Online Reporter
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
MUTARE City Council has emerged as Zimbabwe’s top ranked urban authority, outshining 31 other municipalities, while four rural district councils (RDCs) from Manicaland anchored the bottom of the latest Annual Feedback Report released by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works.
The ministry’s new performance based measures, backed by a digital scoring platform, exposed widespread service delivery failures nationwide — from poor water provision and waste management to neglected infrastructure. Manicaland’s councils were singled out for particular shortcomings.
Under the system, councils are rated quarterly on governance, finance, and service delivery.
The scores are designed to enforce accountability, with sanctions for poor performers and recognition for top achievers to restore public confidence in local government.
Mutare’s rise to the top was driven by the Town Clerk, Mr Blessing Chafesuka, whose administration earned him the title of Zimbabwe’s best performing town clerk and the prestigious 2025 President Mnangagwa’s Award for Performance Excellence in Service Delivery.
He scored an impressive 4,33, while mayor, Councillor Simon Chabuka attained a 4,05 rating — achievements that sparked celebrations at the municipality and cemented Mutare’s pride of place in Manicaland.
The report, however, exposed management decay in the province’s RDCs, which contrasted sharply with Mutare City’s milestone achievement, as none of them featured in the Top 10 nationally.
Out of Zimbabwe’s 60 RDCs, Nyanga Rural District Council is ranked 57th, with its chief executive officer scoring 3,03 and its chairman 2,55.
Chipinge Rural District Council is 58th, with chief executive officer, Mr Blessing Mavhosha scoring 2,87 and chairman, Alderman Godfrey Makhuyana 2,46.
Mutasa RDC is 59th, with chairman, Councillor Paddington Nemaunga on 2,40 and chief executive officer, Mr George Bandure rated 2,35.
Chimanimani RDC sits at the basement on 60th, with chief executive officer, Mr Nehemiah Deure on 2,21 and chairman, Councillor Reuben Mujee on 2,25.
With none of Manicaland’s RDCs in the national Top 10, Mutare Rural District Council was adjudicated the best at a distant 18th out of 60.
Its chief executive officer, Mr Shepherd Chinaka scored 3,88, while its chairman, Councillor Hopewell Muzaeni was rated 3,99.
Buhera was the province’s second-best RDC, but placed 42nd nationally, with its chief executive officer, Mr Ismael Jachi on 3,51 and its chairman, Alderman Thomas Matsenhura on 3,36.
Makoni Rural District Council ranked third in Manicaland, but 52nd nationally, with its chief executive officer, Engineer Edmore Chidembo on 3,29 and chairman, Councillor Ellah Hlanguyo on 2,71.
On urban council ratings, Chipinge Town Council was rated second in Manicaland, and sixth nationally, with its town secretary, Mr James Matemera scoring 4 and chairman, Councillor Kingston Dhlumo 4,02.
Rusape Town Council was rated the worst among Manicaland’s three urban authorities, and anchored the Urban Local Authority Rankings.
Rusape town secretary, Mr Solomon Gabaza scored a miserly 2,81, while chairman, Councillor Lovemore Chifomboti attained an equally dismal 2,77.
Acting Director and Provincial Director for Local Government Services and Administration in Manicaland in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, Mr John Misi, confirmed the ratings, saying the poor performance was redeemable.
“Dismal, according to the ratings, but redeemable. Manicaland shall rise again. The most important thing is that we now know where we went wrong, and we are geared up as service delivery should not be compromised to realise Vision 2030,” said Mr Misi.
Mutasa Rural District Council chief executive officer, Mr George Bandure, said they will devise ways to increase revenue collection as a turnaround strategy for the local authority.
“We will have intensive and robust revenue collection measures especially in the mining sector where collections have been very low. Service delivery and revenue collection are intrinsically married. One feeds into the other,” he said.
The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works Annual Feedback Report noted that top performers exceeded the national average for revenue collection and performed strongly across outcomes, service delivery, resources management and governance compliance.
Common success patterns were observable across the cohort, including revenue collection above the 64 percent national average, and partnerships with the private sector and development partners.
At the bottom end, poor performers showed weak revenue collection below 30 percent, weak performance across all key areas such as infrastructure deterioration and governance weaknesses.
Major causes of dismal performance include residents’ non-payment culture, Government debt to councils, service disruption and drought impact.
Nationally, RDCs outperformed Urban Local Authorities on the headline average, 3,66 versus 3,52, client satisfaction, revenue collection and compliance, though Urban LAs led on service proximity and e-governance.
RDCs accounted for the bulk of physical infrastructure delivered – 89 percent of classroom blocks, 67 percent of clinics and 91 percent of maintained roads – reflecting their wider geographic mandate and dispersed populations.
Six authorities – Chimanimani RDC 2,21, Mutasa RDC 2,35, Chipinge RDC, Rusape TC 2,81, Gokwe TC, Chirundu LB – were specifically noted for exhibiting weak governance and service-delivery failure below variance.
“Without decisive, targeted intervention, the sector risks prolonged stagnation that progressively weakens service delivery and undermines national development goals,” reads the report in part.
The report comes hard on the heels of four landmark 2025 reforms that transformed the policy and service-delivery landscape to advance accountability, orderly urban development and revenue sustainability in line with Vision 2030, among them the Minimum Service Delivery Standards launched in May 2025 – setting minimum benchmarks for water, sanitation, waste, health and housing, enhancing accountability and giving a measurable standard for all 92 LAs.
Best Practices (Pvt) Ltd conducted the FY 2025 Performance Evaluation for the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works. The evaluation covered the Minister, two Deputy Ministers, Permanent Secretary, two reporting State entities – UDCORP and the Local Government Board – and all 92 Local Authorities – 60 Rural District Councils and 32 Urban Local Authorities.
The evaluation came as the country marked transition from National Development Strategy (NDS1) to NDS2.
Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, like all other arms of Government, launched the Call to Action 2 framework for service delivery.
Ends
