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Harare, Bulawayo ranked among worst-performing councils
13 hrs ago |
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ZIMBABWE'S local authorities recorded a decline in overall performance during 2025, with the country's largest urban councils failing to significantly improve service delivery despite their central role in driving economic activity, a new Government performance evaluation has revealed.
The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works' Annual Performance Feedback Report for the 2025 Fiscal Year shows that the average performance score for Zimbabwe's 92 local authorities declined from 3.67 in 2024 to 3.61 in 2025 on a six-point assessment scale.
Although the overall score remains above the minimum acceptable threshold, the report concludes that most councils are maintaining rather than improving service delivery, raising concerns as Government moves into the second phase of local governance reforms under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2).
The assessment, conducted by independent consultancy Best Practices (Private) Limited on behalf of the ministry, evaluated all 92 local authorities — comprising 60 rural district councils (RDCs) and 32 urban local authorities — against agreed annual performance indicators.
One of the report's most significant findings was the sharp decline in the number of councils that met all their annual targets.
Only 20 percent of local authorities achieved all their performance targets in 2025, down from 31 percent in 2024, meaning four out of every five councils failed to fully deliver on their annual commitments.
The report identifies local authorities as the weakest-performing institutions within the ministry's broader performance management framework and warns that without urgent reforms, service delivery could stagnate further and undermine national development objectives.
Using a six-point rating system, councils scoring four or above were considered to have exceeded acceptable performance standards, while a score of three indicated acceptable performance within variance. Scores below three reflected underperformance requiring corrective intervention.
Despite the overall decline, rural district councils continued to outperform urban authorities.
Rural councils recorded an average score of 3.66 compared to 3.52 for urban councils.
Among rural authorities, 12 exceeded their performance targets, 45 performed within acceptable variance and only three fell below acceptable levels.
By contrast, only six urban councils met all their targets, while 23 remained within acceptable variance and three performed below acceptable standards.
The report attributes the stronger performance of rural councils to less complex infrastructure demands, better utilisation of devolution resources in previous years, stronger partnerships with development agencies and more focused service delivery programmes.
Overall, 74 percent of local authorities were classified as performing below target but still within acceptable variance, creating what evaluators described as a "mediocre-performance equilibrium".
Zvimba Rural District Council emerged as Zimbabwe's best-performing local authority with a score of 4.42.
Mutare City was the highest-ranked urban council and second nationally after scoring 4.33, followed by Kwekwe City on 4.31.
According to the report, the best-performing councils benefited from strong revenue collection systems, sound corporate governance, efficient utilisation of equipment and productive partnerships with Government, development agencies and the private sector.
However, Zimbabwe's largest cities failed to distinguish themselves.
Harare scored 3.77, placing 10th among the country's 32 urban local authorities and 50th nationally.
Bulawayo followed with a score of 3.72, ranking 11th among urban councils and 51st nationally.
Chitungwiza performed considerably worse, scoring 3.29 to rank 21st among urban authorities and 61st nationally.
The report warns that the underperformance of the country's largest municipalities poses significant economic and governance risks because they are expected to drive industrial growth, commerce, investment and urban development.
The findings reinforce recent remarks by Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe, who described Harare, Bulawayo and Chitungwiza as councils in the "intensive care unit" because of persistent failures in water supply, refuse collection, road maintenance and sewer management.
The minister has since directed the three councils to submit turnaround strategies outlining how they intend to improve service delivery.
Despite the overall decline in performance, councils collectively recorded notable achievements during 2025.
Local authorities completed 1,867 ward development projects against a target of 1,462, drilled 1,690 boreholes, constructed 429 classroom blocks and 135 clinics, maintained more than 18,285 kilometres of roads, achieved over 95 percent refuse collection coverage in central business districts, implemented 85 percent e-governance systems and ensured that all public services were available online.
The report attributes these gains largely to collaboration between central Government, communities, development partners, the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA), non-governmental organisations and the private sector.
