Online Reporter
Nduduzo Tshuma in DUBAI, United Arab Emirates
ZIMBABWE and the United Arab Emirates have extended their Government Experiences Exchange Programme to 2030, a move expected to further strengthen public sector capacity in the country and improve service delivery under the Second Republic.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the World Governments Summit, where Zimbabwe was represented by Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Martin Rushwaya, while the UAE was represented by Minister of State and Secretary-General of the Cabinet Maryam bint Ahmed Al Hammadi.
The programme falls under a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the improvement and development of Government activities, which was signed in February 2023.
The extension aligns with the programmatic cycle of the Zimbabwean National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), which runs from 2026 to 2030.
It’s primary objective is to enable Zimbabwe to draw on best practices and experiences from the UAE on how Government and the public sector can be reformed and transformed into agile, innovative and modernised institutions capable of delivering high-quality services to the people and the economy, in line with Vision 2030 targets.
The programme encompasses more than 100 areas of cooperation, structured around key pillars that include Government enablers, infrastructure readiness and leadership and capacity building.
In an interview after the signing ceremony, Dr Rushwaya said the duration of cooperation has been extended up to 2030 from this year.
“We have further signed an agreement to extend the duration of the cooperation from 2026 to 2030 in areas of increasing the capacity and performance of Government ministries in the delivery of services.”
The programme has already yielded tangible results, particularly in strengthening the skills base among senior Government officials.
“We have benefited in areas of training some of our senior officers. As we speak, some of the officers graduated last week in areas of project monitoring, financial management and capacity building in terms of project implementation,” Dr Rushwaya said.
The cooperation has also extended to youth development, with a group of Zimbabwean ICT students receiving specialised training in the UAE.
Dr Rushwaya said the extension of the agreement underscored the Government’s commitment to adopting global best practices to enhance service delivery.
“This is an extension of an existing agreement that was signed initially in 2023 to enhance our capacity as Government to improve on service delivery,” he said.
Implementation of the programme will be led by the Office of the President and Cabinet, working with other key Government agencies under the High-Level Forum on Public Sector Reforms and Transformation (Tripartite), which will serve as the delivery unit for Government.
Peter Tanyanyiwa