A PACKAGE OF INNOVATIONS TO TRANSFORM THE PUBLIC SERVICE IN MAURITIUS

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Shon Stephens
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1 MBABANE, SWAZILAND, 5 TH SEPTEMBER 2007 A PACKAGE OF INNOVATIONS TO TRANSFORM THE PUBLIC SERVICE IN MAURITIUS In line with the overall vision of Government to turn Mauritius into a modern nation which can successfully compete in the global market so as to continuously develop and improve the quality of life of its citizens, the Ministry of Civil Service and Administrative Reforms aims at creating a modern and efficient public service, ensure good governance and achieve excellence in the delivery of public services.. This responsibility has been entrusted to the Administrative Reforms Division (ARD) The overarching objective of the ARD is to develop a culture of excellence in the Public Service, one that is performance-based and customer oriented and to devise and promote the adoption of innovative ways and means to deliver quality public services. In line with its objectives, the Administrative Reforms Division is spearheading administrative reforms within the Civil Service of the Republic of Mauritius through an innovative package made up of customer care and quality management initiatives to develop a culture of excellence, one that is performance based, results oriented and customer centric. The package is bearing fruits since a marked improvement has been registered in those public sector organizations where they have been implemented. Code of Ethics A major task of the ARD is to promote and instill ethical conduct among public officers. In this respect, the existing Code of Ethics, published in January 2000, has been revised in depth by a Select Panel made up of representatives of both the public and private sectors and the trade unions. The revised Code of Ethics is under publication and due to be launched in by April This document is viewed as a vital tool in a modern civil service that aims at ensuring accountability and transparency, and for services to be delivered in a responsible, responsive and caring manner. Ethical Standards Management Committee To maintain high standard of conduct in the Public service and to promulgate the values of the Code of Ethics, Ministries /Departments have been requested to set up an Ethical Standards Management Committee under the chairmanship of the Head of the organisation. The terms of reference of this committee are inter-alia to promote and disseminate the values of the Code of Ethics to public officers on an on-going basis; to monitor and evaluate the internalization of ethical behaviour among public officers and examine current concerns about standards of conduct of public officers and make recommendations as required to ensure the highest standards of propriety in public life. To date the Ethical Standards Management Committee is active in major Ministries/Departments and a marked improvement has been noted in the attitude of officers at work. Muda Free Public Service Programme The Muda Free Public Service Programme was developed based on the Japanese concept of Gemba Kaizen. It aims to instill and consolidate a quality culture within the Public Service by 1

2 identifying, reducing and eliminating Mudas, that have no value added activities and improving the work environment and work processes. It operates according to the 5S principles, which is focused on fostering and sustaining high quality housekeeping so as to evolve in a clean, orderly and safe environment at work. 5 steps principles are; Seiri (Sorting) - to sort and throw away unnecessary items Seiton (Arranging) - to arrange necessary items in a neat, proper manner so that they can be easily retrieved for use; and to return them to their proper locations after use. Seiso (Cleaning) - to clean and inspect the workplace thoroughly so that there is no dust on the floor, machines and equipment. Seiketsu (Maintaining) - to maintain a high standard of workplace organisation by keeping everything clean and orderly at all times. Shitsuke. (Self-discipline) - to train people to follow good housekeeping standards and to observe self-discipline through continuous practice. The Muda Free Public Service Programme has brought a marked improvement in Ministries / Departments where it has been implemented to follow up on the initial Muda Free Exercise and maintain the system, the ARD ensures that a Muda Free exercise, according to the 5S principles, is carried out for 15 minutes every Friday across the Ministry for Civil Service and Administrative Reforms from hrs to hrs. Customer / Citizens Charter To promote the delivery of quality customer services, the ARD is driving forth the publication of the Customer / Citizens Charters by each Ministry/Department for their respective organisations. This is an ideal tool to cut down on red tape as all parameters and requirements needed to qualify for and benefit from a particular service are clearly spelt out, along with the time-frame within which the service will be delivered. It thus clearly defines what is expected of both the customers /citizens on the one side and organizations on the other. To date, 47 Ministries/major Departments have published their Customer/Citizen s Charters and others are in the process of elaborating theirs. The next step will be to encourage all Ministries / Departments to clearly display the pledges of the services that they undertake to provide as well as the various standards set for these services at their premises, especially where there are counter services. This will be monitored to ensure that they are actually operating according to the standards set and are abiding by their respective pledges, and regularly reviewing and updating it Improvement of Counter / Customer Services Scheme In line with the vision of the Government of Putting People First, the ARD is actively promoting a scheme to enhance the level of Counter/Customer Services, particularly at the level of Ministries / Departments that deal directly and extensively with members of the public. In this respect, a booklet entitled Guidelines on Improving Counter/Customer Services was published in August 2006 and widely circulated to all Ministries/Departments. The booklet has 2