At the opposite end of the rankings, Chimanimani Rural District Council recorded the country's lowest performance score of 2.21, followed by Mutasa Rural District Council on 2.35.
The report links their poor performance to weak governance systems, poor revenue collection, deteriorating infrastructure and persistent failures in delivering basic municipal services.
Many of the worst-performing councils collected less than 30 percent of their projected revenues, severely limiting their ability to provide services.
Among the major structural challenges identified were low revenue collection, which averaged just 59 percent nationally, non-revenue water losses estimated at 45 percent, ageing water and sewer infrastructure, inadequate equipment, delayed devolution funding, reduced allocations from the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA), illegal settlements and the rapid growth of informal vending.
More than 80 percent of councils reportedly received no devolution funding during 2025, resulting in stalled infrastructure projects and delays in acquiring essential machinery.
The report also notes that poor payment compliance by residents and outstanding debts owed by Government institutions continue to weaken municipal finances.
To improve performance, the evaluation recommends establishing a Presidential Local Government Performance Delivery Unit to strengthen monitoring and accountability, improving revenue collection systems, introducing minimum service delivery standards, accelerating rehabilitation of water and sewer infrastructure, increasing investment in equipment and expanding the use of public-private partnerships.
Speaking recently at the launch of the Citizens Engagement and Scoring Platform, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works Dr John Basera said Government was moving from the first phase of local governance reforms to a more demanding second phase focused on measurable service delivery outcomes.
"We are transitioning from setting up administrative structures to enforcing aggressive high-impact service outcomes," he said.
Combined Harare Residents Association director Ruben Akili said local authorities needed to return to their constitutional mandate by prioritising essential municipal services.
"Local authorities must return to the fundamentals of local governance," he said.
"Their primary responsibility is to provide essential services such as clean water, efficient sewer management, refuse collection, road maintenance and public health. These are the core functions that directly affect the daily lives of residents and should always take precedence.
"Over the years, some councils have become preoccupied with activities that are peripheral to their constitutional mandate, often at the expense of service delivery.
"Local authorities should refocus their resources and attention on delivering reliable water supplies, maintaining sewer infrastructure, effective waste management and other basic municipal services that residents expect and deserve."
The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works' Annual Performance Feedback Report for the 2025 Fiscal Year shows that the average performance score for Zimbabwe's 92 local authorities declined from 3.67 in 2024 to 3.61 in 2025 on a six-point assessment scale.
Although the overall score remains above the minimum acceptable threshold, the report concludes that most councils are maintaining rather than improving service delivery, raising concerns as Government moves into the second phase of local governance reforms under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2).
The assessment, conducted by independent consultancy Best Practices (Private) Limited on behalf of the ministry, evaluated all 92 local authorities — comprising 60 rural district councils (RDCs) and 32 urban local authorities — against agreed annual performance indicators.
One of the report's most significant findings was the sharp decline in the number of councils that met all their annual targets.
Only 20 percent of local authorities achieved all their performance targets in 2025, down from 31 percent in 2024, meaning four out of every five councils failed to fully deliver on their annual commitments.
The report identifies local authorities as the weakest-performing institutions within the ministry's broader performance management framework and warns that without urgent reforms, service delivery could stagnate further and undermine national development objectives.
Using a six-point rating system, councils scoring four or above were considered to have exceeded acceptable performance standards, while a score of three indicated acceptable performance within variance. Scores below three reflected underperformance requiring corrective intervention.
Despite the overall decline, rural district councils continued to outperform urban authorities.
Rural councils recorded an average score of 3.66 compared to 3.52 for urban councils.
Among rural authorities, 12 exceeded their performance targets, 45 performed within acceptable variance and only three fell below acceptable levels.
By contrast, only six urban councils met all their targets, while 23 remained within acceptable variance and three performed below acceptable standards.
The report attributes the stronger performance of rural councils to less complex infrastructure demands, better utilisation of devolution resources in previous years, stronger partnerships with development agencies and more focused service delivery programmes.
