Walter Nyamukondiwa
Mashonaland West Bureau Chief
CHINHOYI Municipality is moving to tie its 2027 service delivery targets to performance contracts for the town clerk and mayor, with a focus on measurable improvements for residents and businesses.
The local authority is crafting its 2027 strategic plan, guided by the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), to sharpen accountability, close operational gaps and align municipal programmes with the country’s development targets.
The plan will be accompanied by performance contracts for Town Clerk Mr Biriat Tasarira and Mayor Councillor Owen Charuza, with officials emphasising tangible results over administrative processes that do not translate into better services.
The initiative comes as council seeks to sustain the momentum gained during preparations for the 23rd Zanu PF Annual National People’s Conference, while building on its 2026 achievements and addressing shortcomings.
Speaking at the strategic planning workshop, Cllr Charuza said the document would determine the municipality’s priorities, operations and performance benchmarks.
“The strategic plan is the backbone of our service delivery,” Cllr Charuza said.
“The document we will produce in this workshop will be the cornerstone of our service delivery thrust as an organisation. It will dictate what we do, how we do it, and how we will be measured.”
He called for departments to abandon silo operations and embrace collective responsibility in addressing challenges affecting the town.
“It is not about the Department of Finance, neither is it about the Department of Engineering Services. It is about Chinhoyi,” said Cllr Charuza.
He urged council officials to identify shortcomings across departments and accept constructive criticism, saying residents, businesses and other stakeholders were the ultimate beneficiaries of improved municipal operations.
The strategic plan, he said, should anchor Chinhoyi’s ambition to become a smart city of choice by 2030.
Mr Tasarira said the workshop provided an opportunity to assess the municipality’s 2026 performance, identify challenges and develop interventions to improve results in the coming year.
He said council also needed to ensure its programmes remained aligned with evolving Government policies and the country’s ambition of attaining upper-middle-income society status by 2030.
“We are operating in a changing environment and we also need to get direction from central Government,” he said, adding that stakeholder input was essential in shaping a plan responsive to community expectations.
Integrated Results-Based Management (IRBM) champion, Mr Jackson Murimi, said the process would produce three key documents – the 2027 annual plan, the town clerk’s performance contract and the mayor’s performance contract.
He said the emphasis was on delivering results that residents could see and experience, rather than merely recording activities undertaken by council.
“We do not need to necessarily see the process outputs, things that do not give value to the communities,” he said.
“What we are pushing for is results which improve the services being offered by the municipality in Chinhoyi.”
He said municipal programmes needed to contribute directly to national development goals, with local authorities translating national policies into visible improvements at community level.
Budget Committee chairperson Mr Godfrey Mavankeni welcomed the review of the 2026 strategic plan, saying it would provide a foundation for developing priorities for the coming year.
“As business, we are thankful to council for the review process and the opportunity to formulate strategies for the upcoming year 2027,” he said.
The workshop brings together councillors and representatives of residents’ associations and other stakeholders to review performance, identify gaps and set priorities for the municipality’s 2027 operations.
