Conference Report of the National Conference on Public Service Delivery

Foreword

1. The context and pressures for change

2. South Africa

3. International experience

4. Commission discussions

5. Conference summary

 

 

University of Fort Hare, Bisho

Foreword

During the first two-and-a-half years of its five-year term, South Africa's first democratically elected government focused primarily on the development of policy frameworks, structures and systems to give effect to the values and principles of the Interim Constitution, 1993 and to lay the foundation for democratic government based on equality, equity and social justice.

Although issues concerning service delivery had not been neglected, much of the new Government's energy had gone into developing an appropriate climate and policy framework for national reconstruction and development. Considerable progress has been made in this regard as can be witnessed by a myriad of policy papers in nearly every sector of government which evolved in the first few years of democratic government. As the new policy frameworks were being put into place, attention increasingly shifted to the most critical issue confronting the South African Public Service today: the issue of service delivery.

It became increasingly apparent to both policy-makers and policy implementers that a significant expansion in the scope and quality of service provision was not possible within the traditional delivery approaches and systems. In fact, there was a growing expression of the need for a massive leap into a new service delivery paradigm if the Public Service, both national and provincial, is to be an effective instrument of serving the democratic needs of the country. More specifically, a need was expressed for a major review of the existing approaches and institutions of delivery with a view to exploring new alternatives. It was argued that such alternatives should not only be motivated for at the level of policy options, but increasingly bring into the culture and work place of civil servants a new way of doing the traditional activities of the Public Service.

That the year 1997 was designated 'The Year of Delivery' was itself an indication of the seriousness with which the issue of service delivery was held in public policy circles. And it was against this background that the idea for a National Conference on Public Service Delivery was born.

In response to this challenge, the Ministry for the Public Service and Administration (MPSA) and in particular the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) began to make the issue of service delivery a major focus of concern. This took the form of drafting a Green Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery, and the launch of the Batho Pele ('People First') Service Delivery initiative. At the same time, the MPSA and DPSA, in close collaboration with the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration (PCPSA) and the Fort Hare Institute of Government (FHIG), initiated planning for a major National Conference on Service Delivery.

A Steering Committee, comprising Dr Paseka Ncholo, Director-General, DPSA, who also represented Minister Zola Skweyiya (MPSA), Dr Derrick Swartz, Director of FHIG, and Mr Salie Manie, Chairperson of the PCPSA, agreed on the core objectives of the Conference:

• to review the present state of service delivery in the Public Service, and in particular to identify existing obstacles to effective Public Service delivery;
• to generate innovative strategies for implementing a new policy framework on service delivery as contained in the Green Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery;
• to develop new operational guidelines and practical ways for its effective implementation by managers and service providers;
• to reflect on lessons in service delivery reforms from other countries;

The Conference, which took place on 27 and 28 February 1997 at the Bisho campus of the University of Fort Hare in the Eastern Cape Province, was sponsored by the British Department for International Development (DFID) (formerly ODA) and the Development Bank of South Africa.

Conference participants included representatives from national departments and provincial administrations, including both senior policy makers and operational managers directly responsible for service provision in line function departments, local government representatives, representatives from parastatal bodies, Members of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures, public management specialists, private sector specialists, NGO representatives, representatives from the unions and civic organisations, and experts from Malaysia, Ghana and the UK.

This Conference Report has been compiled in response to widespread requests from Conference participants for a wider discussion and use of its findings, not only at the level of policy options, but also the potentially rich contribution it could make in the new implementation 'tool-kit' for public service managers and service providers at central, provincial and local government levels.

We hope that you will find the Report both informative and instructive.

Signed

Minister for the PSA
Director-General, DPSA
Director, FHIG
Chairperson,PCPSA

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1. The context and pressures for change

The Bisho Conference took place at a time of major pressures for a renewed focus on the issue of 'service delivery' in South Africa. These pressures were directly the result of the far-reaching process of political transformation taking place in South Africa at the time as well as, more indirectly, major rethinking about the nature and role of public sector organisations in many developing and developed countries. Central to this rethinking has been major a re-definition and realignment of the traditional ways in which service provision is managed in the public service.

On the international front, public sector organisations during the 1980's in many countries came under tremendous pressures to reform. These pressures stemmed largely from the economic situation in many parts of the industrialised world, particularly in North America and Western Europe. Faced with the spectre of recession, fiscal crises and rising levels of inflation, many governments, driven by powerful electoral pressures, had put their public services under intense scrutiny. In part, the pressures were fiscal; but they were also motivated by public demand for better services.

