FAREWELL MESSAGE
AMBASSADOR JONATHAN WUTAWUNASHE RETIRES FROM THE SERVICE COMMISSIONS
It is with mixed sentiments that the Public Service Commission bids farewell to Ambassador Jonathan Wutawunashe who has been at the helm of Zimbabwe’s Service Commissions for the past four years since 2018. There is a pervading sense of great loss laced with deeply- felt sadness at the leaving of a public administration luminary and vital cog in the organisation. These feelings are, however, underscored by sentiments of appreciation and pride to have benefitted immensely from and been associated intricately with the calibre of leadership and stewardship Amb. Wutawunashe brought to the Service Commissions.
Herculean task
As Secretary to the Service Commissions, Amb. Wutawunashe’s portfolio included four critical Service Commissions, namely - Public Service Commission; Defence Forces Service Commission; Police Service Commission; and Prisons and Correctional Service Commission. Being in charge of all these critical levers of service has been a task of Herculean proportions; but Amb. Wutawunashe has, for four long years, taken it all in stride and diligently delivered on the mandate without missing a beat.
Inevitably, this illustrious journey has come to an end.
The Secretary to the Service Commissions retired on 19 September, 2022 on the back of numerous notable successes. Suffice it to point out that, Amb. Wutawunashe demonstrated long before he joined the Service Commissions, that he was a tried and tested
statesman with the public service world always his oyster.
Diplomatic footprint
Beginning his career as a public servant in 1980, Amb. Wutawunashe served in various capacities in Government, including being a Diplomat. As a Diplomat he represented Zimbabwe in North America, Europe and Asia. His 42 years of serving the nation saw Amb. Wutawunashe articulating Government Policy and defending Zimbabwe’ s positions on various issues, at numerous fora and in varying capacities. He has contributed to and been part of significant changes in Government, including holding key service portfolios in the Second Republic including that of the now-ended office of Secretary Service Commissions.
Amb. Wutawunashe joined the Public Service Commission at a time when the organisation was at the cusp of institutional renewal. The Second Republic was setting up sail. There was a new national impetus with the advent of fresh national imperatives, as articulated by His Excellency, the President, Cde Dr Emmerson Mnangagwa, in the game-changing Vision 2030. In that wave of change, as was the case for many other state institutions, transformation was beckoning at the Commission. The task ahead was lofty and gigantic - there were bricks upon bricks and stones upon stones of a vast human capital force that needed
layering and structuring - and being no Lilliput, Amb. Wutawunashe with his team, and under the Chairmanship of Dr Vincent Hungwe, rose to the occasion. The Commission embarked on the development of a strategic plan which, on the back of some intensive self-introspection and toothcomb assessment of whether or not the organisation and its departments were fit for purpose; was so far reaching, it revolutionised the way things were done at the institution. The structure of the Commission was re-configured and work streams re-purposed to meet demands of the Second Republic and in line with Vision 2030.
More for the Civil Servants
This transformation brought forth a new focus on talent management as opposed to plain personnel management of the old. There was also an intensified focus on benefits that accrue to the workforce. This saw the strengthening of the remuneration framework by creating products such as the Government Employees Mutual Savings (GEMS) Fund aimed at wealth creation, inculcating a culture of savings and at providing a source of affordable loans for civil servants needing urgent boost in finances for income generating projects, home improvement or educational assistance, among other needs. The introduction of the GEMS Fund was aimed at countering some rent-seeking behaviours
presenting in the market place that were making life difficult for the civil servants. There was also, during his tenure, the increase in the number of Commission buses thereby making convenient transportation accessible to civil servants at a nominal fare, both for urban and rural based civil servants. Added to other benefits such as the rebate on Vehicle Import Duty which affords qualifying civil servants the opportunity to import vehicles duty-free, housing loan guarantees and other accommodation provision schemes for public servants, this basket of non-monetary incentives keeps growing.
Defined benefit pension scheme
Amb. Wutawunashe’s tenure also coincided with the Cabinet Decision to transform the pension scheme of Government workers from the pay-as-you-go system and its unpredictabilities, to become one of a defined benefit option. This has seen the Public Service Pension Fund transformed into a real performing fund with investments that grow and are able to guarantee employees their dues when they retire. Within the first two years there was phenomenal growth of the Pension Fund owing to a menu of investments that include residential, commercial, and industrial properties, money market, equity investments, alternative
investments and gold coins.
Savvy at media relations and public engagements, the charismatic Amb. Wutawunashe also oversaw a civil service that transformed itself from an opaque, ill-understood entity to a more open, more transparent, more visible and more accessible establishment that opened its doors and arms to the press from across a polarised divide, allowing the public and other stakeholders, through various media content - articles, productions and engagements – a front row seat on developments at the Service Commissions. As a keen multi-media expert himself, Amb. Wutawunashe pushed for the establishment of a mini-studio at the Public Service Commission with a view to enhancing the visibility of the Public Service and the profile of the country at large, more so, in the broader context of Building the Image of the Country and in pursuit of national imperatives.
Myriad of achievements
Other Commission successes during Secretary Wutawunashe’s tenure, include the following: -
The Public Service Commission easing well into its new function as a member of the Tripartite and participating not just in matters of personnel performance but also in other issues of central Government requiring transformation;
Reduction of the civil servants’ wage bill from over 90 percent of national revenue to below 50 percent. Itwas also during this period that civil servants’ pay dates, which had towards the end of the First Republic started to be erratic and denoting fiscal unpredictability, normalised and, today, the Second Republic boasts a predictable, steady, well-supplied and supported payroll schedule;
The establishment of transformative structures and nomenclatures for Line Ministries in line with the Devolution and Decentralisation Agenda leading to the defining and deploying of new functions and staff; Very notable in this context is the deployment of, among others, Economists to the provinces;
The establishment and operationalisation of the Public Service Academy;
Launching of the Sexual Harassment Policy, work is also ongoing on a Disability Policy; and
Work to amend the State Service Pensions Bill; and the alignment of the Public Service Amendment Bill to the Constitution; is nearing completion.
Rising above the coronavirus challenge
Amb. Wutawunashe will also be remembered for being at the helm of the Public Service during one of the most challenging times in contemporary history. COVID-19 presented severe challenges internationally and Zimbabwe was not spared. Against this global scourge, Ambassador Wutawunashe with illustrious leadership, under the visionary leadership of His Excellency the President, Cde Dr Mnangagwa and in close collaborative leadership of the astute and highly strategic Service Commissions Chairperson, Dr Hungwe, helped manage the various aspects of COVID-19 response. While most other businesses closed their doors in the face of the vicious and unrelenting coronavirus, the civil service continued unfailingly to field frontline men and women to seamlessly administer
Zimbabwe albeit with skeletal staff.