Improving performance in govt, parastatals

By Jonah Nyoni | Jun. 3, 2023

File Pic: Most Zimbabwe parents would be proud to send their children to a private school rather than a government school.

THE performance of an organisation is very important, not only for profitability by general progress, but also for positive growth.

In other countries, public entities are preferred over private ones because they have a clear vision, service and known key performance indicators.

In fact, it is a privilege and pride to work for the government in other countries. Is that the case with Zimbabwe?

Most Zimbabwe parents would be proud to send their children to a private school rather than a government school. That is a clear indication of how our public institutions are.

In Zimbabwe, there is, indeed, need to improve government offices. The wish is that government offices and parastatals could model what doing great business is like.

Empowering the employee

The image of government employees has generally been that of people who are less paid. Their salaries are known by the public.

Financially, a government employee must take pride in working for government, but that seems to have been eroded.

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Government is represented by its employees. As such, it must protect its image, while empowering the employee. The bride of the government can be invested through its employees.

Active citizen participation

Citizen participation in governance processes can help hold public officials accountable and create a culture of transparency and accountability. Encouraging and enabling citizen participation can help improve government performance and promote public trust in these institutions.

Results-based managements (RBM) Systems

According to Alois Madhekeni (2012): “The Government of Zimbabwe embarked on a multi-year programme to design, introduce and successfully implement an integrated RBM programme across government.

The RBM programme comprises a results-based budgeting system, results-based personnel performance system and e-governance.”

What is the importance of this? It helps government to plan, analyse (diagnose) implement and review, improve and government performance. If well implemented, our country would have a different face.

Implementation

Generally, the country is being affected by a myriad of problems and that impacts the implementation and resourcing programmes.

These programmes, if well executed, can add to the positive ambiance of our country. Dreams and policies not backed by actions will definitely amount to nothing. There is need for more action or work to be done.

Implementing and enforcing clear policies and regulatory frameworks can help promote accountability and transparency in government operations. This can help reduce inefficiencies, improve decision-making and promote sustainable progress.

Politicising leadership

Should government officers or employees be divorced from the politics of the day? As soon as parastatals start meddling in politics, it becomes hard to effectively criticise and measure the effectiveness of its policies and projects without attaching blame.

Strong, competent and dedicated leadership is instrumental in driving efficient and effective government performance despite their political affiliation.

However, Zimbabwe is heavily polarised. With the right leadership in place, government offices and parastatals can establish clear goals and strategies to drive improved service delivery and engagement with stakeholders.

Organisational learning

Times are changing and the country should change as well. One walks into a government office, you find an eye saw needing attention.

First, as a country, we need to learn from other countries. A lot of training and mental re-engineering is needed.

A skilled and motivated workforce is critical to ensuring that government offices and parastatals can deliver quality services to citizens.

Regular training and development opportunities, competitive remuneration packages, and a supportive working environment can help attract and retain the best talent

Tech and innovation

Embracing technology can help transform traditional processes and drive efficiency gains in government operations.

Innovative technologies, such as data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence, can help government offices and parastatals identify and address issues before they turn into costly problems. Secondly, these processes improve speed, agility and efficiency.

Parting Point: There is need to improve Brand Zimbabwe and that will take a multi-layered approach. Part of improving performance in government offices is a combination of the aforementioned factors.

By prioritising these factors, government institutions can better serve their citizens and promote inclusive and sustainable progress.