Zimbabwe will have a new law by year-end, which will decentralise purchasing to procurement management units in government departments, parastatals, State-owned enterprises and local authorities in far reaching reforms meant to ensure efficiency and quality service delivery.
Solomon Mhlanga, senior principal director in the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), told journalists attending a procurement and contracting out workshop in Kariba yesterday the reforms would transform the State Procurement Board (SPB) into an authority responsible for setting standards and guidelines, as well as performing a monitoring and evaluation role over procurement.
Read more: Zim sets year-end target for procurement reform law
The Government yesterday launched a website for the inter-ministerial taskforce on the alignment of legislation (IMT) which will enable stakeholders involved in the process to access information easily.
Acting President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who oversees the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, launched the website in Harare.
The inter-ministerial taskforce was established by Cabinet as an institutional platform to facilitate the legislative alignment process.
Read more: ZW: Govt launches website for inter-ministerial taskforce
Government will soon launch a web portal which will be the internet based entry point to all Ministries as the state moves towards electronic governance, an official said on Tuesday. Speaking at the Zim-Asset Stakeholders Communication Support Workshop, Office of the President and Cabinet head of public affairs and knowledge management, Mary Mubi said the website was one of the platforms to be used to enhance service delivery through information dissemination.
“Very soon we will be launching a Government web portal which will be the entry point to government Ministries which we hope will be regularly updated so that it gives you information on key decisions so that as citizens you can also send feedback,” she said.
Government is set to open more communication centres across the country’s 52 districts as it moves to promote technological advancement for economic growth in rural communities. This dovetails into President Mugabe’s call to promote Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) as a tool to foster socio-economic development. This will also assist rural communities to access e-government services and information.
Addressing delegates at the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day celebrations in Muzarabani on Wednesday, Minister of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services Cde Supa Mandiwanzira said more communication centres would be launched countrywide.
The Government is in the process of digitalising the Vehicle Inspection Department (VID), a process which will see aspiring drivers writing provisional driver’s licences tests online and reducing interface with officials to minimise cases of alleged corruption.
Senior principal director in the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), Ambassador Mary Sibusisiwe Mubi, said this was part of the e-governance drive meant to bring convenience to members of the public.
Read more: ZW: VID goes digital . . . Provisional licence tests to be written online