are said to have successfully met their target. Juxtaposing the positive evaluation of ministers’ performance vis, a viz the quality of public service delivery across the country, indicates that, either public officials were given different milestones contrary to the improvement of service delivery or are being rewarded for failing dismally.

Service delivery across the country is in the doldrums coupled with decrepit and dilapidating infrastructure. A looming cholera outbreak in a context with low ambulance coverage, poor water reticulation, drug and hospital bed shortage is a pressing cause for concern at a time when the health service is already failing to cope.

Electricity outages have become the order of the day, a negative implication to the business fraternity as they rely much on electricity for the operation of their business.