shloboe boe
Sikhulekelani Moyo, [email protected]
THE Minister of State for Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Judith Ncube has expressed concern over the lack of dedication displayed by some public service heads in the city. Speaking at the Office of the President and Cabinet Strategic Planning workshop held in Bulawayo last Friday, Minister Ncube warned that this lackadaisical approach could seriously jeopardise the attainment of Vision 2030.
She sharply criticised public officers for their lack of commitment, stressing that their apathy frustrates the city’s efforts to drive progress and achieve the ambitious goals outlined in Vision 2030.
“Public service, sometimes I end up thinking of suggesting to the President to say, ‘your Excellency, allow us to do our own recruitment in Bulawayo because others frustrate Bulawayo’s plans to drive Vision 2030.’
“Some of us are so relaxed in the offices. Maybe you didn’t want to be deployed in Bulawayo; go back to the employer and ask to be deployed in areas of your choice. I feel pity for the Permanent Secretary.
“Sometimes, I end up telling him to go home and rest, as I will be seeing that he is exhausted. It’s not supposed to be like that; things should flow,” said Minister Ncube.
The minister underlined the importance of teamwork in public service offices, urging all staff to work together towards achieving Vision 2030.
“Each office, each officer, each director, each staff member has a driver’s licence to take us to Vision 2030. But if you wake up and do nothing and expect to reach Vision 2030, after deflating the car or removing the wheels or draining the fuel, then we have a problem. Bulawayo will be the province contributing to the failure to attain Vision 2030. So, I want to plead with all of us, wherever you are deployed, see to it that your vehicle will take us to Vision 2030,” said Minister Ncube.
Minister Ncube underscored the Office of the President’s unwavering commitment to high standards of public service. She said that total dedication to duty, unwavering loyalty, and a relentless focus on achieving results are non-negotiable expectations for all public officers.
This mandate, she stressed, encompasses leading the entire Government machinery in formulating, advocating for, and effectively implementing policies, programmes, and projects that drive sustainable economic growth and improve the livelihoods of Zimbabweans. This includes the successful implementation of the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), a crucial roadmap towards achieving the ambitious goal of becoming a prosperous and empowered upper-middle-income society by 2030.
The minister highlighted the inherent contradiction of a successful performance review for the Office of the President while simultaneously acknowledging dismal performance across various ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs). She said that such a discrepancy would be unacceptable and undermine the credibility of the entire Government system.
“The centre’s performance should be
a true reflection of the performance of the agencies it superintends over. During this workshop, as we plan for the year 2025, being the apex office, we should think seriously about a ‘new and strengthened’ office of the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution — Bulawayo Metropolitan Province that can ‘whip’ MDAs into line in order to deliver on their assigned NDS1 performance targets. Our failure to provide the required leadership has a bearing on the performance of MDAs, and this will reflect negatively on us as well.”
She said that President Mnangagwa demands tangible outcomes, highlighting that the aspirations of the Zanu-PF Party align with those of the people. These aspirations are reflected in the results anticipated by the public when Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) effectively implement NDS1.
“This is only possible if you lead from the front and make MDAs accountable,” said Minister Ncube. — @SikhulekelaniM1