Overall, 74 percent of local authorities were classified as performing below target but still within acceptable variance, creating what evaluators described as a "mediocre-performance equilibrium".
Zvimba Rural District Council emerged as Zimbabwe's best-performing local authority with a score of 4.42.
Mutare City was the highest-ranked urban council and second nationally after scoring 4.33, followed by Kwekwe City on 4.31.
According to the report, the best-performing councils benefited from strong revenue collection systems, sound corporate governance, efficient utilisation of equipment and productive partnerships with Government, development agencies and the private sector.
However, Zimbabwe's largest cities failed to distinguish themselves.
Harare scored 3.77, placing 10th among the country's 32 urban local authorities and 50th nationally.
Bulawayo followed with a score of 3.72, ranking 11th among urban councils and 51st nationally.
The report warns that the underperformance of the country's largest municipalities poses significant economic and governance risks because they are expected to drive industrial growth, commerce, investment and urban development.
The findings reinforce recent remarks by Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe, who described Harare, Bulawayo and Chitungwiza as councils in the "intensive care unit" because of persistent failures in water supply, refuse collection, road maintenance and sewer management.
The minister has since directed the three councils to submit turnaround strategies outlining how they intend to improve service delivery.
Despite the overall decline in performance, councils collectively recorded notable achievements during 2025.
Local authorities completed 1,867 ward development projects against a target of 1,462, drilled 1,690 boreholes, constructed 429 classroom blocks and 135 clinics, maintained more than 18,285 kilometres of roads, achieved over 95 percent refuse collection coverage in central business districts, implemented 85 percent e-governance systems and ensured that all public services were available online.
The report attributes these gains largely to collaboration between central Government, communities, development partners, the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA), non-governmental organisations and the private sector.
At the opposite end of the rankings, Chimanimani Rural District Council recorded the country's lowest performance score of 2.21, followed by Mutasa Rural District Council on 2.35.
The report links their poor performance to weak governance systems, poor revenue collection, deteriorating infrastructure and persistent failures in delivering basic municipal services.
Many of the worst-performing councils collected less than 30 percent of their projected revenues, severely limiting their ability to provide services.
Among the major structural challenges identified were low revenue collection, which averaged just 59 percent nationally, non-revenue water losses estimated at 45 percent, ageing water and sewer infrastructure, inadequate equipment, delayed devolution funding, reduced allocations from the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA), illegal settlements and the rapid growth of informal vending.
More than 80 percent of councils reportedly received no devolution funding during 2025, resulting in stalled infrastructure projects and delays in acquiring essential machinery.
The report also notes that poor payment compliance by residents and outstanding debts owed by Government institutions continue to weaken municipal finances.
To improve performance, the evaluation recommends establishing a Presidential Local Government Performance Delivery Unit to strengthen monitoring and accountability, improving revenue collection systems, introducing minimum service delivery standards, accelerating rehabilitation of water and sewer infrastructure, increasing investment in equipment and expanding the use of public-private partnerships.
Speaking recently at the launch of the Citizens Engagement and Scoring Platform, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works Dr John Basera said Government was moving from the first phase of local governance reforms to a more demanding second phase focused on measurable service delivery outcomes.
"We are transitioning from setting up administrative structures to enforcing aggressive high-impact service outcomes," he said.
Combined Harare Residents Association director Ruben Akili said local authorities needed to return to their constitutional mandate by prioritising essential municipal services.
"Local authorities must return to the fundamentals of local governance," he said.
"Their primary responsibility is to provide essential services such as clean water, efficient sewer management, refuse collection, road maintenance and public health. These are the core functions that directly affect the daily lives of residents and should always take precedence.
"Over the years, some councils have become preoccupied with activities that are peripheral to their constitutional mandate, often at the expense of service delivery.
"Local authorities should refocus their resources and attention on delivering reliable water supplies, maintaining sewer infrastructure, effective waste management and other basic municipal services that residents expect and deserve."
Source - Sunday Mail
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