Local authorities worst performers in 2025

Local authorities have emerged as the worst-performing sector in government's 2025 performance contracts, weighed down by persistent structural and operational challenges that continue to hinder effective service delivery across Zimbabwe.

The latest evaluation shows that most urban and rural councils failed to meet key targets under the government's performance management framework, exposing weaknesses in revenue collection, ageing infrastructure and inefficient service delivery systems.

The findings were announced on Monday as part of the government's annual performance review system introduced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to assess the effectiveness of senior public officials and institutions.

Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Martin Rushwaya said while overall government performance had improved, local authorities remained the weakest link.

"The 2025 evaluation results show steady improvement across several sectors of government, demonstrating progress in the institutionalisation of performance management. However, local authorities remain the weakest performing sector with structural and operational challenges," Rushwaya said.

He noted that both urban and rural councils struggled to meet performance benchmarks, with the majority falling below targets, albeit within acceptable variance levels.

"Urban and rural local authorities continue to experience performance challenges, with the majority falling below target but within a certain variance, highlighting areas requiring continued reform and support," he added.

Among the key challenges cited were poor revenue collection, high levels of non-revenue water estimated at 45%, ageing water and sewer infrastructure, lack of equipment and machinery, and a growing culture of non-payment of rates and service charges by residents and businesses.

In terms of performance metrics, only 22% of mayors and council chairpersons met their targets, while 68% fell below target but within acceptable variance, and 10% performed below both the target and variance thresholds. The category recorded an average rating of 3.44, an improvement from 3.31 in 2024.

For rural local authorities, 23% met their targets, 74% were below target but within variance, and 3% fell below both benchmarks, with an average rating of 3.66, slightly down from 3.74 recorded the previous year.

In the town clerk and chief executive officer category, 22% met their targets, 70% fell below target within variance, and 8% were below both the target and acceptable variance levels.

Council chairpersons of rural district councils recorded slightly better performance, with 28% meeting targets, 63% below target but within variance, and 9% falling short of both measures.

In his remarks, Mnangagwa said the performance contracts system was designed to enhance accountability and improve service delivery across public institutions.

"The 2026 Performance Contracts represent a key milestone in our public administration and governance journey. It reflects our unwavering commitment and resilience in delivering public services efficiently as we march forward towards the realisation of Vision 2030," he said.

The performance contract framework, introduced in 2021, is part of broader public sector reforms aimed at ensuring measurable results and strengthening accountability among senior government officials.

Despite marginal improvements across sectors, analysts say the continued underperformance of local authorities underscores the need for deeper reforms to address systemic inefficiencies affecting service delivery at the grassroots level.