I recently went to the ministry of home affairs to apply for my full birth certificate.
Outside I ran into a former member of parliament (MP) I had not seen in ages.
He had applied for a new passport the previous day and had just collected it – it took them only one day to have it ready.
This former MP could not stop praising the ministry for its quality service. I also came across a Namibian friend who lives in Canada, who was equally appreciative of the ministry’s services.
It took me about 30 minutes to obtain my full birth certificate; I could not help but praise the officials on duty for such quality service.
On the first floor there was a beautiful banner displaying the mandate, vision and mission statements, as well as the core values of the ministry.
The vision statement on the banner reads: “Population register and migration management that is rated amongst the best in the world.”
I agree with that statement. The officials, who were all wearing name-tags, were as professional as they were friendly.
BACK STORY
I think it is appropriate to understand how the concept of the public service charter came about.
The excellent service the home affairs ministry provides can largely be ascribed to the implementation of the Namibian Public Service Charter principles.
This ranges from the public display of the vision and vision statements, as well as the core values, to officials wearing name-tags.
As a disclaimer, I cannot comment on the services the ministry provides in the regions as I am not familiar with those.
In 2019, the founding director of the Efficiency and Charter Unit (ECU) in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Etienne Maritz, took over as the executive director at the ministry of home affairs until his retirement about a year or so ago.
I was part of the OPM team that created the ECU and helped develop its 10 principles in 1997. This unit resorted under the Cabinet Secretariat, which I headed.
As I walked through the building, I could feel Maritz’s “magic touch” everywhere, and as a former OPM colleague, I really appreciate him for that.
The previous and current political and administrative leadership of the ministry is equally appreciated.
PRINCIPLES
The raison d’être of the public service is to provide quality services to the public.
The Namibian Public Service Charter introduced by the OPM in 1997 is underpinned by 10 principles or guiding values aimed at improving the quality of service the public service provides to Namibians.
They are: standards; information; courtesy and helpfulness; consultation and participation; accountability; transparency; non-discrimination; quality service; value for money; and accessibility.
Using these principles as guiding values, various functional charter areas have been identified in different offices, ministries, agencies (OMAs)across the public service.
These areas are buttressed by corresponding Customer Service Charters setting out the specific standards of service each OMA promises to deliver.
The Customer Service Charter of home affairs was derived from that.
The idea of public service charters is premised on the so-called New Public Management (NPM) paradigm – treating members of the public as customers and government departments/directorates as business units.
COMPETENCE
NPM has come under heavy criticism over the years.
Some critics have argued that in the absence of market mechanisms and free competition in providing public services, the ‘blanket’ application of business principles to the public service could run into serious problems.
This is mainly because these promises are made for service areas in which governments have a monopoly and customers have little choice.
However, if the excellent services the home affairs ministry seem to be providing are anything to go by, one can argue that public service charters can work if there is committed and professional leadership and an injection of “culture change”.
– Uaripi Tjihenuna is a commissioner of elections. The views expressed here are entirely his own.
