Citizens to assess local authority service delivery

Story by Oleen Ndori

GOVERNMENT has intensified efforts to improve service delivery in local authorities through a citizen-centred performance assessment framework.

The new scoring platform is expected to empower residents to evaluate the quality of services being delivered by councils while promoting accountability, efficiency and inclusive development in line with Vision 2030.

During the 2026 Performance Contracts Signing and Awards Ceremony, President Dr xaEmmerson Mnangagwa challenged local authorities to significantly improve service delivery, saying efficient and responsive councils are central to improving the quality of life for all Zimbabweans.

This Thursday, the Head of State engaged citizens as the Government unveiled a new service delivery scoring platform that will enable communities to assess the performance of local authorities across the country.

The country’s local authorities and partners say they are committed to embracing the new performance assessment framework as they work towards delivering efficient, transparent, and people-centred services.

“We have taken note of the recommendations, and after this, we will implement and provide service delivery to the citizens,” Harare City Town Clerk, Advocate Warren Chiwawa, said.

“We will have live interaction with the citizens to whom we give the service delivery. So if there is anything lacking, they will be able to then highlight it, and as a local authority, we will then have to put our foot on the pedal to make sure that the issues are dealt with,” Hurungwe RDC Chairperson, Councillor Mary Mliswa Chikoka said.

“We believe that we are improving as a city. We have laid down a platform for improvement, and it cannot improve in a vacuum. We must be able to listen to the concerns of the people, assessment of the people and the recommendations that come,” Mayor Harare City Council, Jacob Mafume said.

“This platform is important because we, as GEO Pomona, are in a PPP agreement seat of Harare government. We are happy that we are going to improve according to the rating, which is being given to us, 83 percent, which means we have improved the issue of solid waste management in Harare. We are also going to make sure that our residents are going to live in a good environment,” Chair Geo Pomona Waste to Energy, Dr Dilesh Nguwaya said.

“As we continue to partner with local municipalities, we are working with the city of Harare, where we are doing a lot of things, including some rehabilitation works at Morton Jaffery to increase water production. There are things that we are doing there. We are also involved in the replacement of the old pipes so that we can rehabilitate the distribution network,” CEO Helcraw Water, Mr Zodeck Muchoko said.

The initiative is designed to strengthen citizen participation, enhance accountability and identify areas where service delivery can be improved, including through public-private partnerships where appropriate, as demonstrated by the Geo Pomona Waste-to-Energy Project and private sector participation in water provision in Harare through HELCRAW.

According to the Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Honourable Daniel Garwe, the scoring platform is aimed at ensuring that no community is left behind as the Government modernises and transforms service delivery across Zimbabwe’s 92 local authorities.

“The President and Cabinet directed that the Minister of Local Government and Public Works must engage private sector players in the public-private partnership arrangements for them to take over service delivery. We started with GEO Pomona in 2023. We are now doing solid waste management in the refuse collection. Those two departments are okay. We are aware that in every suburb in Harare, at least on a given date, bins are being collected. We then engaged quite a number of players in the water sector. We then settled down on a company called Helcraw Water, who are transforming water rehabilitation systems from purification to convincing and then net metering,” he said.

The Call to Action :No Compromise to Service Delivery” blueprint is expected to drive improvements in key areas, including clean water provision, waste management, housing and other essential public services.

By placing citizens at the centre of performance monitoring, the Government believes the initiative will accelerate inclusive development and ensure that no one and no place is left behind on Zimbabwe’s journey towards Vision 2030.

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