Abstract

Political will is widely recognised as a critical determinant of successful public sector reform and institutional transformation. Within correctional systems undergoing transition from punitive incarceration toward rehabilitation-oriented correctional governance, political commitment significantly influences policy implementation, institutional legitimacy, resource allocation, organisational support, and reform sustainability. This paper examines the contribution of political will to the reformative change management process within the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS). The findings reveal that political will contributes positively toward reformative change through legislative support, constitutional reform, leadership endorsement, and policy direction. However, political commitment remains inconsistently operationalised due to resource constraints, bureaucratic limitations, uneven implementation, and tensions between policy rhetoric and institutional practice. The paper concludes that sustainable reformative change within correctional institutions requires sustained political commitment, institutional accountability, resource investment, participatory governance, and policy consistency capable of translating reform rhetoric into operational transformation.