Online Reporter
Remember Deketeke
Municipal Correspondent
HARARE City Council Acting Town Clerk Advocate Warren Chiwawa has challenged senior managers to raise the bar on performance, accountability and service delivery, urging the Town Clerk’s Office to lead by example.
Speaking at the Town Clerk’s Office Performance Assessment Workshop on Thursday, Adv Chiwawa said the exercise was not about merely reviewing targets, but assessing whether council’s work was translating into tangible improvements for residents.
“This session is not simply about reviewing targets or completing performance templates. It is about taking an honest and objective assessment of the performance of the town clerk’s office, the effectiveness of our systems, the quality of our leadership, and the extent to which our work is translating into improved services for the people of Harare,” he said.
He described the town clerk’s office as the city’s “administrative nerve centre”, stressing that departments must work together to improve service delivery.
“No function can succeed in isolation. Water, roads, refuse collection, health, revenue, infrastructure, procurement, finance, ICT and customer service are interconnected,” he said.
Adv Chiwawa singled out Finance and Procurement as key enablers of service delivery, demanding greater efficiency, financial discipline and value for money.
“Procurement must be competitive, efficient and timely. There must be no shortcuts around the law, but compliance must not become an excuse for unnecessary delays or indecision,” he said.
“The measure of our success is not how much we budget or spend, but what we deliver with the resources entrusted to us by the people of Harare.”
On performance management, Adv Chiwawa said managers must be judged by results rather than activity, with poor performance attracting consequences.
“Good performance must be recognised. Weak performance must be addressed. Persistent and unjustified non-performance must have consequences. Accountability must be real, measurable and consequential,” he said.
He urged the Town Clerk’s Office to lead by example, saying its credibility would ultimately be determined by residents’ experiences.
“We cannot demand accountability from other departments if we are not accountable ourselves. We cannot demand efficiency while tolerating unnecessary delays,” he said.
Adv Chiwawa said Harare had the people, assets and institutional experience needed to turn around service delivery.
“The standard must be higher. The pace must be faster. The accountability must be stronger. And the focus must remain firmly on service delivery,” he said.
