Mnangagwa on Monday appointed a new 26-member cabinet following his re-election for a second and final term last month.
Speaking to ZBC, Mugaga said there should be deeper changes in the civil service and those who fail to deliver should be fired. He said:
What is much more of a concern is not necessarily the personalities who comprise the Cabinet, but rather the institutional framework on deliverables.
The culture of delivery must be in place. Those who fail to deliver should be shown the exit door.
It’s also vital to appreciate that Cabinet (ministers) work with permanent secretaries.
We want to believe that, going forward, there will also be a review of the calibre of skills leading different ministries in the form of permanent secretaries.
If that’s done, then we can analyse the impact these Cabinet ministers will have.
Ministers provide policy direction in government, with Permanent Secretaries responsible for running the Ministries.
Permanent Secretaries, who act as the CEOs of Ministries, are supported by directors of various units.
In 2021, Mnangagwa introduced performance-based contracts for Cabinet Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and heads of parastatals.
Meanwhile, Mnangagwa retained several individuals from the previous cabinet, among them Mthuli Ncube (Finance and Investment Promotion), Kazembe Kazembe (Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage), Ziyambi Ziyambi (Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs) Anxious Masuka (Lands and Agriculture), Amon Murwira (Higher and Tertiary Education) Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri (Defence and Security), and Frederick Shava (Foreign Affairs and International Trade).