Online Reporter
Belindah Chikandiwa
Zimpapers Reporter
ALL directors and chief directors within the health sector must now operate under stringent, uniform performance contracts, with year-end awards strictly tied to proven output, Health Service Commission (HSC) Secretary, Dr Christopher Pasi, said yesterday.
The directive, he said, was a non-negotiable pillar of the Second Republic’s drive towards attaining an empowered upper-middle-income society by 2030.
Dr Pasi was speaking in Harare at the end of year validation of performance contracts and induction for new directors.
He said the new performance contracting framework was designed to harmonise accountability, ensuring all senior officials “speak to the national vision.”
“What is not measured is not done,” Dr Pasi said. “If we do not look at what people are doing in terms of performance, we will not be able to achieve our Vision 2030.”
National targets for the health sector are distilled into specific programmes and sub-programmes level where directors are the primary implementers. The performance contracts are the tool to ensure they deliver.
“To harmonise the way that our directors are becoming accountable to the empty chair, which is the citizen, we have come up with a method so that we have a performance contract which is uniform,” he said.
Crucially, Dr Pasi said, financial rewards are now contingent on meeting these contractual obligations.
“These performance contracts are linked to performance awards that happen at the end of the year, so that if you do not perform as a director or chief director, you do not deserve to get anything at the end of the day,” he said.
Addressing challenges, the commission secretary acknowledged that the performance exercise had not always been taken with the seriousness demanded.
He issued a stern warning to non-compliant officials, saying the commission is resolved to enforce consequences.
“Those are the areas in terms of challenges that we say that we need to make sure that those that do not abide by the framework will have to face the consequences of not abiding by the performance framework,” Dr Pasi said.
The high-level validation meeting also featured input from the Ministry of Health and Child Care, represented by its Director of Curative Services, Dr. Maxwell Hove, who stood in for Secretary Dr Aspect Maunganidze.
Dr Hove detailed the technical nature of the process, which involved validating performance contracts for this year while also planning for next year’s cycle.
“It’s a process that is quite technical in the evaluation process. And it required experts to come and sort of give an induction to our new directors who are coming in at the moment. And also to try and refresh those who have been working throughout on these contracts,” Dr Hove said.
He highlighted a persistent challenge of missed deadlines set by the Office of the President and Cabinet, a key focus of the day’s induction.
