BULAWAYO, Jul 29 (Southern Eye Live)-The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare has called on its departments to accelerate service delivery and improve implementation of programmes in the second half of the year after delayed Treasury funding slowed performance during the first quarter.
The ministry's support services chief director Innocent Mvere made the call during a mid-term performance review workshop in Bulawayo this Wednesday morning.
Mvere said although an independent assessment by the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) had acknowledged progress, there was still room for improvement.
"The assessment confirms that we have made commendable progress and achieved important milestones, but it also reminds us that we have not yet reached the level of performance we aspire to attain. I have no doubt whatsoever that we have the capacity to achieve more, to deliver more and to exceed our current performance," Mvere said.
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He said the ministry's mid-term review was aimed at assessing progress against its strategic plan and annual work plan, identifying implementation gaps and developing practical interventions to improve performance during the remainder of the year.
Mvere said delayed budgetary support from Treasury had affected implementation of programmes during the first quarter, resulting in subdued performance, but noted that departments had recorded significant improvements during the second quarter.
He challenged officials to produce honest, evidence-based assessments of their work and propose corrective measures to sustain the momentum achieved.
"It is only through honest self-assessment, accountability and decisive action that we can continuously improve our performance, strengthen service delivery, accelerate the implementation of our Strategic Plan and ensure that our collective efforts deliver tangible and enduring benefits for the citizens we are entrusted to serve," he said.
Mvere stressed that the review was not intended to apportion blame but to strengthen institutional performance.
"Let me hasten to emphasise that this is not a fault-finding meeting. Rather, it is a valuable opportunity for us to reflect on our performance, refocus our priorities and renew our collective commitment to the achievement of our strategic objectives," he said.
He urged officials to remain responsive to changing social and economic conditions through continuous environmental scanning, risk management and innovation, saying government institutions had to remain agile if they were to deliver on their mandates.
"Time is not on our side. We must remain ever conscious that as a nation we are now in the final stretch toward Vision 2030. Let us therefore embrace a mindset of acceleration, innovation and resourcefulness to ensure that our quarterly and annual targets are not only met but surpassed," he said.