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Zvamaida Murwira
Senior Reporter
ZIMBABWEANS have expressed satisfaction with the quality of service being offered by the Government, according to a survey conducted in line with President Mnangagwa’s operational values of servant leadership and citizen centric thrust.
This was said by Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Dr Jenfan Muswere, while delivering a post Cabinet media briefing in Harare yesterday.
He said Cabinet considered and adopted the Report on the Citizen Satisfaction Survey and Baseline Survey on Work Culture Transformation, 2023, as presented by Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister July Moyo.
He said the survey included gathering information on the behaviours, attitudes and knowledge of public service employees from citizens, Government employees and stakeholders in all the country’s 10 provinces, 72 districts and from all the Government Ministries.
A sample of 5 920, comprising 4 750 citizens and 1 170 civil servants, was chosen.
“Cabinet informs the nation that the study found that the overall satisfaction Index (level of satisfaction) was 70.81 percent compared to the 67.78 percent recorded in 2022. The improvement was due to the following indices which were rated in the “strongly satisfied” category: Assurance, 76.90 percent in 2023 compared to 72.52 percent in 2022, Empathy, 75.6 percent in 2023 and 71.37 percent in 2022, Responsiveness, 72.35 percent in 2023 and 66.96 percent in 2022, and Reliability, 71.25 percent in 2023 and 67.18 percent in 2022. However, there is need to better the indices falling within the “satisfied” category, that is, ICTs infrastructure and Equipment; Inclusivity and Gender and Location,” said Dr Muswere.
“The overall Employee Satisfaction Index was 72.66 percent compared to the 69.17 percent recorded in 2023. Civil servants perceived themselves to be highly empathetic, assuring and reliable towards citizens. The 2023 survey dimensions of Empathy, Assurance and Reliability had indices of 79.85 percent, 79.16 percent and 75.57 percent were all higher that the 2022 indices of 75.45 percent, 75.71 percent and 75.10 percent, respectively. There was need to improve on the ICTs infrastructure and Equipment; Inclusivity and Gender and Location which were in the “satisfied” category.”
It was noted that there was high and positive correlation between citizens’ and civil servants’ perception of the
service quality dimensions, hence the conclusion that citizens and employees are generally satisfied with quality of service offered by Government.
“Government will continue to prioritise the conditions of service of its staff members to guarantee excellent service delivery. The five top rated Ministries, Departments and Agencies were as follows: the Public Service Commission, (citizens-77.47 percent and civil servants- 75.42-percent); Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Wildlife, (citizens-73.70 percent and civil servants-73.22 percent); Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, (citizens-73.12 percent and civil servants-73.73 percent); Ministry of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services, (citizens-75.30 percent and civil servants-76.25 percent), and Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, (citizens-72.87% and civil servants 72.85 percent),” said Dr Muswere.
“Only two Ministries, that of Local Government and Public Works, and National Housing and Social Amenities recorded decreases in their satisfaction indices, while all other Ministries improved in their citizens’ ratings in 2023.”
He said most provinces registered an improvement in the 2023 Citizen Satisfaction Index with the exception of Manicaland, Mashonaland East and Masvingo.
“Regarding employee satisfaction, most provinces recorded improvement, with the exception of Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East and Matabeleland North. Meanwhile, the overall Work Culture Transformation Index in 2023 was 73.20 percent compared to 69.09 percent, with the average work culture transformation scores for the relevant dimensions ranging from 54.35 percent (working from home) to 82.00 percent (work ethics). Government will, nevertheless, endeavour to improve on the ICTs; Wellness, Inclusivity and Gender; and Attitude dimensions of the Work Culture Transformation. As part of the improvement thrust, over 2 000 civil servants recently met in Gweru for a week-long Inter-Ministerial Sports Tournament, which goes to show the importance Government is placing on Wellness,” said Dr Muswere.
Commenting on the survey, Dr Muswere described it as a major milestone in that it serves as a service-level benchmark for Government in spearheading people-centred service delivery.
“As such, the study gathered information on citizens’ and employees’ perceptions regarding Zimbabwe’s public service delivery system as well as the current work culture among public servants in accordance with set dimensions. The data gathered through these surveys is important for improving policies, systems and procedures in order to enhance service delivery,” he said.
In a related matter, Cabinet considered and approved the Proposed Air Services Development Plan as presented by Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona.
In his brief, Dr Muswere said the Air Services Development Plan was developed to guide air services development at Victoria Falls Airport and Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
“The Plan seeks to identify potential tourist and business source markets for Zimbabwe and will be utilised in the preparation of business cases for routes that can be presented to airlines and preparing for meetings with airlines and preparing for industry events/trade shows. Cabinet advises that the Air Services Development Plan is informed by the following factors, assessment of demand and supply factors at Victoria Falls and Harare, infrastructure assessment at both airports and the enabling environment for aviation transport in Zimbabwe,” he said.
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