In South Africa, the impulse for this concern for service delivery reform stemmed directly from the triumph of democracy and the promise made by the newly elected government of a better life for all, especially the most historically-disadvantaged sectors of society. The Public Service - the principal vehicle through which this promise for a better life was to be accomplished - naturally became the centerpiece of public attention. Its transformation became a major policy imperative. This commitment is eloquently stated in the new Constitution (1996).

With the adoption of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) White Paper (1994) and White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service (1995), a new policy framework defining the role of the public service was put into place, laying considerable emphasis on a public service which is:

• more responsive and relevant to the needs of citizens
• more efficient and effective in the use of public resources
• more representative of the diversity and needs of all, especially, the most disadvantaged sectors of society

With the policy framework in place, the critical issue increasingly became the question of service delivery itself. What is meant by 'service' in the public sector? How different and how similar is this from the private sector? How can we compel or encourage greater public sector responsiveness in service delivery? What can we learn from recent experiences in other countries? Are there any pioneering efforts underway in parts of the South African Public Service which could be examined as examples of 'best practice' and how can these experiments be replicated in other parts of the Public Service? These were some of the questions that the Bisho Conference attempted to tackle.

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2. South Africa

2.1. The current state of public service delivery

Introducing a presentation on the current state of public service delivery in South Africa, Walter Mbete, Gauteng Provincial Service Commissioner, quoted Cheryl Carolus, Acting General Secretary of the ANC, as saying:

" The New South Africa is in the making as service delivery is taking place. In every part of the country there are hives of activity; streets are being tarred; waste collection is improving; telecommunication lines are being installed; schools and clinics are being built or renovated."

Mr Mbete highlighted the following achievements as evidence of this:

• The national Department of Health has dramatically changed the demographics of service delivery by putting emphasis on Primary Health Care. This is having an impact on the poorest of the poor especially women and children. Free Health Care for pregnant women and children up to the age of 6 is a service delivery breakthrough. The Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1996 will, by providing women with safe and hygienic abortions, save the taxpayer about R50 million per annum previously spent in dealing with the consequences of back street disasters
• The national Department of Education has managed to amalgamate a plethora of Education Departments into a single department and the opportunity for an equal educational footing for all future generations is becoming a reality. Curriculum 2005 developed by the Department of Education will equip South Africans with skills that will enable the country to be globally competitive
• The success of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry in the provision of water to those previously denied access to it is a representative case study for sustainable development. By establishing transparent and democratic Water Committees in even the most rural areas, with a strong representation of women, the department has made a breakthrough in transparent and accountable governance
• The Department of Land Affairs is restoring land back to displaced communities, and the development of agriculture has been successful in ensuring the economic development of the emerging and small farmers from the previously dispossessed communities

2.2. Batho Pele

The political, policy and implementation issues involved in launching the Batho Pele initiative were presented to the Conference by the Minister for the Public Service and Administration and his top management team. Key points were:

Political issues

There is no more important an issue in South Africa than improving the delivery of public services. An efficient, equitable and accountable public service is the hallmark of any democratic society. In view of South Africa's poor democratic history, the Public Service's transformation process has two distinct aims, firstly to improve the delivery of services to all people and secondly to demonstrate that South Africa has become a truly democratic society.

"Public service" is perceived by citizens as more than just national departments and provincial administrations as defined in the Public Service Act, 1994. Generally people do not see any distinction between local government, central government and provincial government. Therefore any failing in one area of government is seen a failing of the public service as a whole.

Although much has been done in the public sector, there is still much to do, specifically in relation to everyday things that the public service gets wrong, such as having inappropriate office hours, untidy waiting areas, long queues at lunch times caused by staff being on lunch breaks, etc. The Constitution, 1996 sets out the basic values and principles which should govern public administration and these must not remain words on paper. Batho Pele aims to turn words into reality.

Batho Pele's principles are simple but ambitious. They are also sufficiently flexible to allow departments to implement them according to local conditions and circumstances.

Batho Pele cannot be delivered overnight as many systems and attitudes have to change. But the process is now underway. Unless the public service transforms its delivery it cannot claim to have achieved the democratic goals that the country fought so hard for.

