The City of Bulawayo is preparing to modernise its monitoring and evaluation systems to align with the government's planned Whole-of-Government Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning System (Wogmels), a digital platform designed to improve accountability, service delivery and evidence-based decision-making across the public sector.
A report presented by town clerk Christopher Dube to the Council on June 19 states that officers from the monitoring and evaluation department attended a stakeholder consultation workshop in Kariba from May 31 to June 6.
At the workshop, government officials and local authorities gathered to provide user requirements for the new platform being developed by the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC).
"Wogmels is intended to integrate planning, budgeting, personnel performance management, monitoring, evaluation and learning functions across ministries, departments, agencies, state enterprises and local authorities," reads the report.
"The system is expected to provide real-time monitoring of government programmes, strengthen evidence-based decision-making, improve accountability and transparency, facilitate timely corrective action where projects fall behind schedule, and promote institutional learning."
The council heard that the platform is also designed to support the implementation of the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) and Vision 2030 by providing decision-makers with timely and reliable development data.
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The report identified integrated data management as a key lesson from the conference, noting that local authorities need interconnected information systems that allow planning, budgeting, implementation and reporting functions to work together seamlessly.
For Bulawayo, officials said adopting real-time monitoring could improve the management of critical municipal services such as water supply, road maintenance, waste collection, housing projects, public health and infrastructure development.
The conference also emphasised the importance of evidence-based decision-making, with delegates encouraged to rely on accurate data rather than assumptions when planning projects and allocating resources. The council noted that improved digital monitoring systems could strengthen accountability by making performance information readily available to management and stakeholders, thereby enhancing public confidence in municipal service delivery. The report further stressed the need for institutional learning, recommending that lessons from completed projects be documented and used to improve future programmes.
To prepare for the Wogmels rollout, councillors recommended that the local authority invest in digital infrastructure, including laptops and tablets for the monitoring and evaluation unit, to support automated data collection and reporting. The Council also recommended continued participation in future Wogmels stakeholder engagements to ensure Bulawayo contributes to the development of the national platform and remains aligned with government reforms.
In addition, councillors called for continued collaboration with the OPC, the Ministry of Local Government and other local authorities to promote knowledge sharing and interoperability between systems.
The council also resolved to review and strengthen its monitoring and evaluation framework to ensure it meets the requirements of the new whole of government approach to be implemented.