Tsvangirai on the 2012 Goverment Work Programme Workshop

Speech by the Prime Minister Tsvangirai on the 2012 Goverment Work Programme Workshop/Special Council of Ministers

Thursday 9 February 2012

Hon. Deputy Prime Minister, Prof. Arthur Mutambara
Honourable Ministers and Deputy Ministers
Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr DM Sibanda
Secretary to the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, I. Makone
Permanent Secretaries and Senior Government Officials here present
Ladies and Gentlemen

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you all to this special council of Ministers workshop where we are seeking to adopt the Government Work Program critical path targets for 2012.

I hope you have had adequate rest over the holidays and you are all ready to serve the people through the provision of services that our various ministries offer to the people of Zimbabwe.

Any credible and accountable Government must formulate long term and short term plans and must ensure that those plans are implemented for the benefit of the citizens.

I would want to say from the outset that our key priorities as a government remain as adopted in 2011, namely to;
• Promote Economic Growth & Ensure Food Security
• Guarantee Basic Services
• Strengthen & Ensure The Rule of Law & Respect For Property Rights
• Advance & Safeguard Basic Freedoms Through Legislative Reform & The Constitutional Process
• Normalise the International Relations

The launch of the MTP highlighted Government’s desire to plan the developmental path for the next five years. The Government Work Program critical path targets set out our yearly plans, which should guide our programs and activities for the year. Coordination and integration of Government programs is made easier if every ministry develops achievable plans that it is able to implement. The formulation of the 2012 Government Work Program Critical path targets was guided by the MTP and the recently announced 2012 national budget. This process, ladies and gentlemen, ensures that we are in line with our long term trajectory as well as living within our means. It is therefore imperative that as we set out to adopt and implement these targets, we harness all our efforts in a collaborative manner in order to deliver sustainable quality service to the citizens of Zimbabwe.

The Office of the Prime Minister remains committed to the management, implementation, and evaluation of Government programs through the Government Work Program. As elected members of Government, we all have a responsibility to deliver the highest standards to our people – whether that is service delivery or managing the institutions of our country. We can and should be held accountable for our performance. It is our responsibility to the people of Zimbabwe to ensure that we continue to build upon the gains made in 2011.Achieving these gains ladies and gentlemen can only be possible if we generate realistic, attainable and measurable targets for ourselves. We also need to be dedicated, committed and unwavering in the discharge of our duties.

The Government Work program allows us to remain focused, engage each other on cross-cutting issues and harmonize our resources in an efficient way. We will be hearing shortly from Cluster Leaders a summary report about what the Ministries in their Clusters plan to do in 2012, guided by the MTP and the National budget. Collaborative effort means the silo mentality among Ministries should come to an end. We will not achieve anything if we work on our own and the idea of clusters is to identify those cross-cutting issues for better implementation among Ministries.

Sometimes the frustration among Ministries arises not as a result of their own failure to achieve their targets, but because of other factors resident in another sister Ministry and hence, the cluster system becomes important in fostering co-operation and collaboration between and among Ministries. Linkages between the MTP, the GWP and the budget should give us a sense of focus in the delivery of efficient services to the people of Zimbabwe. Alignment of the GWP, MTP and the budget creates a sense of coordination in the management of Government programs.

An additional component, Hon. Ministers, Ladies and Gentleman, is the need to build closer dialogue with Parliament in the discharge of our duties. My Office will ensure that the GWP is taken to the people so that they know what we have set out to do as a government and this promotes greater accountability in the way we conduct our business. It is a fundamental principle of democracy that the legislature should hold the executive to account for its performance, for its custodianship of the institutions of the State, and for its use of national resources.

Improving our own capacity is therefore key and this year, my office will strengthen its oversight role over formulation and implementation of all government policies and programmes. And in the spirit of accountability, I will be publicizing all monitoring and evaluation reports to our citizens through Parliament as a way of promoting transparency and accountability.Governments should not operate as secretive enclaves and I will ensure that I update the people, through their elected leaders in Parliament, of how we will be faring. The performance of Ministers as reflected by their failure or success in implementing agreed Cabinet positions and critical path targets will be made public.

Going forward, Honorable Ministers are hereby encouraged to make their submissions of the Monthly GWP Implementation Progress Reports to the Office of the Prime Minister to account for the resources that they are receiving from Treasury. Let me also emphasize that cluster leaders must ensure that all programs in their clusters are implemented in a coordinated way. My Office will expect quarterly cluster reports.

Ladies and Gentlemen, as most of you would be aware, 2012 is that year when we are planning to have our first comprehensive population census since the time of hyperinflation. Visioning and planning for growth is made difficult in the absence of accurate and authoritative statistics about a nation. I am glad that Government, with the support of partners, has managed to operationalise ZIMSTATS which must now be supported in every respect to deliver on its mandate.

I understand a census of such magnitude is a costly exercise which government on its own may not be able to shoulder hence this clarion call on our erstwhile partners and friends to come in and support this noble initiative. With that, ladies and gentlemen I wish you successful and progressive deliberations and hope you will be able to generate an outcome that reflects our unity of purpose and resolve to build our nation

God bless You

And God bless Zimbabwe

I Thank You

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