Policy issues

The public service does not feel the direct power of their customers as does the private sector where customers can vote with their feet. But the 'customer' concept is valid for the public service because it engenders a 'people must come first' attitude which not only benefits the recipients of services but also results in better managed, more productive and cost effective services

The Green Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery explains how the public service should tackle the task of transforming the delivery of public services. In the Green Paper a fresh approach is advocated, which puts pressure on systems, procedures, attitudes and behaviour within the Public Service and reorients them in the citizen's/ customer's favour.

The Green Paper contains a flexible framework for the delivery of public services, which puts citizens/customers first and enables them to hold public servants to account for the service they receive. It also aims to free up the energy and commitment of public servants to introduce more customer-focused ways of working. The framework consists of seven simple national principles, derived from the policy goals set out in the White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service. These are: consultation, service standards, courtesy, information, openness and transparency, responsiveness, and value for money. The principles are broad enough to embrace every public service, yet specific enough to ensure that tangible benefits will result form their application.

All public servants must now gear-up for the challenging and rewarding task of implementing Batho Pele. There is confidence that public servants everywhere can and will meet the challenge.

Implementation issues

The improvement of service delivery cannot be achieved in isolation from other fundamental management changes within the public service. New management tools will be needed, such as: increased responsibility on individual managers for delivering specific results, being matched against increased authority for taking management decisions; the delegation of managerial responsibility and authority to the lowest possible level; and transparency about the results achieved and resources consumed.

The DPSA is busy transforming many outdated systems and practices but the public service should not wait until this and other internal management reforms are completed before embarking on the transformation of service delivery. Because improved service delivery is a matter of extreme urgency, the public service has no choice but to tackle both public service reform and internal management reform simultaneously.

Steps to implementing a service delivery programme include: i) identifying the customer; ii) establishing customers' needs and priorities; iii) establishing the level of service currently provided; iv) identifying the improvement gap between what the customer expects and level of service that is being provided; v) setting service standards; vi) gearing up for delivery in order to ensure that the organisation is able to deliver on what it promises; vii) telling the customers about their standards and viii) monitoring delivery against results and publishing the results.

These steps will be incorporated in guidelines being developed by the DPSA. The DPSA will also be offering other assistance to support departments and provincial administrations.

Implementing Batho Pele will not be a one-off task but a continuous, dynamic process which will go on for many years and which will gather momentum.

2.3. Service Delivery Pilot Schemes

Three pilot departments were selected to pilot DPSA's service delivery initiative. They are the national Departments of Health and of Home Affairs and the Provincial Administration of the North West. Their progress was reported as follows:

2.3.1. Department of Health

A 15 member Departmental Task Team, composed of representatives of all Chief Directorates and Directorates, has been set up to facilitate the development of service standards as provided by the DPSA' s guidelines on the service delivery improvement plan. Each Chief Directorate and Directorate is responsible for producing a plan, and these will then to be incorporated into a departmental plan. Monthly Task Team meetings are held to report on progress and provide mutual support. These meetings are chaired by the Department of Health convenor and DPSA's co-ordinator, who meet fortnightly to monitor the process.

The Department of Health is already making good progress in its drive to service delivery. Consultation with the stakeholders on the goals of the department and standards of services to be provided has been completed. To date the department has produced a draft Patients Charter which is still being consulted on. Plans are underway to devise a communication strategy to popularise and raise awareness of the service delivery initiative and share best practice. The Department has committed itself to finalise its Service Delivery Improvement Plan by the end of 1997.

2.3.2. Department of Home Affairs

The Department of Home Affairs has embarked on a comprehensive programme to develop a Service Delivery Improvement Plan to be finalised end of 1997. A Transformation Workshop was held and addressed by the Deputy Minister, Ms L N Sisulu, following which a series of regional workshops were scheduled and are currently in progress. A National Transformation Unit was launched with the primary responsibility for the Service Delivery programme. The Unit is required to develop a departmental Public Service Delivery Plan which will be informed by responses to a questionnaire which was recently distributed to all departmental staff.

Evidence of improvement in service delivery is already apparent, for example:

• there are now information help desks in most of the public service areas
• suggestions and complaints boxes are being installed in public service areas
• in an effort to bring services closer to the community a regional office was established in Soweto. Discussions are underway with local authorities and other stakeholders towards the establishment of an office in Khayelitsha, before the end of 1997.

2.3.4. Provincial Administration: North-West

Five provincial departments are involved in the pilot project. They are the Departments of Transport, Safety and Security, Housing and Local Government, Economic Affairs and Finance and the Department of Health. Many departments have launched a communication campaign to ensure that everybody has a common understanding of the Batho Pele Green Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery. A good start has been made on developing the service delivery improvement plans.

