Source: New law forces councils to prioritise service delivery over pay – herald
Farirai Machivenyika
Senior Reporter
RESIDENTS can now expect improved service delivery from local authorities following the gazetting of new minimum service delivery standards, with councils now facing disciplinary action — including suspension, dismissal and demotion of officials — if they fail to meet set benchmarks.
The new regulations cover both rural and urban local authorities, marking a significant shift towards enforcing performance, strengthening governance and ensuring that service delivery takes priority over administrative costs.
Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe will now give guidance on penalties to be imposed on non-compliant and non-performing local authorities, which will include written warnings, suspension of travel, downgrading of council status and recommended dismissal.
The minimum standards are contained in Statutory Instrument (SI) 69 of 2026, which are cited as Minimum Service Delivery Standards Indicators for Local Authorities (Amendment) Regulations, 2026 (No. 1).
The SI, issued in terms of provisions of the Urban Councils Act and Rural District Councils Act, establishes performance benchmarks and compliance requirements.
“Local authorities should prioritise the delivery of essential services to residents over the payment of salaries and other operational costs,” reads part of the SI.
“The recommended ratio for expenditure on service delivery versus expenditure on remunerations will be 70:30. Every local authority will have an approved programme-based budget that is International Public Sector Accounting Standards-compliant. Budget heads related to all services are clearly separated and cost allocation standards for common costs should be in place.
“The accrual-based double entry accounting system is practised. Accounting standards comparable to commercial accounting standards with clear guidelines for recognition of income and expenditure are followed. Accounting and budgeting manuals are in place and are adhered to.”
Local authorities have also been directed to ensure there is efficiency in human resources management, with qualified staff, performance appraisals and skills audits.
Further, they should have development planning policies and be compliant with relevant laws, including having current valuation rolls, master plans, as well as environmental and strategic plans.
Gender mainstreaming should be at 100 percent, with policies, gender desks, balanced management representation and employment of persons with disabilities, while council meetings and policies must be fully adhered to, with 100 percent compliance in meeting conduct, resolutions and statutory policies.
“Local authorities should ensure compliance with statutory obligations such as value-added tax, public sector investment programme loans, bank loans and other deductions, pay-as-you-earn, NSSA, pensions, withholding tax, Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund and insurance of assets.
“They should maintain compliance certificates or other forms of proof for these payments.
“All local authorities should produce and submit draft financial statements to the Comptroller and Auditor-General within 60 days of end of each financial year as guided by the governing laws and directives,” Minister Garwe said.
Asset management, Minister Garwe added, must be efficient, with up-to-date registers, maintenance and risk analysis targeting 100 percent compliance.
Service delivery failures
The new minimum service delivery standards are a response to persistent governance and service delivery failures across multiple local authorities.
In Harare, repeated breakdowns in water supply and refuse collection have exposed deep operational and financial weaknesses, with residents enduring prolonged shortages and deteriorating sanitation conditions.
The Government has had to rope in the private sector to address some of the shortcomings.
Similar sewer and infrastructure challenges have also been recorded in several urban councils, including Chitungwiza, where service delivery gaps have been linked to broader systemic issues affecting multiple municipalities.
In Chitungwiza, long-standing governance deficiencies have been well-documented, with investigations revealing weak or, at times, non-existent institutional systems that allowed fraud, waste and abuse of public resources to become entrenched.
These governance failures directly undermined service delivery, with poor decision-making and weak financial controls contributing to the deterioration of basic municipal services.
This has resulted in a cycle in which inefficiency and maladministration reinforce each other, leaving residents exposed to declining service standards.
Elsewhere, audit findings have highlighted similar patterns of maladministration in other local authorities.
In the Redcliff Municipality, procurement irregularities and failure to adhere to contractual terms resulted in financial prejudice, including the delivery of vehicles that did not match agreed specifications, while the council also failed to account for critical materials intended for public infrastructure, pointing to weak asset management systems.
Across the board, the Auditor-General has consistently flagged rising cases of poor service delivery, weak procurement systems and ineffective revenue management among local authorities, resulting in infrastructure backlogs, sewer challenges and inadequate provision of essential services such as water, sanitation and roads.
These recurring problems underscore the need for enforceable benchmarks and clear consequences for non-performance under the new regulations.
The new SI also provides for recognition and awards to be given to the best- performing local authorities and will be categorised in different areas, as defined by the minimum service delivery standards.
The rewards shall be further categorised for the best-performing council chairperson or mayor, best-performing town clerk, chief executive officer or town secretary.
“The rewards shall be first at the provincial level, where the best-performing local authority will be awarded as the best performer within the province and then the best performers at provincial level will be further recognised and awarded at national level. The rewards will be split into two categories — urban local authorities and rural local authorities,” reads the SI.
A rural and urban planning expert, Ms Joyce Chakabva, said the enactment of the regulations was a welcome development.
“Local authorities play an important role in the development of communities as they are closer to the general public . . .
“It is, therefore, important that they operate within set minimum standards expected of them to improve accountability and service delivery.”
Another analyst, Mr Tafadzwa Murehwa, said the enactment of the SI marks a decisive and long-overdue shift in the governance of local authorities.
“For too long, service delivery has operated in a grey zone — defined more by discretion than by enforceable standards. By clearly setting minimum benchmarks, Government has not only clarified expectations but also restored a measure of accountability to the system. What is particularly commendable is the balanced architecture of the instrument. It does not merely prescribe standards; it introduces a dual framework of incentives and sanctions,” he said.
Performance in public service, he added, must be both encouraged and enforced.
“Councils that meet or exceed expectations will now have a basis for recognition, while those that consistently fall short can no longer hide behind institutional inertia. In essence, this is about re-centering the citizen. Water provision, waste management, road maintenance — these are not privileges, but basic obligations of local governance. By codifying these into measurable standards, Government is sending a clear signal: Service delivery is not optional and mediocrity will no longer be tolerated.”
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