Eight sign service charters

Story: Boahene Asamoah

EIGHT government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) have signed service charters that would bond them to improve public service and become more public-focused and efficient.
They are the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the Ministry of Tourism and Diasporan Relations, Food and Drugs Board, Ghana Tourist Board, Ghana Standards Board, Department of Urban Roads, Ghana Highway Authority and the Public Services Commission.
It brings to 22 the number of public service organisations that have signed the new service charters.
President Kufuor in October last year launched the service charters for the public service to ensure excellence in public service.
The concept seeks to improve public service systems by defined standards and in a timely manner.
At the launch and signing ceremony in Accra on Thursday, the Chief Adviser to the President, Mrs Chinery-Hesse, said “this novel and ingenious initiative of President Kufuor is aimed at arresting the widespread irritation, frustration and desperation encountered by the public when they come into contact with public agencies”.
She said the intention was also to level the playing field in terms of the standards of service all Ghanaians would receive such that all would feel equally served promptly and satisfactorily, without any hint of favouritism.
She emphasised the need for the public signing of the service charters since the pact was intended to be with the public who access the services of the organisations and must therefore know what to expect.
She appealed to the general public to take advantage of the complaints machinery so that we could keep public institutions on their toes.
The Minister of Public Sector Reforms, Mr Samuel Owusu-Agyei, said the charter was now a key performance target for any public institution.
“This is because through the charter, the stakeholders and the public are able to know and understand the services that are offered by the public sector agencies,” he stated.
The minister said currently his ministry was undertaking reforms aimed at improving public service and mentioned training the leadership of the civil service, professionalising the human resource function, reforming pay and pay administration, improving conditions of work and transforming the government institutions, among others.
Mr Owusu-Agyei said his ministry was planning monitoring and evaluation visits to those agencies that had already launched their charters to assess the impact of their services since the signing of the new charters.
The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Kwadwo-Baah-Wiredu, called on clients of his ministry to help it achieve its targets in the charter by adhering strictly to the procedures outlined in the charter.
He pledged his ministry’s support in ensuring that the charter worked in all its agencies.
The Chairman of the Public Services Commission, Prof Samuel Nunoo Woode, said it was important that public service was made public-centred, efficient and accountable.
He said the charters would put pressure on all public service agencies to deliver on their promises and be responsible to the public.