By Beverly Bizeki
In a stunning display of creativity and innovation, Masvingo City Council wowed both judges and visitors alike at the just-ended 64th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) winning the coveted Best Exhibit in Civic Participation Category award.
Masvingo City Mayor and Ward 4 Councilor Alec Tabe told TellZim News that the local authority was ahead in terms of using digital technologies to improve service delivery which is most likely what stood out in the competition.
“The judges looked at innovations that councils were doing in line with the theme “Innovation: The Catalyst to Industrialization and Trade. I believe what stood out most on our stand is both digital aspects and how the council is promoting trade and industrialization in Masvingo including aspects like tourism, zoning, and allocation of stands as well as investment opportunities.
“We have introduced online platforms for payment of bills as well as application and allocation of stands among others. The judges went through the local authorities’ checking technological advancements and we were probably the best.
“As a city, we are happy with the performance as this is the second award that we have gotten this year with our Town Clerk Engineer Edward Mukaratirwa having received the top award for best performance in urban local authorities. These are indicators that our city is performing well in terms of providing services to residents,” said Tabe.
Tabe said online payment platforms were coming in handy in terms of revenue collection while online application and allocation of stands increase transparency and efficiency.
“The online payment platforms improve revenue collection, they decongest people at our centres while enabling our clients to pay for services in the comfort of their homes. The online waiting list’ platform there is increased transparency as selection for qualification is done automatically, it can check whether one owns properties or not, it can conduct an individual selection of names on the waiting list,” said Tabe.
The ZITF 2024 edition was held under the theme “Innovation: The Catalyst to Industrialization and Trade” which showed that innovation, industrialization, and trade are key forces in economic growth and progress.
The 2024 edition which ran from April 23 to 27 was officially opened by Kenyan President William Ruto.
Masvingo City boasts of other services such as smart parking, smart markets, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), E-business licensing, smart water meter reading and system-generated payment plans.
The local authority is reveling in glory as recently Masvingo Town Clerk Engineer Edward Mukaratirwa won a presidential best-performing town clerk for urban local authorities’ award.
