By Chris Khumalo

KwaZulu-Natal Premier S'bu Ndebele has launched a citizens' charter that commits all provincial public servants to delivering efficient and prompt service.

First mentioned by Ndebele during his state of the province address earlier this year, the document seeks to bind the provincial public service to a contract to serve the people of KwaZulu-Natal “diligently and humanly”.

The concept is borrowed from the successful British Citizens' Charter that was introduced by former Premier John Major in 1991.

Launching the charter in the presence of cabinet members and heads of department this week, Ndebele said that for the charter to be successfully implemented, each department would need to spell out what it sought to deliver to the people and within what timeframe.

Ndebele acknowledged that service has been poor in the past, with rude and inconsiderate public servants shutting doors on citizens.

"Public servants have more often than not identified themselves as ‘yebo’ (‘yes’) on the telephone, leaving the caller confused as to whether ‘yebo’ is the department or the person answering the telephone.

"Our citizens have often been served by nameless faces or by people whose name tags are upside down," he said.

Ndebele said the launching of the charter was meant to be a "lever for change" for the whole public service and an instrument that offered citizens, as customers of the provincial government, a choice.

"The charter is not meant to be a quick-fix solution, but aspires to create a public service that provides efficient, accountable and reliable service delivery and implants pride among public servants," he said.

Ndebele said individual public servants should see themselves as personally responsible for service delivery beyond their formal areas of work.

"For senior managers, it means steering the proverbial 'ship'. A lack of steering skills translates into a sinking ship. The citizen's charter thus demands that senior managers equip themselves with the right analytical skills and the nerve to challenge the assumptions of 'business as usual'," he said.

As a cabinet initiative, it is the duty of ministers to ensure the provisions of the charter are implemented.

The charter also suggests that there will be rewards for those public servants who do their best in serving the citizens.

Source: BuaNews