Online Reporter
Africa Moyo-Deputy National Editor
The inaugural Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Week, being hosted by the Office of the President and Cabinet in collaboration with the United Nations country team and other stakeholders, begins in Harare today.
The event, which runs until Friday, is expected to boost the implementation of Government programmes being undertaken by the Second Republic under the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) and the soon-to-be-launched NDS2.
Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga is expected to officially open the event.
It will run under the theme: “Strengthening monitoring, evaluation and learning towards equitable development for a prosperous and empowered upper middle-income society by 2030”.
From 2018 to last year, the Second Republic led by President Mnangagwa has implemented 9 706 programmes and projects, with 6 660 already complete and others at different stages of implementation, according to the latest compendium of projects.
The compendium covers completed and ongoing programmes and projects implemented by the Government as part of the National Development Strategy (NDS1).
Addressing a media briefing in Bulawayo last week, Special Advisor to the President responsible for monitoring the implementation of Government programmes, Dr Joram Gumbo, said all was in place for the week-long event.
“The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Week seeks to foster a culture of data-driven governance and citizen-centric programming in pursuit of Vision 2030,” he said.
“The event offers a strategic platform for knowledge and experience exchange among practitioners in developing planning, execution and reporting.”
Dr Gumbo said monitoring, evaluation and learning remain pivotal in the implementation of the national development strategies NDS1 and NDS2, as well as the accompanying Governance Performance Contracting System.
The week will feature exhibitions and conferences, with participants from within and outside the country expected to grace the event.
“The motto of the event is ‘Our Vision, Our Pride’. It will cover an exhibition on monitoring and evaluation different monitoring and evaluation practitioners, stakeholders and organisations,” said Dr Gumbo.
“It’s also going to draw delegates and speakers from within and outside Zimbabwe. Some will attend physically and some are going to attend virtually. It will also cover panel discussions on pertinent topics that strengthen monitoring and evaluation as a practice. It’s going to cover a lot of other areas,” he said.
Dr Gumbo added that the weeklong event is crucial as Government is changing the way of doing things to improve service delivery and increase the speed of implementation of Government projects.
He encouraged the public to have a voice in the development of the nation by pointing out areas of concern so they can be addressed.
To start the event, there will be a breakfast meeting today facilitated by Deputy Chief Secretary Engineer Marawa, with Dr Gumbo set to make the keynote address.
Other notable speakers at the breakfast meeting include Minister of State for Harare Provincial Affairs and Devolution Charles Tawengwa, Deputy Chief Secretary Reverend Paul Damasane, United Nations Resident Coordinator Mr Edward Kallon, Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe chief executive officer Dr Clever Ruswa and officials from the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development.
