President sets stage for quality services, improved livelihoods

President Mnangagwa’s Address at the First Cabinet meeting

I welcome you all to the 2025 Cabinet year, which we are opening today after our annual festive recess during which we all had an opportunity to rest and rejuvenate.

At the outset, all members are reminded of the need to once again recommit ourselves to the duty of transforming livelihoods and developing our great nation towards the achievement of Vision 2030. The mandate before us is clear: we must deliver quality services to our citizens, ensuring that their needs are met and lives improved. Hence, every ministry must prioritise outcomes that positively affect the lives of our people.

All our collective efforts should be geared towards creating a better future for all, leaving no one and no place behind. In this pursuit, it is critically important to engage with our people, listening to their concerns and responding to their needs. The culture of accountability, transparency and excellence within our ministries should be nurtured with a greater sense of urgency for the ultimate objective of achieving transformational results.

You must lead by example. We must serve all our people from across all the four corners of our country, including those in the diaspora.

Cabinet Committees are essential to the efficient work of Cabinet. All meetings must be attended.

Where ministers fail to attend such meetings due to approved reasons, they should delegate authority to Deputy Ministers and Permanent Secretaries, who should submit their ministerial positions thereat.

In the same vein, Cabinet Members should ensure Permanent Secretaries attend Working Party Meetings and brief them ahead of Cabinet Committee Meetings.

As I stated at the closing meeting of 2024, attendance at Cabinet Committee and Working Party meetings will form part of the performance evaluation criteria.

While members are required to be abreast with programme implementation at the community level through regular field visits, these should not disrupt and unduly affect workflow in our provinces and districts.

Performance contracting remains a cornerstone of our strategy to enhance service delivery and drive the attainment of Vision 2030.

As such, this year will see us strengthen our focus on measurable outcomes, timely execution of policies, and responsiveness to the needs of our citizens.

I have directed that Deputy Ministers should also sign performance contracts as part of our endeavour to enhance accountability and efficiency. Every ministry, department, and agency must uphold the highest standards of professionalism and servant leadership. Excellence is not an option; but a guaranteed necessity to propel our national development agenda.

Let us, therefore, approach 2025 with renewed vigour, guided by our shared vision of progress, prosperity, and people-centred governance.

To enhance the overall performance of our economy, the Ease of Doing Business Agenda continues to be an important aspect of our programming. In that regard, concerted efforts must be made to revisit all the areas that hinder the start or growth of all investments, whether local or foreign.

I commend the entrepreneurial spirit among our people. By nature, Zimbabweans are hardworking.

In this regard, emphasis should be on ensuring that business does not suffer from prohibitive regulations as well as punitive administrative licences and fees required by your ministries. Fees, licences, permits and regulations should promote economic development and improve the livelihoods of the people.

After a shaky start, the 2024/2025 farming season is offering hope for our agricultural sector. The Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development will provide updates on this matter.

Regrettably, some regions of our country continue to experience floods, causing distress to many families and communities. School infrastructure has suffered extensive damage, while roads, bridges and clinics have not been spared. Infrastructure upgrading, therefore, remains a priority, right from the districts. Projects will resume with greater momentum once the current wet conditions subside.

No community will be left in distress and the Government will do its best to support those in need. The Ministers of Local Government and Public Works; as well as Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare will soon update us on the extent of the damage and the relief efforts which are underway.

As we progress with our work in the year ahead, merit and performance must be the basis for awards of Government projects and business. Chicanery, manipulation of processes and outright corruption of any kind, will not be tolerated within ministries, departments and agencies.

Ministers are therefore, directed to maintain an interest and oversight role over their span of control. Always ensure value for money in the implementation of programmes and projects as well as in procurement processes.

By the same token, the appointment of persons into public sector boards must be based on merit, competence and the requisite experience.

Overall, the year will be characterised by numerous high profile local, regional and international engagements which will require us all to redouble our efforts to achieve seamless coordination and a result- oriented work ethics.

Of special note are the 45th Independence Day Commemorations which will be held in Gokwe-Nembudziya in line with the thrust of the Second Republic to hold national events rotationally at the grassroots level.

The water supply situation in Bulawayo, Harare and other major cities should continue to be closely monitored. A firm approach is also required on issues of waste management and disposal beginning at the household level and extending to communities, local councils as well as industry and commerce.

Councils must comply with requirement for the approval of their budgets and service delivery plans towards greater efficiency and enhanced accountability.

Going forward, I am directing that all outstanding budget approvals be concluded, without exception, within the First Quarter of every year, as we build momentum to deliver world-class services to all ratepayers and the general populace.

On the international relations front, efforts to promote and entrench regional peace, unity and solidarity will continue to occupy our schedule as the current Chair of SADC. The Osaka 2025 Expo, among other high profile international events, require us, along with the private sector, to apply ourselves fully, so that our country reaps optimal socio-economic benefits from this premier global extravaganza.

Finally, I urge all of us to remain aware that ours, is a selfless service to the people of our great motherland, Zimbabwe. I challenge us to undertake our work with utmost humility, sacrifice and commitment. Cabinet is run on the basis of collective responsibility; we must pull in one direction. There is no room for lethargy, fence sitting and dragging of feet. I demand boldness and decisiveness in the execution of your Ministerial responsibilities.

With these remarks, I now declare the 2025 Cabinet year officially open.

God bless you.

God bless Zimbabwe.

I thank you.