Public service seeks better customer relations
Complaints about the service offered to the public by government offices are so common as to be almost a cliché. But without commenting on how true or false that perception may be, what is clear is that major efforts are underway to improve. News Five’s Marion Ali has more.
Marion Ali, Reporting
Today the Office of Governance and various government departments held the first Public Service Information Day. The event sought to showcase what the public sector has to offer and ways of enhancing those services. Those exhibiting included, but were not limited to, the National Library Services, the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health, and the Belize National Coast Guard. The event follows an initiative that the Office of Governance embarked on a year and a half ago to effect reform within the public service.
Director of the Office of Governance, Myrtle Palacio, says as part of the effort, twenty-eight public officers attended short-term courses abroad and government adopted a strategic direction developed by public officers. The plan places emphasis on customer service and professionalism. Palacio explained that there’s a need for improvement in the various departments because in the end they all represent a single government.
Myrtle Palacio, Director of the Office of Governance
“The public service plays a vital role in providing quality services to all Belizeans; service delivery that is relevant, affordable and effective. As such the services must be delivered by public officers who are responsive, efficient and professional. Hence the importance of investing in the human capital as one of the most critical parts to maintaining good governance practices. Human capital development must be an ongoing process of employing various strategies in people development.”
Four departments: Immigration, General Sales Tax, Customs, and Lands all presented proposals for improved service. Assistant Registrar of the Lands Department, Cesar Diaz, says they have some ambitious plans.
Cesar Diaz, Assistant Registrar, Lands and Survey Dept.
“Come next year we would expect that we will again produce an updated charter which would be seeing some of these service standards being cut by half.”
Marion Ali
“For example?”
Cesar Diaz
“For example in the land registry. The land registry right now is telling you three weeks for a land certificate and systems are now in place that they should be able to issue that within a week after they have become accustomed to the system that they now have in place.”
Marion Ali
“That’s for a land lease or title?”
Cesar Diaz
“Either, either of them.”
Marion Ali
“What about the treatment that people get? We always hear a lot of complaints about an attitude that we have to face when we go into these departments. Are you stressing on that as well”?
Cesar Diaz
“Of course. It’s the duty of the head of sections to ensure that their colleagues treat the public with due respect and providing all the information necessary that we would not mislead any member of the public.”
Meanwhile, Palacio says the public service also finalised its H.I.V/AIDS policy and will implement a strategy framework based on that policy.
Myrtle Palacio
“One specific objective is to develop concrete responses within the public service to deal with issues HIV/AIDS prevention, stigma and discrimination, and the support of officers infected or affected by HIV/AIDS.”
Tomorrow two representatives from the Governance and Development Division at the Commonwealth Secretariat will address public officers on the topic Accountability and Transparency, Preventing Corruption.”
Reporting for News Five, Marion Ali.
