UN Commends Zimbabwe On Data Systems Strengthening   lnitiatives   

 By Wallace Mawire

United Nations Zimbabwe has commended the government of Zimbabwe for its commitment to strengthening monitoring, evaluation and data systems which the organization has said are essential for informed decision making and evidence based policy making. Henry Damisoni, speaking on behalf of the United Nations

Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator at a recent whole of government capacity building workshop on evaluation management and data collection and analysis, UN Zimbabwe said the government of Zimbabwe has made significant strides in strengthening monitoring and evaluation at both national and subnational levels.                                                                                     

The key achievements commended by the UN which have been attained by the government of Zimbabwe include establishment and prioritization of capacity building for monitoring and evaluation units across ministries, departments and agencies, the successful conduct of three Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) presented at the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) showcasing Zimbabwe's commitment to global SDGs accountability, the completion of six Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) positioning the country as a leader in localized SDGs monitoring and strenghtening subnational reporting mechanisms and the integration of monitoring and evaluation in the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) reinforcing the importance of results-based management in achieving Vision22030.                                                                                           

"These milestones demonstrate Zimbabwe's unwavering commitment to evidence based governance and it's efforts to strengthen the role of data driven evaluations in policy and Programme implementation," Damisoni said.

The UN said the workshop has been convened at a crucial time as efforts are intensified to achieve the SDGs by 2030.                                                             

The UN said it recognizes that for the SDGs to be met, countries must have robust, data driven evaluation systems that measure progress, assess impact and provide insights for policy adjustments   UN said that while monitoring tracks progress and research generates new knowledge, evaluation provides governments with credible and objective evidence on what works, what does not work and the reasons.                                             

They added that strengthening data-driven evaluation systems in the country is integral to achieving the goals of the National Vision 2030 agenda aimed at transforming the country into an upper middle income country and advancing the devolution agenda.                       

UN said that by integrating data-driven evaluations, Zimbabwe can enhance policy effectiveness, improve resource allocation, strengthen accountability and transparency, encourage adaptive learning and ensuring equity and inclusivity.                                         

The organization said globally countries are increasingly adopting evaluation policies aligned with international norms and standards to enhance credibility.                                                                   

The UN has also further requested the government of Zimbabwe to continue its commitment to strengthening evaluation capacity and making investments for developing evaluation skills and tools required by evaluation units across government ministries, departments and agencie             

They have also called for prioritization of the implementation of the National Monitoring and Evaluation policy.                                                     

They said the policy encourages all ministries, departments and agencies to allocate financial resources specifically for evaluations, ensuring that evidence based decision making becomes a consistent feature of public administration and governance.                                                         

Speaking on behalf of Dr Joram Gumbo, Special Advisor to the President responsible for monitoring and implementation of government programmes, Permanent Secretary for Monitoring and Evaluation, Madambi said modern and effective governance in fundamentally anchored on data.                                 

She said a data-driven approach ensures that policies are responsive, resources are optimally allocated and progress is measured against clearly defined benchmarks.                                                 

She said in demonstrating it's commitment, government of Zimbabwe has established the National Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning department to oversee the monitoring and evaluation function across all ministries, depart and agencies.                                                                     

She said monitoring and evaluation units were established in all government ministries with designated monitoring and evaluation focal persons serving as the crucial link between ministries and the office of the President and Cabinet.                                                                       

She said to further institutionalized data-driven decision making, government directed that 10% of budgets should be allocated to monitoring and evaluation, with 3% set aside for evaluation to ensure that every programme is systematically tracked and assessed for effectiveness.                         

 She also said as part of the strategy to modernize monitoring and evaluation, Zimbabwe has invested in e-enabled systems such as the Whole of Government Performance Management System and the Electronic Evaluation Database to facilitate e-planning, e-monitoring and e-reporting                 

The digital platforms are reported to enhance coordination, efficiency and real-time reporting across government sectors.