I’m not going to lie these are interesting times. Just last week the RBZ was crowdsourcing thoughts and ideas on a Central Bank Digital Currency that they are working on. Now the top office that is the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development has shared its WhatsApp contact numbers that anyone can use to reach out to them.
MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Ministry of Finance and Economic Development Twitter page
PUBLIC NOTICE
MINISTRY WHATSAPP NUMBERS
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, is pleased to advise stakeholders that the Ministry is now accessible and reachable via WhatsApp on the following numbers.
1. +263 719 567 051 and
2. +263 719 567 113
Kindly please note that the numbers will be used exclusively for WhatsApp messaging and SMS texting only. Phone calls are strictly not allowed and the Public is advised to use normal Ministry of Finance and Economic Development contact details indicated below.
The platforms will be used for consultation purposes, surveys and for general engagement with stakeholders. Further. stakeholders can also use the platforms to make enquiries and queries on services rendered by the Ministry as well as to share feedback on Ministry services and programmes.
The Ministry has provided these platforms out of the realisation that we need to provide diverse communication channels to ensure that no one is left behind as we progress on our journey towards Vision 2030.
MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
16 November 2022
Availability
In case anyone was curious, no, the number is not managed by a bot. It is run by humans and the availability of the number is 9am to 6pm from Monday to Friday and out of commission on weekends. It’s also strictly for WhatsApp as mentioned in their press statement.
There was once a time when access to such offices was reserved for individuals of elevated social standing. Now it’s coming more open to more members of the public. It’s still yet to be seen whether or not it will be a channel providing useful assistance to the public it’s meant to serve. Try it out and comment your experience.
11 comments
Let’s say I have assets registered in my name but I’m not aware of it…if I inquire would the ministry reveal all assets registered in my name whether it’s cars or houses or that’s Zimra’s jurisdiction?
Perfect question to send through to their WhatsApp number
Sure thing, thanks for putting us on.
The biggest problem is Zimbabwean government ministries and departments don’t want to publicize status updates via their websites and social media accounts.
Providing a whatsapp contact is not an effective way to disseminate up-to-date statuses which is the most pressing communication problem. Dealing with hundreds of queries when you refuse to broadcast the answers to the most frequently asked questions sounds silly. Up-to-date status broadcasts can eliminate up to 80% of queries fielded to the whatsapp line and prevent frustrations of delays in getting timely responses if ever you get a response at all. Up to 90% of queries I have sent to Zimbabwean organizations have gone unresponded to.
Eg EcoSure doesn’t provide what are the benefits provided for each package they offer. Two months later there is no response to my query. Even when I ready to make a purchase my queries have been ignored by potential vendors and service providers. That’s Zimbabwean attitude!
Zimbabweans firms are indeed vrry bad at customer query handling as well as customer service,I mean there’s ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE customer service at most banks,MNO shops like ECONET,I seriously wonder if those customer service agents are really trained for their job,most of the times women are employed to deal with customers,but some of the women might not even have a basic knowledge of what they’re selling tobthe customer,how terrible
A certain bank used to REQUIRE your name and account number, before answering a simple question: Is Blue 247 up?
If the government can’t maintain informative websites what chance is there the whatsapp app line will be helpful. Websites mostly don’t work, social media sites are just for self-congratulatory propaganda! What a government!
I think the problem with most of these government departments and institutions is firstly lack of computerized record keeping. Now with such an absence, it becomes difficult to access and retrieve data or information on time. All records are stored in physical paper format and in different rooms or offices which may be km apart.
Interesting
We are humbly requesting for you to scrap off the 2% ..the poor becomes poorer for sure
With such a void, it is now challenging to quickly access and recover data or information. All records are kept on paper in separate rooms or offices that may be kilometers apart.