North-West Province has undertaken a citizen survey to determine whether the good intentions of the provincial government are being realised in terms of the actual delivery by the public service. The objectives of the survey were: to measure how well residents' expectations are met; to provide information that can be used to improve government's delivery strategies; and to provide information to assist the formulation of programmes and their implementation. The province has also set up one-stop kiosks were residents can access information concerning government and can list their needs, problems, complaints, etc. Another important initiative utilised in the province is utilising radio and television were MECs are given the opportunity to face the public to answer questions, concerns, complaints, etc.

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3. International experience

3.1. World-Wide Trends

The Conference programme included a presentation from Dr Mohan Kaul of the Commonwealth Secretariat. This argued that most Commonwealth countries, irrespective of their economic or political situation, have embarked on a wide range of public sector reforms aimed at modernising and developing the manner in which services are provided to their citizens. These reforms, which drew much inspiration from the 'service revolution' in the private sector, placed much emphasis on the citizen as an active consumer or client of public services. These usually include an emphasis on people management, making the government more efficient, improving the quality of services, improving policy-making, improving partnerships outside central government, making management more effective and improving financial management.

Robert Behrens from the UK Civil Service College presented some of the global trends in service delivery reform, and the drivers for these, such as:

• the affirmation of democracy
• the fiscal crises
• questioning the role of the state in modern society.

Mr Behrens mentioned the US model, based on Osborne and Gaebler's book, 'Reinventing Government', which focuses on ten principles. The principles are:

• competition between service providers
• empowering citizens
• focusing on outcomes
• being driven by missions
• having the client as customers
• preventing problems
• earning money
• decentralising authority
• utilising marketing mechanisms
• catalysing all sectors into action

3.2. Malaysia

Mr M Mahalingham of the Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit of Malaysia, presented a paper which explained how the drive for economic development during the sixties and seventies was a major factor in getting the agencies that spearheaded the nation's development to improve their service delivery. Recognising the fact that attitudinal and behavioural changes are crucial to any reform effort, the Malaysian government embarked upon several programmes to instil positive work ethics. These programmes included:

• The 'Excellent Work Culture Movement' (November, 1989), focused on meeting customer requirements. The aim was to enhance public awareness on the importance of providing quality products and services, thereby institutionalising a quality culture where a mindset on quality becomes a way of life. This movement provided the Malaysian public sector with a new paradigm, one which orientates the Civil Service towards becoming a distinct customer-driven entity;
• Total Quality Management has been adopted as an approach to mobilise all available organisational resources to meet customer requirements. The goal is to create an organisational culture where quality and productivity improvements are seen as a way of life;
• the introduction of Client's Charters; a written commitment by Government agencies providing assurance that their products and services will comply with the declared quality standards in conformance with the expectations of customers.
• Guidelines for quality counter services have been introduced whereby government agencies are required to provide the necessary facilities for the comfort of its customers. One Stop Payment Centres have been introduced throughout the country;
• The Electronic Government initiative seeks to drastically improve the performance of governmental process, providing high-quality, low-cost administrative services to citizens and businesses; employ multimedia " web-shakers" to Malaysian companies that themselves attract partners, developers, and suppliers, forming a network of companies that collaborate around common standards

Critical to the success of these efforts have been:

• Commitment of leadership - the initiatives have the full support of the political leadership at the highest level, including the Prime Minister himself.
• Consensus Building and Consultation- before any new administrative improvement programmes were introduced, a rigorous process of deliberations was undertaken.
• Establishment of Formal Structures - many departments established formal structures to plan, co-ordinate and undertake administrative improvement programmes.
• Information Dissemination - Ministries and departments are encouraged to produce information booklets, guidebooks, magazines, bulletins, pamphlets, this is done to inform clients on the various services provided, the ways and means of obtaining such services and progress made in improving services.
• Training and Follow-through - administrative improvement programmes are incorporated into training, promotion, interview and examination systems of the Civil Service. Trainers are trained who in turn train members of their organisation.
• A System of Rewards and Recognition- success is also attributed to the system
  • of recognition and rewards to inculcate a culture of achievement whereby
  • organisation members can exploit their talents and creativity to the fullest.

