Mutare – Government is shifting its focus from routine administrative processes to accelerated implementation and measurable outcomes, Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr. Martin Rushwaya, announced on Thursday.

Speaking at the 2026 Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) Strategic Plan Review Workshop at the Golden Peacock Hotel in Mutare, Dr. Rushwaya warned that with the timeline towards Vision 2030 rapidly shrinking, the public service can no longer afford to rely on fragmented planning or a culture of mere reporting.

“The remaining period towards Vision 2030 demands urgency, discipline, institutional coordination and results-oriented leadership,” Dr. Rushwaya said.

“Government must move beyond routine administrative processes towards accelerated implementation, measurable performance and tangible development outcomes.”

To drive this agenda, the Chief Secretary announced a major institutional reform: the repositioning of Deputy Chief Secretaries (DCSs) as Chief Operating Officers (COOs) of Government. He stated that their roles must evolve beyond simply attending meetings and receiving reports to actively providing strategic leadership and operational oversight across their assigned ministerial clusters.

“You must proactively identify bottlenecks, convene relevant institutions, facilitate collaboration and escalate matters requiring higher-level intervention,” he charged the DCSs. He added that the Tripartite Institutional Arrangement—comprising the OPC, the Public Service Commission, and the Ministry of Finance—is being strengthened to support this new operating model.

Turning to the 2027 fiscal year, Dr. Rushwaya outlined three core priorities: the prioritisation and completion of stalled projects, the adoption of joint programming across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), and the acceleration of digital government and automation. He insisted that Government must move away from “fragmented, silo-based planning” and complete existing infrastructure projects before embarking on new ones.

The Chief Secretary also revealed that Government is finalising a new Performance and Results Act, the principles of which will soon be presented to Cabinet. The legislation is designed to strengthen consequence management and accountability within the civil service.

“We must establish a results-oriented Public Service where good performance is recognised, genuine implementation constraints are addressed and persistent underperformance attracts fair and lawful consequences,” he said.

In a bid to make the public service more responsive, Dr. Rushwaya announced that the OPC, in partnership with the Harare Institute of Technology, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop a locally driven Citizen Engagement Platform. The platform will be used to capture public feedback on governance and MDA performance, ensuring citizens’ perspectives are incorporated into policy reviews and service delivery improvements.

Furthermore, Dr. Rushwaya emphasised the principle of Party Supremacy over Government, noting that resolutions from the recent 23rd ZANU PF National People’s Conference in Chinhoyi must be translated into actionable government policies and implemented by relevant MDAs.

He challenged workshop participants to approach the strategic review with “honesty, intellectual rigour and professional commitment,” adding that the legacy of the OPC will not be judged by the number of meetings held, but by the tangible improvements delivered to the lives of Zimbabweans.