Source: Bikita RDC officials sign integrity pledges – herald
Bikita Rural District Council (RDC) councillors and senior officials have signed integrity pledgesHerald Reporter
Bikita Rural District Council (RDC) councillors and senior officials on Monday signed integrity pledges committing themselves to ethical leadership, transparency and accountability in the discharge of their duties.
The signing ceremony, held at Mbudzi Lodge near Nyika Growth Point, marked a significant step towards strengthening good governance and promoting a culture of integrity within the local authority.
Councillors and senior management pledged to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and ethical conduct as they work to improve service delivery and drive development in the district.
Presiding over the ceremony, Bikita District Development Coordinator Mr Bernard Hadzirabwi said integrity and accountability were critical pillars for effective local governance and sustainable development.
“We are public servants and these pledges are not just paper. They are a promise to our residents that we will uphold good work ethics, providing service delivery first and reject corruption in all forms,” he said.
“The integrity pledge is a social contract through which a participant announces his or her commitment to act against all forms of corruption, spearheading service delivery.”
In his address, Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) Masvingo provincial head, Mr Tafirenyika Maringire, said corruption was the biggest enemy that should be fought at all levels for Zimbabwe to achieve Vision 2030 targets.
He urged Bikita councillors and senior officials to be objective and to appoint deserving candidates to key positions within the local authority.
Mr Tafirenyikwa was unequivocal in his attacks on corruption as a cancer that negated development.
“We have come here today to sensitise Bikita RDC councillors, senior officials and traditional leaders on the constitutional mandate and investigative scope of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption. Local authorities should operate within standard operating procedures,” he said.
“We don’t expect you to fight at the expense of service delivery and you must also avoid taking bribes or gifts. You should stand guided by your principles and policies.”
Mr Tafirenyika said corruption in most local authorities was being caused by poor remuneration, poverty and gender inequality.
“As the Bikita Rural District Council, you were rated the 7th best Rural District Council in the country,” he said.
“But was that your number? Council management should continue working hard so that you assist your Chief Executive Officer to further improve on these ratings.”
Masvingo Provincial Local Government Director, Mr Roy Hove, congratulated Bikita RDC for scoring highly amongst the best-performing local authorities in the country.
“I want to congratulate you on attaining the 7th position (amongst rural district councils in Zimbabwe),” said Mr Hove.
“Bikita RDC is one of the local authorities which made the grade in the satisfactory performance category.
“You are indeed in the greenbelt, and this must be applauded. By signing these pledges, this must motivate you to continue working hard to achieve better results, and better results can only be achieved once you stay away from corruption.
“As the Government, we don’t expect to see service delivery and your performance going down, and if this happens, we would want to know what would have happened. We expect you to do even better going forward.”
Bikita RDC chief executive Engineer Anold Mtuke undertook to continue shepherding the local authority to remain as the nerve-centre of industrialisation and modernisation in the district and answer to President Mnangagwa’s challenge for rural councils to drive socio-economic transformation towards an upper middle-class economy by 2030.
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