Online Reporter
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
THERE was once a time when securing a top Government post was enough, not only to guarantee the luxurious perks that come with such a highly-regarded job, but also longevity in office without checks and balances on one’s performance.
Certainly not under the Second Republic!
It is common cause that a fish rots from the head, and in equal measure Government service delivery and development projects implementation can only falter from the higher offices.
To this end, the implementation of top officials’ Performance Contract System by the Second Republic is proving to be a masterstroke that is fuelling efficiency and modernity in the delivery of State services and countrywide implementation of development projects for the ordinary man on the street.
One of the key result areas of the performance contracts that ensures public sector institutions are driven by best practices is reflected in the acceleration of implementation of the e-Government programme.
Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr Martin Rushwaya said Government has put in place a robust mechanism to accelerate the implementation of the e-Government programme to improve service delivery and accessibility by the people.
“Government has put in place a robust mechanism to accelerate the implementation of the e-Government programme to improve service delivery and accessibility by the people, allow increased digital inclusion and strengthened institutional digital capacity to deliver low-cost and efficient services. One of the modules on the e-Government programme will focus on Automation of Performance Contract. Automation of the Performance Contract will improve on the strategic planning process, implementation and performance evaluation itself. Critical to the establishment of an automated performance evaluation process is the need to harness and create value out of the administrative data that is scattered across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). This will ensure that the data used for planning, implementation and evaluation (baselines and key performance indicators) is credible and measurable,” he said.
In its executive summary, Smart Zimbabwe 2030 Master Plan, notes: “Zimbabwe, like many other countries globally, is fully aware of the importance of information technologies for socio-economic development and transformation. It acknowledges that those countries from both developed and developing world who recognised the potential of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) and developed policies and implementation strategies, and invested in ICTs have realised immense benefits for their economies and their peoples.
“Zimbabwe has great potential, and leveraging on its high literacy level, strong infrastructure base (communication, energy and road networks), geographical location and favourable climatic conditions, can leapfrog and overtake the developments made by some countries in Africa.
Government is highly committed to promote ICTs because they are cross-cutting and enablers across all sectors of the society and economy.
“Admittedly, there are some challenges we have to overcome and these include inadequate infrastructure (communications and electricity), cost of access to ICT devices, and interoperability challenges among others. As we enter a new era of advanced ICTs technological developments characterised by fifth generation technologies where all things are sensing, connected and intelligent, countries which do not embrace these technologies will be left out and will lag behind and most likely be dominated over by those who will have invested in new technologies.”
Refreshingly, some, if not most, of the Government departments have made strides in this regard.
The judiciary, for example, up-scaled its drive towards achievement of digital inclusion of the common men and women in its daily court case management operations through the Integrated Case Management System (ICMS).
Basically, IECMS is the online or digital handling of court cases from filing court papers throughout all the stages to completion of the case, a key development in ease of access to justice in the country that is in line with the current National Development Strategy (NDS2) as well as Vision 2030 Government blueprints.
Judicial Services Commission secretary, Mr Martin Chikwanha, recently gave an account of the introduction of the IECMS and the stages that the programme has moved over the years.
“In years gone by, precisely in 2022, we introduced the digitisation of the courts in our superior courts that is in the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and the Commercial Court. We placed these courts under IECMS. As time progressed, we implemented the same in the Labour Court and the Administrative Court. We moved onto the High Court and the Office of the Sheriff. This comprised Phase One, Two and Three of the digitisation of our courts. We moved ahead in July 2025 when the digitisation process was introduced to the Magistrates’ Court.
“We had the digitisation of the Magistrates’ Court in Mashonaland Central and Matabeleland North provinces as Phase 4.1. We moved to the next two provinces and that was Masvingo and Matabeleland South. That was Phase 4.2 of the digitisation of our courts. For those that listened to the Chief Justice when he was launching the 2026 legal year, he mentioned that the digitisation process is moving ahead. He also announced that we are now moving into Manicaland and Mashonaland East provinces with the digitisation process as Phase 4.3,” he said.
Basically, the e-Government initiatives in Zimbabwe, guided by the Smart Zimbabwe 2030 Master Plan, aim to digitise public services to improve efficiency, transparency, and service delivery.
Beyond the ICMS, key initiatives include the (link unavailable) portal, biometric e-passports, integrated financial management systems, and a national civil registry, with a focus on creating a fully connected, digital society.
If this is not development towards digital inclusion for the ice cream vendor in Mutare Central Business District, the macadamia farmer in Chipinge, the banana producer in Honde Valley, the common men and woman on the street, then nothing is!
Ideally, it is against this background that men and women in higher offices in Government will have their performance measured against achievement of such global trends in service delivery and development projects initiatives.
Thus, Dr Rushwaya noted that the Performance Contract System is about delivery.
“As we validate the 2026 contract, let us reaffirm that the performance contracting is about delivery, discipline and development. It is a solemn commitment to the citizens of Zimbabwe that Public Service will execute with urgency, integrity, and measurable impact,” he said.
