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Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
THE country’s economic recovery could be hampered by some ministries and Government departments’ failure to adhere to international quality standards that are key to service delivery.
This came out during a two-day Zimbabwe Standards Week conference held here on Thursday.
Auditor General Mrs Mildred Chiri implored Government to urgently craft a risk policy.
“Our challenge is that there is no national risk strategy in the country. If it’s there, then I am not aware of it because each time we carry out audits you find there is no risk policy or disaster management in Government departments. That’s an area that needs attention,” said Mrs Chiri while addressing participants.
She was responding to concerns that no Ministry or Government department is ISO certified.
Only Parliament and Chitungwiza Central Hospital are said to be the only ISO certified entities.
Mrs Chiri said Government departments should embrace good governance with regards to sustainable procurement and anti-bribery management systems.
Director for Quality Assurance in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Mrs Angelica Katuruza said failure to embrace quality standards has a huge bearing on the country.
“Standards are voluntary but very important to any economy. As a country, whether as Government or private sector we have not really embraced standards as only one percent of the private sector are certified which is a bad reflection on us,” she said.
Mrs Katuruza said the Ministry of Industry and Commerce is working on getting ISO certified which will make it the only certified Ministry in the country.
She said the ministry will be conducting an internal training workshop next week to capacitate staff on standards.
SAZ executive director Dr Eve Gadzikwa said Zimbabwe must learn from other countries.
She said it will not be easy for the country to meet Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without standards certification hence the need for every company, organisation and department to work towards certification.
“There is still a lot to be done with regards to Government departments and ministries in terms of meeting set standards. We have not gotten to a stage where ministries are certified yet it’s important to set the tone for quality service and ensure that each has an assurance department,” said Dr Gadzikwa.
Quality Council of India director Dr Raj Mohit Singh said the Asian country had achieved its economic goals through implementation of Zero Effect-Zero Defect (ZED) maturity model which prioritised standards.
He said there will be need for a paradigm shift in how Ministers and Permanent Secretaries in line ministries conduct business if the country is to standardise. – @ncubeleon
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