Online Reporter
Mkhululi Ncube, Zimpapers Reporter
THE Health Service Commission (HSC) has embarked on a “Job Evaluation and Rationalisation” exercise aimed at addressing skills flight and low morale among health workers in the country. The agency is hosting a week-long Strategic Planning Workshop at a local hotel in Bulawayo, where guidelines for a new blueprint (2026–2030) are being developed to align with the National Development Strategy 2.
Officially opening the workshop yesterday, HSC chairperson Dr Vincent Hungwe emphasised the need to tackle skills flight in the sector.
“We must confront the pressing realities of skills flight and the erosion of morale, driven in part by transfer wages and a misaligned remuneration framework. This is why the ongoing Job Evaluation and Rationalisation exercise is not merely a technical process, but a strategic national intervention. It is essential to build a harmonised and well-structured reward system that recognises the true value of professional contribution across the health sector.
“In doing so, we are creating a framework that is conscious of agency, organisational culture and institutional structures, ensuring that we avoid fragmented approaches and instead move coherently towards a unified single-spine remuneration system,” said Dr Hungwe.
He added that such a system must embed mechanisms that uphold equity, transparency and socio-economic integrity, ultimately creating a national human capital base that attracts, develops and retains talent in the service of national progress.
Dr Hungwe stressed that the new Strategic Plan must position the Commission as a key driver in achieving Vision 2030.
“To achieve this, it must be anchored in a rigorous and forward-looking monitoring and evaluation framework that not only tracks progress and measures impact, but also creates a continuous feedback loop for learning, innovation and course correction.
“In this way, our strategies, investments and actions remain aligned with the outcomes we are mandated to deliver, ensuring that every step taken contributes meaningfully to national transformation,” he said.
Dr Hungwe said the Commission’s next five years will be guided by pillars designed to accelerate transformation in the health sector.
The Commission’s next five years will be guided by five key pillars: Strategic Planning, Performance and Programme Management; Human Capital Development and Management; Compensation Development and Management; Governance and Health Service Administration; and Devolution and Decentralisation of Health Services.
“Key enablers to support accelerated implementation of these pillars and enhance health service performance will include research, digitisation and modernisation of systems and programmes, expanding the use of e-governance platforms and automating systems, stakeholder engagement and partnerships, and promoting gender and social inclusion,” he said.
Dr Hungwe underscored the importance of the HSC fulfilling its constitutional mandate to deliver comprehensive health services to the public.
He said building a modern Health Services Commission equipped with innovative digital skills to address health challenges and opportunities was crucial.
“The 2026–2030 HSC Strategic Plan comes at a time when the Commission is at an inflection point, requiring solid and careful planning, execution of strategies with tact and precision, serious commitment to the cause, and a profound sense of duty among us,” he said.— @themkhust
