Performance Management in Parastatals: The Cases of the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company and the National Railways of Zimbabwe

Abstract

The Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO) and the Zimbabwe
National Railways (NRZ) are parastatals operating in the transport industry. Both
organisations suffered a setback due to the economic structural adjustment
programmes imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), hyperinfl ation, the
current brain drain and the effects of the liberalisation of the transport sector in
Zimbabwe. In a bid to recover from this crunch, both organisations instituted
performance management systems, which were borrowed from the public sector. Now
the question is, “have these performance management systems improved the
effectiveness of parastatals in Zimbabwe?”

Africa Insight Vol. 38 (1) 2008: pp. 118-135