3.3. United Kingdom

The Citizen's Charter was launched in 1991. This followed more than a decade of reform within the UK public service, driven by then Conservative Government's commitment to reduce the size - and thus the cost - of government. Public sector industries were privatised; many central and local government activities were contracted out; and the public service was subjected to a series of reforms aimed at increasing efficiency and value for money. A key component of these reforms was the transformation of the executive functions of the Civil Service - some 75 % in all - into Executive agencies which in return for significant managerial freedom and autonomy, were required to deliver improved services in accordance with published performance targets set by Ministers.

Genie Turton, Director of the UK Citizen's Charter Unit, explained that the Citizen's Charter took the concept of service delivery one stage further by focusing on the service to be provided to individual citizens. The Citizen's Charter is based on the concept of the citizen as customer of the public service. It also recognises that much of the cost of public services is paid for by individual citizens, either directly or through their taxes. Citizens are therefore entitled to expect high quality services, responsive to their needs, provided efficiently at a reasonable cost. The Charter also recognises that those who work in the public sector are keen to improve the services that they provide and that they have the skills, dedication and enthusiasm to do so. What staff sometimes lack is the freedom and encouragement to try out new ideas.

The Charter programme is being pursued in a variety of ways. It is not a blueprint which imposes a uniform pattern on every service; rather, it is a tool kit of initiatives and ideas to raise standards in the way most appropriate to each service. There are four main themes to the Charter's strategy:

• Quality - a sustained new programme for improving the quality of public services
• Choice - wherever possible between competing providers
• Standards - the citizen must be told what service standards are and what he or she can do if those standards are not met
• Value - the citizen is also a taxpayer; public services must give value for money within the total resources the nation can afford

An important ingredient in the Citizen's Charter initiative has been the Charter Mark scheme. Originally a straightforward award scheme to gain the commitment of public servants, Charter Mark is now a rigorous and fully-fledged quality recognition scheme, tailored to the public service. The Citizen's Charter has also been instrumental in building lateral links between different parts of the public service: the civil service, local authorities, the health service, schools, the police, etc.

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4. Commission discussions

The Conference included a series of Commissions, who were tasked to workshop some of the key aspects of service delivery improvement, with the aim of identifying practical steps to implementation. This section of the Report summarises the key points which emerged.

4.1. Rural communities and service delivery excellence

Improving service delivery in rural areas faces many problems. These include:

• lack of capacity in government and communities
• lack of resources especially human and financial
• public service instability
• poor relationships between traditional leaders and elected councils
• insufficient access to funds and land for the development of infrastructure
• inadequate access to credit
• centralised, top-down decision-making
• lack of integrated rural development planning
• inadequate links between service delivery and economic development.

Conference participants identified a number of priorities for improving service delivery in rural areas including:

• capacity building especially in relation to the development of women and the maximisation of local potential
• land tenure reform
• improved management of resources
• provision of basic services
• development of an effective local government system
• devolution of powers to local government level
• a return to RDP principles
• redirection of budgets to address local issues
• establishment of one-stop services
• improved consultation between provincial and local government.

4.2. New management strategies for service delivery

One of the major themes to emerge from the Conference was the link between management reform and service delivery. Speaker after speaker, both South African and international, stressed the importance of reorienting management strategies and systems in order to effect improvements in the way services are delivered. Their views were supported during the discussions in the commissions and in open forums. It was recognised that public servants could not be expected to change their attitudes and behaviour, nor to improve the quality of the service they provided, without well-managed systems and procedures which accord primacy to customer service. In this sense, management reform could be regarded as the key to implementing Batho Pele. As Minister Zola Skweyiya expressed in his keynote speech, remedying many of the shortcomings in providing services to citizens was not so much a matter of money but of "determination and good management".

There were differing views about the relative importance of various aspects of management reform. Many participants placed stress on human resource management, and there was strong support for increased delegation of management responsibility to operational managers at provincial and local level, with a drastic reduction in central rules and regulations. Overall, the following were seen as priority areas for management reform:

Development of more flexible regulatory frameworks

Participants noted that public services world-wide were progressively moving towards simpler regulatory regimes, in which central control is exercised through frameworks which set overall management parameters, leaving decisions about management processes to be determined at operational level, thereby allowing maximum flexibility for managers to respond appropriately to their own particular circumstances. This model was one to which the South African Public Service should aspire. Detailed regulation and central prescription resulted in excessive bureaucracy and lengthy procedures which were against the interests of customers, both internal and external.

