By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
Harare — A new digital platform launched this week gives Harare residents the power to rate their local council’s performance online — and their scores now count for more than 40 percent of each authority’s official grade.
The Citizens Engagement and Scoring Platform, launched by President Mnangagwa on Thursday, covers eight service categories: water supply, sanitation, solid waste management, roads and public lighting, corporate governance, public health, environmental stewardship, and housing and social amenities.
How it works
Residents receive a link to a 24-question survey, answerable on the web or via chatbot, sent to a representative sample of each local authority’s population.
The responses feed into a dashboard showing real-time scores across all service categories.
During Thursday’s launch at the Rainbow Towers Hotel, attendees used the platform to score Harare in real time. The results:
Solid waste management: 83%
Water supply: 45%
Sanitation: 44%
Roads and public lighting: 44%
A demographic breakdown showed respondents aged 18-24 were the most satisfied, while women’s average satisfaction (2.39 out of 5) lagged behind men’s. The 19 participants with disabilities returned a score of 2.7 out of 5.
AI-powered analysis
The platform’s built-in AI model generated its own reading of the Harare results, finding that three-quarters of respondents rated water-quality satisfaction as poor and describing the pattern as a “systemic issue” rather than isolated complaints.
The system’s recommendation: consider privatising water management and commission a feasibility study into outsourcing water-quality monitoring and treatment to a private operator.
What residents can do
Citizens can provide feedback on services delivered by local authorities across sectors including waste management, housing, drainage and street lighting.
The platform is intended to strengthen interaction between communities and local authorities while promoting transparency, efficiency and people-centred development.
President Mnangagwa urged members of the public to use the platform constructively, saying meaningful feedback can help drive innovation, improve service delivery and enhance accountability among public office bearers.
“Every Zimbabwean has the opportunity to provide feedback, identify service gaps, and evaluate efficiency in real time”.
What the platform does
The platform is built on the Local Authorities Digital Systems (LADS) software, developed by Harare Institute of Technology innovators, which automates financials, administration, engineering, land management, property oversight, parking, and other critical municipal functions.
LADS has already been deployed to 53 councils, with notable improvements in revenue collection and a reduction in financial leakages reported in Mutare, Masvingo, and Chinhoyi.
The system includes features such as mobile revenue collection, the e-Musika app, e-business licensing, and smart parking solutions aimed at increasing municipal revenues.
The platform also enables citizens to participate in budget consultations using a WhatsApp Chatbot, making inquiries from their homes without queuing.
What’s next
The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works will gazette fresh service delivery targets every September, setting the following year’s targets to coincide with local authorities’ budgeting cycle: 2027 targets this September, 2028 targets in September 2027, and so on.
For Harare residents frustrated by deteriorating services, the platform offers a direct channel to have their say — and their voice now carries weight.
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