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The new Zanu-PF Government faces a daunting task as its customers — the tax-paying citizens — press for tangible action in service delivery.
We commend the fact that Acting President Joice Mujuru has realised this major task and in the last two days has been talking about the need for the Government to be results-oriented.
Acting President Mujuru first stressed the need for a results-oriented Government when she addressed the Agro-business and Nutrition Security Conference in Harare on Thursday.
She repeated the call yesterday when she officially opened a strategic meeting to discuss the Zimbabwe Programme for Socio-Economic Transformation (ZIMPSET) 2013-2015.
It is this programme that should be the basis for the Government to produce results as it touches on every facet of its operations.
There is no escape to pleasing the electorate, except through fulfilling the aspirations of the people.
Every Government official, from the lowest ranked to the top, must be geared to produce results for the expectant masses who overwhelmingly voted for Zanu-PF on July 31.
What is needed now is unity of purpose among Government officials from the Cabinet down to the lower structures to facilitate the tackling of business without creating conflict.
The Zanu-PF Government must draw strong lessons from the tripartite inclusive Government which was made up of the party, MDC-T and MDC.
That Government looked superb on paper and when it was announced people were optimistic that it would deliver.
But the situation changed for the worse when some characters in that Government, especially those from the MDC-T, started behaving in a strange way.
Sooner than later, people began to realise that there was no unity of purpose in Government.
And true to the people’s observation, very little was achieved during the five-year tenure of that Government as MDC-T ministers were always available to throw spanners when progress was about to be made.
This time Zanu-PF is in charge after trouncing the MDC-T in the harmonised elections, so we expect no friction with regards to conducting Government business. Many people have often asked if anything can be done to improve Government’s performance.
The answer is: Yes, a lot can be done.
Basic tenets demand that there be strategic planning, benchmarking, performance measurement and results-oriented management in any organisation.
These tools can help Government officials make better informed policy decisions, determine the best uses of limited resources, enhance service quality and improve communication with citizens.
Across the board, the emphasis should be upon accountability.
Any action to be taken by the Zanu-PF Government should be results-oriented, with the view of successfully addressing the real needs of the people.
We expect the new Government to have a paradigm shift and start measuring what it does instead of merely being interested in what it spends funds doing.
Many times people resist new ideas, especially if they are complex and need to be implemented over time, across departments.
This is where the orientation which the majority of ministries held last week comes in handy by building confidence in the officials to tackle the new vision the Government is pursuing.
We expect the new Government to put the Zanu-PF manifesto’s provisions into action, so that they do not remain a mere pipe dream.
The party, of course, has viable strategic plans, but a strategy is not enough if the officials are not inclined towards successfully executing it.
We need a successful, results-driven strategic plan which includes developing a common vision, determining how to implement it and the measuring of progress. While we welcome Acting President Mujuru’s call for a result-oriented Government, we also expect that action will be taken against failures.
Strict assessments should be carried out to ensure that the stumbling blocks to producing results are put aside for the success of the new Government’s vision.
One writer once said: “If you don’t measure results, you can’t tell success from failure . . . if you can demonstrate results, you can win public support.”
Online Reporter