The ‘Best Minister’ Mystery: Why Barbara Rwodzi Won and What the Cabinet Review Really Hides

HARARE — On a sweltering Monday in the capital, the corridors of power were abuzz with a familiar ritual of the ‘New Dispensation’. The occasion was the 2025 Performance Evaluation Awards, a high-profile ceremony where the Zimbabwean government publicly grades its own homework. At the centre of the festivities stood Barbara Rwodzi, the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, who was crowned the “best-performing minister of 2025”. While the state-controlled media and government spin doctors have been quick to celebrate this as a triumph of accountability, a deeper investigation into the “hidden details” of these performance contracts reveals a far more complex and troubling picture.

The awards, presided over by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, are designed to project an image of a government that is transparent, efficient, and results-oriented. During the ceremony, Mnangagwa reminded his officials of their solemn duty.

“Today’s Performance Contract Signing Ceremony represents new obligations to ensure accountability, excellence and results-oriented leadership. As we append signatures to the Performance Contracts, let us always remember the ordinary citizens of our beloved motherland, Zimbabwe, whom we must serve wholeheartedly,” the President stated.

However, for many ordinary Zimbabweans struggling with a crumbling economy and failing public services, these words ring hollow. The “best minister” title, critics argue, is less about genuine excellence and more about a political tool used to promote certain factions within the ruling party. Behind the polished trophies and the handshakes lies a system that many have dismissed as a “semantic veil” for poor governance.

The Numbers and the Narrative

To understand the mystery of Barbara Rwodzi’s victory, one must first look at the criteria used for these evaluations. The government claims to use clear and measurable targets, yet the full details of these performance contracts remain shrouded in secrecy. Of the 25 cabinet ministers evaluated, 20 reportedly met their targets, while five fell below the mark but remained within what the government calls an “acceptable variance”.

While the top three are celebrated, the identities and specific failures of those who “failed” are not made public. This lack of transparency raises a fundamental question: what is the cabinet review really hiding? If the purpose of the exercise is public accountability, why are the failures of the state’s most powerful officials kept behind closed doors?

The investigation suggests that the evaluation system may be more of a “box-ticking” exercise than a true measure of impact. A minister might be rewarded for the successful completion of administrative tasks—attending meetings, drafting policy papers, or launching small-scale projects—while the broader sector they oversee continues to decline. In the case of the tourism sector, the government points to a 15 per cent rise in foreign arrivals in the third quarter of 2025 as evidence of Rwodzi’s success. Yet, many ask whether this “growth” is reflected in the pockets of ordinary Zimbabweans or merely in the luxury hotels of Victoria Falls.

The Tourism Paradox

The story of “Tourism’s Rwodzi” is a study in contrasts. In the resort town of Victoria Falls, boutique hotels have emerged as key drivers of growth, with average room occupancy seeing a 17 per cent hike. The sector reportedly generated over $1.1 billion in revenue, a figure that sounds impressive on paper. However, just a few kilometres away from the manicured lawns and five-star buffets of the luxury lodges, the reality for the local community is one of pervasive poverty.

Local residents, who should be the primary beneficiaries of a thriving tourism industry, often find themselves sidelined. The jobs created are frequently low-paying and seasonal, while the bulk of the profits are repatriated by foreign-owned hotel chains or disappear into the coffers of a well-connected elite. The growth that the government celebrates appears to be an island of prosperity in a sea of economic hardship.

“We see the tourists coming and going, and we hear about the millions of dollars being made,” says one local resident who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution. “But for us, the price of bread is still going up, the clinics have no medicine, and our children cannot afford to go to school. If the minister is doing so well, why is our life getting harder?”

A “Semantic Veil” for Failure

The performance contract system has been criticised by seasoned observers as a way to distract from the systemic failures of the New Dispensation. By focusing on individual “performance”, the government avoids addressing the structural issues that continue to plague the country. One senior civil servant, speaking on condition of anonymity, was blunt in their assessment.

“Performance contracts will not fix decades of corruption. You can have the best-looking contract in the world, but if the system is rigged and the resources are being looted, the people will still suffer.”

The investigation found that while ministers are being handed awards, the state of the economy, health, and education sectors remains dire. A public clash recently erupted within the cabinet over the worsening healthcare crisis, as the Ministry of Health struggled to cope with a lack of basic supplies and a brain drain of medical professionals. One minister even faced political backlash after publicly revealing the “deeply moving” and appalling conditions at a major public hospital.

In the education sector, the story is similar. Despite official rhetoric about empowerment, many schools lack textbooks, qualified teachers, and basic infrastructure. The cabinet review hides these uncomfortable truths, choosing instead to focus on the “successful completion” of targets that may have little to do with the actual quality of service delivery.

The Conspiracy of the Awards

There is also a growing suspicion that the “Best Minister” title is being used as a pawn in the internal power struggles of the ruling party. In a political environment where factionalism is rife, an award from the President is a powerful signal of favour. By elevating certain ministers, the leadership can promote its preferred successors or marginalise those who are seen as a threat.

The evaluation of local authorities further highlights this discrepancy. While cabinet ministers are largely praised, urban and rural councils were described as the “worst performers” of 2025. This shift of blame onto local government—often controlled by the opposition or under-resourced by the central treasury—is a classic political tactic. It allows the central government to claim excellence for itself while scapegoating others for the lack of service delivery on the ground.

Public Service or Political Theatre?

As the 2026 performance contracts are signed, the Zimbabwean public is left to wonder: what is the difference between a “political award” and a “public service”? A true public service would be measured by the availability of clean water, the reliability of the electricity grid, the quality of the healthcare system, and the stability of the currency. By these measures, the “best-performing” government in the world would be hard-pressed to claim success in Zimbabwe today.

The ‘Best Minister’ mystery is not just about Barbara Rwodzi or the tourism sector. It is a reflection of a governance model that prioritises optics over substance. It is a system where “accountability” is a choreographed event rather than a daily practice. Until the performance contracts are made public and the criteria are aligned with the actual needs of the citizens, these awards will remain nothing more than a hollow exercise in self-congratulation.

The investigation into the 2025 cabinet review reveals that the government is more interested in managing perceptions than in solving problems. If the ministers are truly doing as well as the President claims, then the country’s ongoing challenges are even more baffling. The reality, however, is likely much simpler: the awards are a distraction, a “semantic veil” designed to hide the fact that for most Zimbabweans, the New Dispensation has failed to deliver on its promises.

As the sun sets over the luxury hotels of Victoria Falls, the “Best Minister” of 2025 may be celebrating her victory. But in the townships and rural villages of Zimbabwe, the search for genuine excellence and public service continues. The mystery remains, and the people are still waiting for the results that actually matter.

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