Gov’t unveils Citizens’ Charter

The Ministry of Public Service and Labour (MIFOTRA), yesterday, officially launched a Citizens’ Charter aimed at enhancing quality service.The charter will serve as an agreement between public institutions and the citizens to ensure existing services are well publicised and accessible to all.The development follows several complaints from the public about poor service delivery that persistently afflicts some public institutions, especially local government authorities.Speaking to the press, Public Service Minster, Anastase Murekezi, pointed out that the charter contains the services offered by every public institution in the country.“It contains the responsibilities of the public sector institutions to accommodate citizens’ needs and expectations, whereby they will know when, how, where and the time a particular service is rendered and hence get rid of obstacles people face while seeking a service,” disclosed Murekezi. “This will help curb many cases that have been persistent in the service sector, like corruption, because a person will now know when a service is provided. Many local leaders have a tendency of prolonging certain services looking for bribes,” he noted, adding that the charters would promote transparency and accountability. According to the ministry, 70 percent of essential citizens’ charters have been developed for various public institutions and booklets printed for wider dissemination and soft copies posted on the institutions’ websites.Speaking at the event, the Minister of Local Government, James Musoni, called on senior officials from public institutions to adhere to the charters.“Each institution should treat these documents as urgent priorities as these will also serve as measuring tools for government to evaluate the performance contracts of institutions and individuals,” insisted Musoni. The Chief Operating Officer of Rwanda Development Board, Clare Akamanzi, disclosed that similar measures were underway to streamline service delivery among private institutions.“We developed a customer care tool we shall use to ensure quality service in the private sector,” she stated.The event also saw the awarding of certificates to 78 senior public servants who last year underwent the Executive Leadership training from the UK-based National School of Government.