Improved human resource management systems

Participants were unanimous that improved human resource management systems were of central importance to improving service delivery. The view was strongly expressed that only if staff were treated with consideration and respect by senior managers would they, in turn, treat their customers with consideration and respect. This was not simply a matter of financial rewards. Flatter structures, more delegation of management responsibility, greater recognition of good performance and less tolerance of poor performance were all essential ingredients. Existing human resource management systems placed excessive emphasis on paper qualifications, seniority and length of service; and made it difficult to penalise, or even dispense with the services of those who failed to perform satisfactorily. These factors had a detrimental effect on staff morale, which in turn made it more difficult to inculcate customer-oriented attitudes and behaviour.

Development of more results-oriented management systems

One of the key principles of Batho Pele is the requirement to set and publish standards of service. Participants agreed that this would require the development of financial, operational and human resource management systems which measured performance primarily in terms of whether standards and targets had been achieved. At present, such systems were almost entirely lacking in the South African Public Service: results often came second to adherence to process. The shift to results-management would require a major transformation of current procedures and practices. It would be important, however, to develop standards and performance targets which genuinely reflected customers' priorities, and not simply for those things which are easily measurable.

Decentralisation and delegation of management responsibility

Participants were overwhelmingly in favour of increased delegation of management responsibility at national, provincial and local government level. They believed that this would release the energy and commitment of those who deliver services to come up with workable and innovative ideas for improving services. Service deliverers were currently forced to spend too much of their time trying to get decisions made and complying with central requirements, many of which were hampering the delivery of service to the customer.

Systematic sharing of good practice

Participants thought that more effective mechanisms were needed to identify and share good practice. The South African Public Service tended to work in watertight compartments, and there was little contact between departments and, often, within them. One of DPSA's roles should be to bring service deliverers across the public service together, as well as others, such as international experts, in order to pass on learning experiences. This applied particularly to local government, who were responsible for many of the basic services on which citizens relied. Provincial departments should seek ways of working more closely with local government. They should also involve community based organisations who are often in close touch with some of the most needy citizens.

In summary, conference participants believed that the management reforms that were needed presented an enormous challenge to the Public Service, and one which many would find somewhat daunting. However, they were in no doubt that such reforms were the key to implementing Batho Pele, and would have the support of most public servants. They believed that the DPSA had a major responsibility to work for the reform of these systems, given its policy responsibility for Public Service transformation, as well as its responsibility for the Batho Pele initiative.

4.3. Strategies to promote and implement the new Service Delivery Policy Framework

Delegates agreed that the Batho Pele principles provided a good policy framework for implementing a service delivery improvement initiative. They suggested that strategies for implementation should include:

• a skills audit
• each department to produce a programme for publishing service delivery charters
• strategic documents should be developed for human resources, the budgetary process and the regulatory framework
• centres of excellence should be developed in each department
• opportunities should be created for learning from each other
• strategic management should be instituted at local level
• a national social delivery forum should be established
• a forum should be established at institutional level where staff can participate in improvements of service delivery
• organisations should be involved
• strategic delivery objectives should be prioritised.

4.4. Mechanisms for linking service providers with consumers

Commission delegates believed that one of the Public Service's greatest failings was its poor communication with citizens. This applies both to informing the public of their rights and entitlements, as well as listening to citizens' views. It also applies to internal communications, which are often sadly inadequate. The inadequacies are due in part to the legacy of apartheid which systematically ignored the views of the majority of citizens. However, there are also administrative and attitudinal causes. A key to Batho Pele's success will be the development of new and better ways to find out what customers think of the services they receive, and to build these views into decision-making processes which determine the level and quality of services to be provided. There are many national and international examples of good practice to drawn upon, and these should be widely shared within the Pubic Service.

Delegates highlighted a number of particular shortcomings:

• A general lack of knowledge by many sections of South African society of their rights - as customers or consumers of services - regarding the manner in which such services are provided by the Public Service;
• Limited infrastructure in almost all sectors, especially, though not only in rural areas, and in nearly all policy sectors (e.g. health, education, etc.) to enable and encourage members of the public to express their perceptions of the standard of services they receive and to exert pressure for improved service delivery
• A perception that consultation and participation with the customer is not genuine or meaningful
• The lack of a holistic strategy for communicating information to the public

Three factors must be taken in account in seeking to improve the links between service providers and consumers:

• everyone is a customer as well as a supplier
• customers must be able to hold public service organisations accountable
• the cornerstones of public participation are: integrity and trust, inclusiveness, legitimacy, transparency and accountability

Delegates agreed that the challenge was to develop a creative set of mechanisms and strategies to ensure Public Service accountability and transparency through 'public access systems'. They observed that public participation vis-à-vis service delivery can operate on a number of levels, including the planning, development, appraisal, and redress of failures in the delivery of services. Managerial and operational decentralisation can greatly facilitate the ability of departments to quickly deal with problems arising from customer complaints.

