Parliament flags 27% staffing gap in women’s ministry
By Staff Reporter
BULAWAYO — Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development has raised alarm over a 27% vacancy rate at the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, warning that the shortfall is undermining service delivery at district level.
In its report on the ministry’s third and fourth quarter budget performance for 2025, tabled in Parliament in 2026, the committee said vacancies declined from 689 in the third quarter to 637 in the fourth quarter.
The committee said the Community Empowerment Department was short of 415 Ward Empowerment Officers also known as District Development Officers and 70 Business Development Officers. The ministry also had vacancies for three directors and 11 deputy directors.
The committee said the staffing shortages had reduced programme coverage, delayed implementation, weakened monitoring and evaluation, increased workloads and slowed policy formulation and decision-making.
It said the shortages were particularly serious for communities that depend on district-level officers for women’s empowerment, community development, small-business support and cooperative development programmes.
The ministry attributed the continued vacancies partly to Treasury Circular No. 10 of 2025, which restricted recruitment by ministries, departments and agencies except for critical posts in health, education and security.
Parliament has now recommended that the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion grant a waiver to allow the ministry to recruit for critical posts.The committee said the ministry should prioritise filling District Development Officer positions and provide officers with essential tools of trade, including motorbikes, by December 31, 2026.
The ministry told the committee it had also adjusted its recruitment approach to curb attrition among district officers. It said it was recruiting candidates with a minimum of five Ordinary Level passes because graduates often leave for better-paying jobs.
The report said women made up 55% of the ministry’s workforce as at May 31, 2026, with 989 women compared to 816 men. However, women held only 40% of deputy director positions.
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