The Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration has called on Government and Labour to ensure that all elements of the recently launched Public Service Charter are implemented and members of the public are empowered to know their rights and report bad service.
This comes after the Portfolio Committee had invited the Minister for Public Service and Administration, Lindiwe Sisulu to brief them on the Service Charter.
Members of the Portfolio Committee urged the Minister and Labour to seize the moment and ensure that the Charter is the turning point of service delivery. “We are all aware of the challenges facing our people, we hope this charter will introduce a chapter where Government and Labour will work together to improve service delivery. This charter must empower our people to report and complain when they are faced with bad service,” said the Acting Chairperson Honourable Eric Nyekembe.
In her response to the Portfolio Committee members, Sisulu said the Charter will be internalised in government and all officials will know and understand the expectations of the people.
“During the drafting of the Charter we asked our people to comment and give suggestions on how we can improve service delivery and they said Public Servants must be on time and work daily to resolve their problems, that’s all they are asking for, a public service that meet their expectations,” said Sisulu.
She added that the Charter is binding to all public servants including those in local Government.
The Service Charter was recently launched by Minister Sisulu and Labour representatives at the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) as part of professionalising and encouraging excellence in the public service.
In her Budget Vote Speech, Sisulu told members of Parliament that the Service Charter “represents a social contract between ourselves, public sector unions and citizens - the main beneficiaries of services delivered by the State”.
During a joint media briefing between labour and government at the launch of the Service Minister Sisulu committed Government to creating the best working conditions for public servants to enable them to meet and exceed expectations of the people.