Delegates recommended a number of possible mechanisms for improving the links between providers and consumers:

• citizen education, such as a national 'know your rights' campaign, accompanied by a comprehensive programme of 'in-service' education for public servants regarding their obligations in relation to these rights
• public Access Systems through which the Public Service is able to establish whether or not it satisfies the needs and expectations of the communities it seeks to serve. These can be established in a variety of formats, ranging from open consultative forums (already widely practised in many parts of South Africa), to multimedia-driven 'single window kiosks' by means of which the public can express their satisfaction/dissatisfaction levels, as well as suggestions for the improvement of public services;
• motivational and regulatory mechanisms to require public sector responsiveness to citizens' complaints
• civil society hearings where 'you reach the people who reach the people'
• increased use of radio, television and print media to reach the public, transfer information and receive feedback on service delivery initiatives
• increased use of market research to gauge the current state of delivery and forecast future needs
• increased use of information technology.
• integrating 'citizen feedback' systems into the planning process associated with the budget cycle, and appraisal of staff performance against the effective utilisation of these systems
• using monitoring agencies, such as the Public Service Commission and the Public Protector, as well as Parliamentary Standing Committees as both a guide and source of pressure on the performance of public sector organisations

4.5. Service delivery and institutional planning

Commission delegates agreed that the new (and still developing) South African macro-institutional framework provides an adequate, indeed, fertile environment for improving service delivery.

The Constitution, 1996 accords primacy to concepts such as: citizen participation; co-operation between all levels of government; transparency, accountability and responsiveness in the provision of public services. The White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service (1995) provides a comprehensive and coherent blueprint for a more economical, efficient, effective and customer-focused public service, which has provided a platform for subsequent white papers and legislative proposals which will turn concepts into reality. These include not only the Green Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery (1996) but - for example: the Green Paper on Public Service Training and Education (1997); and the Green Paper: Policy Proposals for a New Public Service Statute (1997), which proposes substantial devolution of responsibility for human resource management in the Pubic Service to national departments and provincial administrations.

Although the macro-institutional framework is conducive to developing service delivery policies and practices, delegates were less confident about the adequacy of institutional mechanisms at departmental level. They stressed the importance of:

• robust strategic planning systems which linked departmental goals with national policy objectives over the medium term (say 5 years); and
• business planning systems which translate these medium term goals into annual objectives and targets against which performance can be measured.

Service delivery priorities (and the accompanying resource implications and timescales) must be included in both strategic and business plans: unless this is done, service delivery will remain a peripheral aspiration, rather than a central tenet of departmental policies. It was suggested that two key issues in incorporating service delivery into departmental planning systems are:

• the ability to delegate decision-making to the appropriate level (i.e. the point closest to the point of delivery); and
• better management of the interfaces between different levels of government, especially the interface between provincial and local government

A major priority should also be the introduction of performance management arrangements which accord primacy to the delivery of services in line with citizens' priorities. This applies both to the performance of individuals and the performance departments and components within departments.

4.6. Financial and budgetary strategies and effective service delivery

Commission delegates saw a clear link between the economical and efficient use of resources and improved service delivery. They believed that current financial management and budgeting systems were ill-designed to meet the needs of a customer-oriented Public Service. Expenditure control was focused almost entirely on inputs, and took little account of value for money. Procurement processes were excessively lengthy and bureaucratic; the tender board process was the target of particular criticism. A new approach is needed in which budgets are constructed on the basis of outcomes for which financial authority and accountability is delegated to those responsible for the delivery of services. Only then can individual managers be held responsible for results.

4.7. Information technology strategies and service delivery

Commission delegates agreed that the challenge was to harness information technology solutions to facilitate more effective and efficient use of public resources in the delivery of services. There is a need:

• for a systematic policy framework in which the aims, value and content of information technology solutions, including priorities, should be clearly outlined
• for information technology solutions which are relevant and practical to the context of South Africa as an under-developed country, especially conditions faced by rural people
• to distinguish between two types of information technology applications viz., strategic (policy) decisions and routine (operational) services; each of which require a distinctive set of strategies
• for an evolutionary approach to IT development which takes a long-term and multi-sectoral perspective as its starting point, and which acknowledges the differing needs of society
• for an IT developmental strategy to be effective, there is a need for strong political leadership, preferably in national government.

