By a Correspondent
Gweru City Council won first prize in the Parastatals and Service Providers category at the Midlands Agricultural Show, strengthening the local authority’s growing record of recognition at major exhibitions.
The award comes a year after the council finished as runner-up in the same category, with Redcliff Municipality taking the top prize.
Gweru City Council’s latest achievement highlights its continued efforts to promote the city, engage residents and stakeholders, and showcase initiatives aimed at improving service delivery.
The local authority has also maintained a strong presence at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), where it was this year’s runner-up in the Local Authorities category after winning the award last year.
Council spokesperson Vimbai Chingwaramusee said the Midlands Agricultural Show award was a significant achievement and a boost to the council’s efforts to improve its operations and public image.
“We are thrilled and excited as a local authority to have received the best position prize. To us, it is a plus and shows that we can continue improving the City of Gweru,” Chingwaramusee said.
She thanked residents, clients and other stakeholders for supporting the council and visiting its exhibition stand.
“We would like to thank all stakeholders, our valued residents and clients for supporting us throughout the journey, as well as everyone who visited our stand,” she said.
Chingwaramusee said the Midlands Agricultural Show provided the council with an important opportunity to interact with residents and other stakeholders while explaining its programmes and service-delivery initiatives.
She said the exhibition also allowed council to promote its campaign against littering and encourage residents to play a greater role in keeping the city clean.
“We have been moving around with the ‘No to Litter’ campaign, and the Midlands Show was a good platform for us to have face-to-face interaction with our stakeholders, clients and residents,” she said.
The council spokesperson said the latest award would further motivate the local authority to strengthen the Gweru City Council brand while continuing to improve services for residents.
Other winners at the Midlands Show included the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services in the Government Ministries category and the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) in the Private Sector category.
The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service won the Uniformed Forces category, while Thornhill High School and Cecil John Rhodes Primary School won the Secondary and Primary Schools categories respectively.
Midlands State University, the Environmental Management Agency, Nyaradzo Group and the National Social Security Authority were also among the institutions recognised at the show.
Midlands Show Society president Emmanuel Zimbandu said this year’s theme, “Value Addition: The Key to Competitiveness,” was timely as Zimbabwe seeks to strengthen its productive sector and improve the competitiveness of local businesses in domestic and regional markets.
