Tendai Muererwa
​Mutare-The City of Mutare has delivered its State of the City Address for the first half of 2026, mapping out a bold journey towards its Vision 2030 goal of becoming a prime investment destination and a leader in municipal service delivery.
Rooted in the country’s National Development Strategy 2, the city’s performance is legally tied to the strict Minimum Service Delivery Standards set by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works under Statutory Instrument 170 of 2025 and Statutory Instrument 69 of 2026.
​Reflecting on a highly successful period, the municipality celebrated its receipt of the prestigious 2025 President’s Award for Performance Excellence in Service Delivery. At the same awards, Mutare’s Town Clerk Blessing Chafesuka, was named the best Town Clerk in Zimbabwe. This milestone set a high benchmark for the first half of 2026, forcing the local authority to defend its top spot through extensive infrastructural development.
​Key milestones achieved during the first six months of the year span several sectors, including education and technology. The city successfully modernized its education infrastructure by delivering an ICT computer laboratory at Chikanga Primary School and new classroom expansion blocks at Hobhouse Primary School. On the roads, Mutare introduced a modernized traffic management system, commissioning AI-powered traffic lights equipped with integrated surveillance and traffic-counting capabilities at the busy intersections of Robert Mugabe and Herbert Chitepo. Furthermore, the operational fleet was recapitalized with new utility vehicles and a tipper truck, projects commissioned by the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Manicaland, Misheck Mugadza.
​Leadership and environmental sustainability also saw major updates. The city boosted its institutional management by recruiting four substantive directors across critical areas: Chamber Secretary, Director of Spatial Planning, Director of Health Services and Director of Finance. To align with conservation efforts, the municipality successfully facilitated the gazetting and protection of 18 ecologically sensitive wetland sites. On the social front, Mutare launched the Senior Citizens Social Development Programme in Sakubva to combat isolation among the elderly and hosted the “Pride of Mutare” international boxing tournament, paving the way for the launch of the City of Mutare Boxing Academy.
​Despite these achievements, the local authority admitted to facing severe macroeconomic and operational headwinds. Escalating fuel prices heavily impacted daily operations and procurement. Financially, the city’s liquidity remains under severe strain due to mounting debts owed by residents, private companies, government departments, and other authorities. Compounding the issue, the non-receipt of devolution funds over the past two years has forced the Council to pre-finance critical infrastructure out of its own limited resources. Road infrastructure remains a major point of concern, noted as the weakest-performing area in a recent client satisfaction survey, largely due to wholly inadequate funding allocations from ZINARA and outstanding funds promised from the Government for road rehabilitation committed during the Sanganai Conference.
​Looking ahead, Mutare has already met critical planning milestones mandated by President Mnangagwa’s Call to Action, successfully completing both its Master Plans and Valuation Rolls. The Mutare Central Business District Local Development Plan has been finalized to guide urban renewal, and work has commenced on the Sakubva Local Development Plan to modernize one of the city’s oldest suburbs. Future developments for the second half of the year include the commencement of the Beira Corridor Primary School and the implementation of a comprehensive Local Economic Development Plan.
​In a long-term institutional transformation effort, the council is working alongside the Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences (MSUAS) to develop a digital transformation strategy. This initiative, driven by baseline data and ICT strategy, is poised to reshape governance and accelerate digital service delivery. Despite fiscal hurdles, the city closed the first half of 2026 with an increased revenue collection efficiency, rising employee and client satisfaction indices and a perfect 100% statutory compliance rate, signaling that Mutare remains firmly open for business.
