MUHANGA- Public relations officers from various government institutions have pledged to improve on service delivery and ways of handling clients in a bid to facilitate national development.

They made the resolve at a training in customer care held in Muhanga District, last week.

The training was conducted by the Rwanda Institute of Management and Administration (RIAM).

At least 960 civil servants are set to undergo this programme.

Déogratias Harorimana, the RIAM Director, said that the training was essential because most government employees need to know how to handle clients and acquire skills on customer care.

"There has been a problem of skills, attitude and mindset and this training is intended to create a new era in ways of handling clients, so that civil servants become servants of the population,” Harorimana said.

The trainees acknowledged that the public relations services in district and government institutions have been very poor.

"There has been a problem of poor mentality and most of us have been handling residents, just for the sake of getting our monthly salaries. This needs to change and become professional in customer care as way of fighting poverty,” said Augustine Rugambwa, the Gasabo District public relations officer.

The group also formed a cooperative, aimed at championing growth and development of public relations officers in government institutions.

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