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Francis Mupazviriho Correspondent
Talk of Zimbabwe’s economic path going forward is largely a question of the nature of the nation’s work ethic as a collective unit regardless of the sector in which employees operate from. It could be the public service, private sector, small to medium enterprises or even the informal sector.

The game in town is results and results!

The teacher aspires for an higher pass rate, while the farmer longs for a better harvest at the end of the agricultural season. A backyard tailor spends sleepless nights trying to meet pressing demands.

This writer attended President Mnangagwa’s inauguration ceremony at the National Sports Stadium (NSS) a fortnight ago, where public servants were implored to be diligent, results oriented and prompt in their execution of duties.

Being a civil servant and a journalist by profession, this indeed became a story to take home, notwithstanding other key issues in the laden delivery. How do I work hard for the development of Zimbabwe became one of the many questions.

The singling out of public servants in the President’s inauguration speech is ample testimony to the intended role they are to play in Zimbabwe’s new trajectory premised the “Deng Xiaoping” time.

It is trite that the emphasis is not just on professionalism, but the call to increased productivity and uprightness. Of course, there are fundamentals of working conditions worthy to consider, but this is a matter for another day.

Said President Mnangagwa to the capacity crowd: “Each and every one of us must earn their hour, day, week and month at work. Gone are the days of absenteeism and desultory application, days of unduly delaying and forestalling decisions and services in the hope of extorting dirty rewards.

“A new culture must now inform and animate our daily conduct. Our offices must speedily answer questions and generate solutions awaited by our customers, be they our citizens or well-meaning outsiders who want to join in the recovery of our economy. Flexibility must be built into our operations so the machine of Government does not become one huge, ponderous stumbling block to decisions that must be made and communicated expeditiously.”

There are four points worth noting here. First, public servants have a role to play in national building. This new work ethic fits well into our foreign policy engagements, be they bilateral or multilateral. Second, it is more critical than before to be responsive to the needs of the people in need of public goods.

Wafawarova (2011) notes that when these principles are discarded there is endemic and brazen culture where people who are supposed to be served in offices are simply told to “sit there while we try to sort out your problem”. They wait until business closes and are told to come back “tomorrow”.

There is no doubt that this cancer has cost the nation a lot. Third and related to the second point, responsiveness is dependent on the utilisation of information communication technologies which are now the hallmark of today’s precision in the delivery of goods and services. Zimbabwe has shown commitment to this by way of e-government, ease of doing business and there is no doubt that this will intensify.

More than before, there is need to intensify online visibility as a way of engagement with the public who are the end users of products and services, as well as the outside world wanting to see what Zimbabwe has to offer at the click of a button.

Fourth, President Mnangagwa’s emphasis is a sign of political will especially on professionalism and being results oriented — matters which had largely become an academic fixture constituting the agenda of workshops both low key and high level.

This emphasis from the highest office in the land and matched by other pronouncements after the inauguration of President Mnangagwa are testimony that it is no longer business as usual. The loud call is timely as the intended policy designs should indeed translate into handy solutions beneficial to public.

Going forward, Zimbabwe must understand that the reference to the new dispensation where it’s no longer business as usual is hinged on our conceptualisation of time. We must as a people move away from this idea where lateness to meetings is seen as “African time”.

It is the reason why targets are often missed, with meetings constituting the same agenda over time, but at times without the results and projects remaining unfinished for a long time.

These excesses have had a bearing on the individual psyche and the collective work ethic demanding accountability more than ever. In a way, this had become the new normal. No doubt this dillydallying has been costly on many fronts. Today’s world demands precision, whether one works in the public service, the banking industry, construction or owns an SME.

That idea is also tied to the call for uprightness in deeds and the call to desist from “dirty rewards”. This emanates from the quest to set a higher moral bar, which is itself evidence of transparency and accountability in dispensing one’s duties.

The idea of complicating procedures for personal gain has been unfortunate and if not addressed accordingly, is a threat to the efforts which are supposed to be the lynchpin of Zimbabwe’s drive towards a “new dawn”.

Zimbabwe needs a new culture of work across all sectors of the economy. This will augment the enabling policy environment and the nation’s intended strategic direction in years to come.

• – Francis Mupazviriho works in the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. The views expressed here are entirely personal. Feedback [email protected]