In recognition of the need for efficient and effective implementation of public policies the Government of Zimbabwe set up the Department of Policy Implementation in the Office of the President and Cabinet in February 2004.
The purpose of the Department is to monitor the implementation of targets set by Government ministries and departments and to conduct effective follow-up programmes. The Department liaises with other ministries and departments to ensure the speedy implementation of Cabinet decisions. The Department conducts field visits to important Government projects to ensure that they are implemented timeously, efficiently and effectively.
The recent announcement of the Development Cabinet means that the review of our socio-economic programmes will receive immediate attention. As His Excellency the President once stated referring to the implementation of Government projects on the occasion of his inauguration on the 17 th of March 2002: "We shall be moving with speed and in a time - framed and results oriented manner. We can not afford the luxury of dilatoriness and bureaucratic slow and indecisiveness. The day is gone and gone for good when the business of the people could be half done, postponed inordinately or even recklessly and irresponsibly set aside. Government has no purpose at all unless that purpose speaks in words and deeds to the needs and aspirations of the people".
At the core of this guidance by His Excellency, the President, is the importance of effective implementation of socio- economic policies and programmes as the linchpin to validating Government's relevance to and fulfilment of the mandate given to us by the electorate.
Effective execution of set programmes is, therefore, a non-negotiable pre-requisite for all arms of Government ministries in order to accomplish the Presidium's cherished vision of an economically emancipated and prosperous Zimbabwean
The Department of Policy Implementation in the Office of the President and Cabinet was formed in February 2004. The government realized poor inconsistent implementation of key government policies, projects and programmes, poor monitoring and evaluation of key government policies, projects and programmes and hence the formulation of the Department with the overall function of monitoring the implementation of key government policies, projects and programmes in all government ministries/departments to ensure that they are implemented timeously, effectively, efficiently and economically so as to ensure value for money on government projects.
To date, the Department of Policy Implementation has identified policy duplication and inconsistencies among government ministries/departments, lack of knowledge among the public and investors on key government policies and also lack of a reference point of government policies and decisions. In trying to address the above short-comings, the Department is currently working on the production of a Policy Manual which is a collection of all key government polices which are being implemented.
To facilitate the monitoring of government ministries/ departments, the Department has developed the Score Card which summarises all deliverables of each and every government ministry/department and then reports quarterly on the implementation of deliverables to the Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet and also to the Presidency.
Furthermore, the Department has managed to visit key government projects such as dams, bridges and roads under construction as well as irrigation schemes, government buildings, prisons, National Universities, National Airports, hospitals, schools among others being funded under the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) and produced report papers. It has also executed its mandate by liaising with government departments, local authorities and parastatals by holding meetings to ensure the expeditious and effective implementation of Cabinet Decisions, government polices, programmes and projects. |
