The delivery of public services to the South African people is an issue that needs to be addressed urgently, according to a White Paper from the South African Department of Public Service and Administration. The Public Service can be transformed from an inefficient, ineffective, bureaucratic organisation by moving towards an overarching culture of customer care. Embracing the idea that citizens are customers, the paper argues, will ensure that citizens are listened to, respected and therefore delivered an acceptable level of service.
The new ethos is encapsulated in the paper’s ‘watchword’, ,Batho Pele, a Sesotho adage meaning ‘people first’. This is to be adopted by all areas of the public sector at both national and provincial levels, including the police, the Defence Force and the Intelligence Service. It will eventually be extended to relationships with the wider community, through partnerships and ‘areas of cooperation’ with business and industry.
The Batho Pele principle is based on eight service principles: consultation; service standards; access; courtesy; information; openness and transparency; redress; and value for money. Heads of Departments are responsible for implementing these principles in Service Delivery Improvement Programme Plans, containing the details of how Batho Pele is to be carried out.
The paper identifies several imperatives for the delivery and implementation of Batho Pele. These are that:
- Consultation with citizens needs to be about current services and the possibility of new services. The methods of consultation should suit the characteristics of the users of the services and should include citizens previously denied services. The results of consultations must be made public.
- The service standards should be measurable and the level of service should be ‘demanding, but realistic’. Both the standards and results should be published annually.
- Targets must be set for increasing access and the barriers to access must be addressed.
- Departments need to specify standards in Department Codes of Conduct, which must be monitored and included in training programmes.
- Current and accurate information about the service that departments provide should be made available through a variety of media and in different languages. Names and contact details should be made available for further information and advice.
- Openness and transparency will be ensured through the publication of an Annual Report to Citizens.
- Heads of Departments should review complaints and procedures for complaints to ensure that mistakes or failures are remedied.
- Departments will be required to identify areas where efficiency and savings can be made.
- Rewards should be made for innovation, and the Public Service working environment should be one that encourages good performance.
