Five agencies get call centres to improve service delivery

Page 38
10-11-08

THE Ministry of Public Sector Reform has established call centres in five agencies with a toll-free line to enable the public to access services provided by some agencies.
The agencies are the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Registrar General’s Department, the Controller and Accountant General’s Department and the Passport Office.
The initiative, which is on a pilot basis for three months, would be expanded to other ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
The Minister of Public Sector Reform, Mr Samuel Owusu-Agyei, announced this on Tuesday at the launch of new Charters for 53 MDAs and metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) in Accra.
He gave the toll-free number to the agencies as 021-6111, and indicated that the motive for the establishment of the call centres was to help improve service delivery in the organisations.
According to him, there was the need for the clients of public institutions to be served on a timely basis, so as to ensure that they had confidence in the public sector.
Mr Owusu-Agyei noted that there was the need for a time frame for all the services provided by the public sector, and appealed to heads of institutions to have durbars with their staff to sensitise them to what was contained in the Charters.
He said over the last three years, the government had been implementing far-reaching reforms in the public sector, adding that “the government’s efforts have focused on restructuring the public sector to improve performance and manage change to attain best practices in the management and delivery of public service”.
“The establishment of Client Service Units within MDAs, MMDAs and the development of a Service Charter is now a key performance target for any public institution,” he said, and expressed the hope that the launch of the Charters would provide the right spirit and commitment to realise the government’s goal of ensuring quality service for all.