Bulawayo, (New Ziana) – Residents will have a greater say in how local authorities are assessed under a new citizen-engagement programme that will feed directly into annual council performance ratings.
According to the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, feedback gathered through its Citizen Engagement Scorecard Platform will carry significant weight when local authorities are evaluated against legally binding service-delivery targets.
Speaking at the Bulawayo provincial launch of the platform at the Small City Hall on Tuesday, director of Local Government Services for Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, Tsvagai Fikile Marovatsvanga, said the system gives residents a direct voice in the policies and services affecting their communities.
“Residents will have a say in terms of policy tone and policy direction as we journey towards Vision 2030,” she said.
The online questionnaire, available through WhatsApp and a website, allows residents to rate services in their wards. In Bulawayo, responses will be collected from all 29 wards.
Citizen scores will be combined with assessments from the Office of the President and Cabinet, the tripartite evaluation system and best-practice indicators to produce a final score for each local authority.
The initiative is being introduced alongside a framework under which the Ministry will issue statutory instruments every year setting service-delivery targets for councils.
Marovatsvanga said Statutory Instrument (SI)170 of 2025 established targets for 2026 and longer-term targets linked to Vision 2030.
Targets for 2027 are expected to be announced in September, at the start of the local-authority budgeting season.
The targets will support the government’s push for improved council performance in areas including water supply, sanitation, roads, drainage, waste management, public health, street lighting, housing, corporate governance and environmental management.
The programme also complements the Minimum Service Delivery Standards launched last year, with the Ministry seeking to make councils more accountable to the communities they serve.
New Ziana