3 also been posted online on the website of the Ministry for easy accessibility for all officers. Under this scheme, funds are also allocated to Ministries/Departments for the upgrading/modernization of their counter services, for example through the provision of electronic ticketing machines, directional signs, and comfortable waiting chairs for members of the public. The ARD ensures that improvement in the physical setting of counters is accompanied by: streamlining and reviewing of procedures and processes, including those of back office so that members of the public are provided with timely and expedient services; and attitudinal changes on the part of counter officers, which are supported by training and sensitization programmes in customer care. In view of the marked improvement noted as a result of the scheme, it is planned to secure a larger budget under this scheme so as to benefit a maximum number of Ministries / Departments. It is also planned to revise and update the guidelines and publish a second edition of the document. E-Government Initiatives. The ARD has supported the government s initiative to e-power the public sector to deliver electronic services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and to enable Ministries/Departments to integrate ICT within their operations and services so as to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. At present, citizens/businesses are able to access the following government services online: applications for Scholarship, Learner s Diving License, Work Permit, Vacancies in the Civil Service/Local Government Service and for Lump Sum from the National Savings Fund. It is planned to encourage Ministries / Departments to provide some additional 50 government services online by the end of the year. Feedback / Suggestions / Complaints Mechanism The ARD encourages Ministries / Departments to put in place suggestion boxes and complaints mechanism so as to welcome suggestions for quality improvements in the Civil Service. Ministries/Departments are pressed to acknowledge all suggestions received and implement those measures that are valid as far as possible. ISO Certification To instill a quality culture in the Public Service, the ARD is encouraging Ministries and Departments to operate according to standards set by the International Standards Organisation (ISO). So far, 16 organisations are ISO Certified and the target is to get 10 more ISO Certified by the end of this year. Eventually, it is planned to make ISO Certification mandatory for all Ministries / Departments. As a first step, it has been decided that Units of Ministries / Departments which daily deal with a large number of members of the public, and in particular those offering counter services should invariably be ISO certified. Performance Management System (PMS) The Performance Management System (PMS) is an integrated reform strategy and management tool that helps to define the roles/responsibilities of individual employees within an organization as well as those of its various Sections/Divisions so as to ensure that these are in line with the overall goals and objectives of the organization. The PMS gives a sense of direction and commitment to all officers of any given organisation. The PMS was introduced on 3

4 a pilot basis last year in three Departments, namely the Central Statistics Office, the Meteorological Services and the Valuation Department of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. The outcome was positive and the experience of these departments was shared with other Ministries/Departments at a workshop held in mid February Other organisations are being encouraged to voluntarily adopt the PMS and as a first step facilitators are being assigned to some 8 organizations, which have expressed their readiness to implement the PMS. Implementation will vary according to the size of the individual Ministry/Department and top management commitment, but it is expected that on average, Implementation should be completed within a maximum period of 10 months. Training Capacity Building To facilitate and support the above initiatives, Officers are trained in various fields. Capacity building in key areas of Administrative Reforms such as Result Based Management, Customer Oriented and Counter Services and ISO Certification is also carried out. Benchmarking/Sharing of knowledge The ARD benchmarks on successful reform initiatives and maintains links with other organisations, at both national and international levels, so as to keep track of and adopt best practices. Other Ministries/Departments are also encouraged to maintain links with international organisations and attend conferences such as CAPAM, AAPAM etc. to build capacity and facilitate knowledge sharing. Reforms Unit Ministries/Departments have been requested to set up their respective Reforms Units. The Reforms Units aim at improving the processes and procedures within Ministries/Departments, with a focus on efficiency, effectiveness and the provision of quality service to citizens by: i. ensuring the timely implementation of the Government Programme at the level of the organization; ii. iii. iv. sensitizing all officers on reform initiatives within their organization, implementing and ensuring co-ordination of administrative reforms; formulating,implementing, and monitoring sectoral reforms; determining training needs of officers and implementing Training Policy for the organization; v. ensuring the implementation of computerization and office modernisation projects. Public Service Excellence Awards (PSEA) To encourage innovation and excellence in the delivery of government services a Public Service Excellence Award (PSEA) was launched in October 2006 to honour and recognise those units/ divisions/ departments that have excelled in adopting innovative approaches in the management and service delivery of their organisations. The Public Service Excellence Award will go to the 4

5 Ministry / Department or Unit / Division that has excelled in all the judging criteria as follows: Strategic Planning and Objectives; Leadership and Team Spirit; Effectiveness and Efficiency; Customer Focus and Innovation and Improvement An Award will also be given to the Ministry / Department or Unit / Division which scores the highest for each of the above criteria, except for Strategic Planning and Objectives. 29 submissions have been received and the adjudication process is underway by a Panel of Jury made up of representatives of the both the private and public sectors and the trade unions. The Award Ceremony will be held by end of March Public Sector Reforms Steering Committee (PSRSC) The Prime Minister who is also the Minister of Civil Service & Administrative Reforms has set up Public Sector Reforms Steering Committee as an apex body responsible for implementing, monitoring and coordinating reform initiatives in the Public Sector. This Committee is chaired by the Secretary to Cabinet and Head of the Civil Service and meets at least once monthly. The ARD is the implementing arm of the PSRSC and sees to it that the measures approved are translated into action. Mystery Shopping Consultations are underway with various partners to develop a scheme of Mystery Shopping whereby the effectiveness / efficiency of Ministries/ Departments will be assessed through onspot, unannounced surveys carried out by anonymous researchers. As a starting point, the Mystery Shopping will focus on Ministries/Departments, which deliver counter services to members of the public. The findings of the research will be presented both to the organizations concerned and to the Public Sector Reforms Steering Committee, and will serve as a basis for corrective decisions and measures to be taken and applied by the organizations concerned. 5

CUSTOMER CHARTER. Integrity Innovativeness Quality Teamwork Timeliness. Ministry of Civil Service and Administrative Reforms.

CUSTOMER CHARTER. Integrity Innovativeness Quality Teamwork Timeliness. Ministry of Civil Service and Administrative Reforms. CUSTOMER CHARTER of the Ministry of Civil Service and Administrative Reforms Republic of Mauritius Integrity Innovativeness Quality Teamwork Timeliness Ministry of Civil Service and Administrative Reforms