The Sunday Mail
Francis Mupazviriho in NAIROBI, Kenya
ZIMBABWE has been selected to host the next edition of the Africa Public Service Day (APSD) commemorations in 2021 at the conclusion of this year’s edition of the biennial event.
Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Deputy Minister Lovemore Matuke who led the Zimbabwean delegation to this year’s event in Nairobi, Kenya told The Sunday Mail that hosting the event is subject to Government approval.
The Africa Public Service Day is platform where African Governments meet to share ideas on enhancing public service delivery on the continent.
The day is commemorated on June 23 every year, with the African Union holding continent-wide celebrations in a selected host country every two years.
“We were given the chance to host the next event (2021) and what is now needed is for us to get Government approval,” said Deputy Minister Matuke.
He said Zimbabwe is working to improve public sector service delivery.
“Our key objective is service delivery.”
“We are instituting measures working towards the fulfilment of Vision 2030, seeking to achieve an Upper Middle Income State by 2030.
“We stand ready to balance these objectives with the imperatives of enhancing social protection mechanisms of vulnerable groups of society.”
Deputy Minister Matuke also appraised a special session on the dichotomy of politics and administration in the public service on Government’s Rapid Results Initiative being used to measure progress of key policy deliverables.
This year’s event is running under the theme: The Intersection of Youth Empowerment and Migration: Entrenching a culture of Good Governance, ICT and innovation for inclusive service delivery.
Zimbabwe showcased some of its public service initiatives, including the Innovation Drive Programme, which is a revolving fund for young innovators to develop ideas into bankable solutions for the nation and the global market.
Also on show was the Human Resources Management Information System (HRMI) being implemented as part of the National E-Government project to improve efficiency in the management of human resources and the PSC Zim Android application, which disseminates critical information such as vacancy announcements in the public service.
During the last commemorations in Rwanda, Zimbabwe won accolades for several public sector innovations.
The inaugural APSD was held in Tangier, Morocco in 1994 following landmark Pan-African Conference of Ministers for Public Service.
