Online Reporter
Obey Musiwa
Herald Reporter
Good governance is critical to Zimbabwe’s attainment of Vision 2030, with public entities needing to move beyond compliance towards measurable performance, stronger accountability and the delivery of public value, governance and technology, expert Dr Martin Muduva has said.
He said this during the Summer School hosted Chartered Governance and Accountancy Institute in Zimbabwe (CGI Zimbabwe) in Masvingo under the theme “Governance & Accountancy Professionals: Govern. Account. Lead.”
Delivering a presentation yesterday, Dr Muduva emphasised his presentation titled “Strengthening Public Entities Governance in Zimbabwe for Accountability, Performance and Public Trust”.
He said governance should not be viewed merely as a system of rules and compliance requirements, but as an instrument for translating national policies and public mandates into tangible results.
“Governance is not simply the production of minutes, reports and compliance certificates. Governance is the ability to convert public mandate into trusted outcomes,” said Dr Muduva.
He said the country’s development aspirations under Vision 2030 and National Development Strategy 2 required institutions capable of demonstrating a clear link between strategy, resources, performance and outcomes.
“Vision 2030 can not be achieved through policy documents alone.
“It requires institutions that can convert policy into performance, resources into results and public investment into measurable national value,” he said.
Dr Muduva challenged boards, executives, finance professionals, auditors and governance practitioners to ensure that governance frameworks produce measurable improvements rather than simply satisfying procedural requirements.
“An institution can comply with procedures and still fail to deliver value.
“The real governance question is whether compliance is producing performance,” he said.
He said accountability should extend across the institutional value chain, from strategy and budgeting to expenditure, performance, audit and service delivery.
“Accountability must follow the entire chain, from strategy, to budget, to expenditure, to performance, to outcomes.
“If we cannot connect those elements, we cannot convincingly demonstrate public value,” he said.
Dr Muduva also emphasised public trust, saying citizens should be able to see how public resources are managed and how institutions respond when weaknesses arise.
On artificial intelligence, Dr Muduva called for stronger board-level oversight, arguing that AI should be incorporated into existing governance, risk and accountability frameworks.
“AI governance is no longer simply a technology question.
“It is a boardroom question, an accountability question and ultimately a public-value question,” he said.
His presentation built on the earlier Summer School session on AI literacy, ethics and governance: the new frontier of responsible leadership.
Dr Muduva also challenged professionals to identify one critical governance weakness within their organisations and demonstrate measurable improvement within 90 days.
“We should be able to point to one governance weakness today and show measurable improvement 90 days from now.
“That is when governance moves from discussion to action,” he said.
He challenged participants to take the discussion beyond the Summer School and apply it within their respective institutions.
“What will your organisation make visible, measurable and actionable in the next 90 days?”
Dr Muduva said this captured the essence of the Summer School theme: “To govern is to provide direction. To account is to provide evidence. To lead is to create trust and public value.”