Delegates agreed that:

• IT solutions, if correctly applied, can significantly improve the manner in which administrative decisions are made and services are provided in public sector organisations
• IT solutions, to be effective, have to be systemically integrated along network lines in order to ensure common access to its benefits, not only to public servants but also to the public
• for an IT development strategy to work, it is essential to cultivate, from the onset, a strong partnership with the private sector in systems and software development

Delegates put forward a number of ideas for making more and better use of information technology to improve service delivery:

• innovative pilot projects with the objective of bringing several disciplines together
• raising the general awareness of the value and role of IT in a modernising and developing society, particularly insofar as the vision of the political leaders are concerned;
• raising the general level of awareness of administrators, especially non-IT personnel, by means of a IT Awareness Programme;
• using IT to establish 'one-stop-shops' by means of the 'single window kiosk'; this can be applied in and across a whole range of service sectors including health, education, employment services, tourism and so forth.
• Learning quickly from the experience elsewhere in the world, especially in developing countries, but adapting these solutions to the particular circumstances prevailing in South Africa.

4.8. Training strategies and service delivery

Commission delegates agreed that the challenge was to ensure that all public servants have an understanding of and skill in dealing with demands for better standards of services in their dealing with the public. Delegates believed that:

• the low level of awareness and skill amongst many Public Servants is directly related to the non-effectiveness of the training systems for public servants
• current training is still too much focused on the training needs of the 'top' echelons (policy-makers) and not the 'bottom' end of the Public Service, especially those directly dealing with the public on a day-to-day basis
• there is not yet sufficient private sector involvement in the development of a more service-oriented Public Service
• there is also a lack of practical expertise to drive quality management programmes
• training itself is not sufficiently prioritised in many departments, and training systems and programmes are still too fragmented.

Delegates made the following recommendations for making training a more effective tool in improving service delivery:

• A competency-based needs identification system is needed which focuses on relevant service delivery skills
• SAMDI and other training providers should develop a comprehensive training programme which include 'service ethics' and other service delivery-related topics in curricula
• job descriptions should include specific service delivery performance objectives and targets
• 'work teams' should be established linked to specific projects aimed at steadily improving service standards
• 'role-modelling' and sharing of experience between the private sector and public servants should be encouraged, especially on techniques of improving the levels of customer satisfaction
• mentoring programmes and secondments of public servants to private sector institutions to learn about service improvement should be encouraged.
  

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5. Conference summary

The Conference concluded that the case for instituting a service delivery programme was strong, because:

• it is closely linked to democracy and the realisation of individual rights
• the transformation of the Public Service will be judged on its impact on service delivery
• public servants themselves want change.

The main messages emerging from the Conference to be taken into account in implementing Batho Pele are that:

• resources will always be finite and limited so it is important that existing resources are prioritised in line with customers' priorities, and not wasted on unnecessary, inefficient bureaucratic processes
• service standards must be set at local level
• top level backing and leadership is essential
• there must be participation from the bottom upwards
• good customer service be rewarded and recognised and poor customer service be penalised
• co-ordination - between national, provincial and local, between government and others, etc. - must be improved

The Conference also warned that Batho Pele's ultimate success would be judged on whether it redresses the large disparities that still exist between levels of service in differing parts of South Africa. The scale of the task confronting the public service was huge, and the general lack of managerial skills and capacity could severely limit the pace of progress. The time-frames for achieving improvements mentioned in the Green Paper needed to be adjusted accordingly, to permit an incremental approach, whereby standards are improved step by step on a yearly basis, with the aim of bringing all services up to the level of the best.

The key condition for implementing Batho Pele is a management revolution throughout the government, to bring about more delegation of authority, more freedom to manage resources and more accountability for results. This will require rule books to be torn up, unnecessary regulations to be scrapped, hierarchical and bureaucratic approval processes to be cut back, and communication to be improved so that the Batho Pele message can be spread across South Africa.

Conference agreed that, despite the scale of the task, and the challenges to be tackled, there is no choice but to go forward and, with determination and goodwill, the public service can meet the challenge.

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