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JK: Deliver quality services
2008-01-29 09:34:49
By Lusekelo Philemon
President Jakaya Kikwete has challenged civil servants to deliver competitive services that will help reduce unnecessary complaints from the public.
Launching the second phase of the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP II) in Dar es Salaam yesterday, President Kikwete said civil servants have an important role in accomplishing people`s expectations.
``The public out there expects to get improved services from you, hence it`s high time you worked hard and realised their expectations,`` he said.
The president stressed that the government would ensure that problems related to public service were solved by putting all necessary infrastructures in place.
He said under the PSRP II, service would be improved and the government wanted to minimise the gap by modernising its governing machinery.
He said under the current reforms, the government would ensure that e-government mechanism worked efficiently whereby the public would be able to access services in short distances.
According to the president, this would reduce unnecessary bureaucracies and corruption loopholes in government cycles.
``Everyone in the public service has a role to play, to ensure that the public get improved services that, at the end, will foster the country`s development,`` he said.
He said better pay that reflects the country`s economic growth would depend on how everyone delivered better services to the public.
The president also insisted that better pay would depend on how every civil servant was responsible in tax collection and spending the public resources.
Under the reform programme, citizens would be empowered with knowledge on how they can know their rights.
President Kikwete said there were public sectors that were being blamed by the public for corruption, such as education, health, public safety, judiciary, home affairs and lands.
For her part, the Minister of State in the President\'s Office, Public Service Management, Hawa Ghasia, said the PSRP II was a five-year programme that would run up to 2012.
``This follows successful completion of PSRP I, which was implemented by the government from 2000 to 2007.
In that phase we`ve leant a lot of experiences that will help to improve this phase,`` she said.
Ghasia added that the phase was aimed at improving public servants` daily accountability, ethical conduct and the use of computer technology in service delivery to the public.
She said the second phase would be implemented by line ministries, public institutions and agencies through the government planning and budgeting processes.
According to the minister, PSRP II had been designed to show the results in the shortest time possible and it would do so through improving performance, public service responsiveness and accountability to the public.
The PSRP II is funded by the government, the World Bank, the governments of Britain, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Japan and the African Development Bank.
It is expected to cost USD103.8m.
At the programme launch President Kikwete also inaugurated the newly-built E-Government building, which aims at realising the government`s resolve to reach its people through information technology.
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