Online Reporter
Diana Nherera
NORTON Town Council has recorded a significant improvement in customer satisfaction, with a mid-year survey conducted by Midlands State University (MSU) showing that residents are increasingly satisfied with the local authority’s service delivery, despite continued concerns over water supply, roads, and sewer management.
Presenting the findings during the 308th Ordinary Council Meeting held in Norton on Tuesday, Midlands State University Research Officer Mr Charles Mazorodze said the 2026 client satisfaction index had risen to 69,4 percent from 58 percent recorded last year.
He said the study was guided by key Government policy frameworks, including the Minimum Service Delivery Standards 2025, the Urban Councils Act [Chapter 29:15], the Call to Action and the Local Economic Development directive, which requires local authorities to allocate 10 percent of their budgets to local economic development initiatives.
“These policy documents assisted us in developing research tools with indicators aligned to the Government’s performance contracting framework for local authorities, including mayors and managers,” said Mr Mazorodze.
Mr Mazorodze said the university conducted two assessments: an employee satisfaction survey and a client satisfaction survey.
He said a total of 496 residents participated in the client satisfaction survey, surpassing the target of 400 respondents. The survey covered all 13 wards in Norton.
“For the employee satisfaction survey, we had 123 respondents out of a total staff complement of 244 employees recorded at Norton Town Council,” he said.
He said the survey identified the top three urgent service delivery priorities as water supply and quality, road infrastructure and maintenance, and sewer and drainage management.
“The results show that 45.1 percent of clients rated drinking water quality as poor, which indicates that water supply and quality remain critical areas requiring attention,” he said.
On the positive side, Mr Mazorodze said the survey showed strong performance in customer service access.
“Among the top-performing areas, 92,9 percent of clients indicated that they wait for less than 30 minutes at revenue halls, while nearly 90 percent said Council rates offices are accessible,” he said.
He added that 82,1 percent of respondents said they know their ward councillor, while councillor accountability was rated at 59,8 percent.
