President Emmerson Mnangagwa has hinted at a possible Cabinet reshuffle, saying government now has clearer tools to assess which ministers are delivering and which are falling short.
Speaking in an interview with the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, Mnangagwa said the Results Based Management system had strengthened government’s ability to track ministerial performance, leaving little room for complacency.
“No minister is sitting back because the results tell whether you are working or not. We now know which ministers are on the job and which ones are not,” he said.
While noting that he has not dismissed any ministers, Mnangagwa said performance assessments had given him a clear picture of where changes could be made if necessary.
“I have never fired anybody, but I know the scale as to which minister is actually fit to be where they are. If any day I want to make a decision, I know where the axe should go,” he said.
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The President said the RBM framework was unlocking value in public service delivery by linking ministerial performance to measurable outcomes across government.
His remarks follow a warning he issued during the final Cabinet meeting of 2025, where he raised concerns over attendance, work ethic and the quality of submissions presented before Cabinet.
At that meeting, Mnangagwa urged ministers to prioritise attendance at Cabinet and Cabinet committee sittings, cautioning against a growing tendency to miss meetings due to competing engagements. He stressed that Cabinet business should take precedence over all other government duties.
While describing attendance levels in 2025 as “encouraging”, the President said there was still room for improvement and reiterated that underperformance would not be tolerated, particularly among officials often referred to as “dead wood”.
He also linked attendance to the quality of Cabinet deliberations, warning that poorly prepared memoranda weakened decision-making. Ministers were urged to rigorously scrutinise submissions and assess whether their ministries had met targets set at the start of the 2025 Cabinet Calendar.
Mnangagwa said reforms implemented under the National Development Strategy 1 had improved public sector efficiency by reducing red tape and introducing modern performance management and digital systems.
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