By Chris Okeke
First National Policy Dialogue on Strategies for Improving Service Delivery in Government Parastatals, Agencies and Commissions: Strategies for Optimizing Service Delivery in Government Parastatals
Introduction
1. Protocol…
2. Good morning ladies and gentlemen. My name is Chris Okeke, Governance Adviser in the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and currently leading on service delivery.
3. I am very pleased to be participating in this important National Dialogue on service improvement, and I would like to thank the organisers of this event – the SERVICOM Office and the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
4. This Dialogue ties in well with the UK Government’s objective of supporting the Government of Nigeria to improve public goods and services to the citizens of this country.
Scene Setting
5. The effective and efficient delivery of public services is at the heart of the social contract between a government and its citizens. Citizens accept the legitimacy of government in exchange for the provision of some basic services such as education, water, health care and securit.
6. Where these basic services are in short supply and below the expected standards, it erodes the trust and credibility of government.
7. In Nigeria over the past decades, the quality and delivery of services have been in decline. We know from government and independent assessments that failure in the delivery of service is linked to corruption, ambiguous mandates, weak monitoring and evaluation systems, poor funding, weak social accountability mechanism, public monopoly, and weak regulatory environment.
8. Addressing these challenges of service delivery is critical to the development of this country. Failure to comprehensively engage on the root causes of poor service delivery will condemn poor Nigerians that are already at the receiving end of poor services to misery and untold hardship.
DFID Support on Service Improvements
9. Tackling poor service delivery requires improving government systems, changing social norms, working with citizens, the private sector and non-governmental organisations.
10. The current political climate for change in Nigeria presents a good opportunity to implement reforms in parastatals, agencies and departments.
11. The UK Government, through our bilateral programmes, is supporting both the Federal and State Governments to strengthen systems and build the capability of agencies to improve service delivery.
12. The UK Government funded Federal Public Administration Reform Programme supported SERVICOM to improve structures, systems and skills of targeted ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). The support also included:
a. Development of a Strategic Plan for the SERVICOM Office with the following priority areas: Charter Development, Citizen’s Satisfaction, Citizens Awareness, Performance Monitoring and Reporting System, and Sustainability Plan.
b. Revision of Service Charters and the development National Citizen Mark (CM) Scheme.
13. Our governance programme – Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL) is currently working with BPSR on service delivery improvements in Agriculture, Education and other sectors.
14. The UK Government has been working closely with other donors to ensure that basic services such maternal health care and immunisation reach the most vulnerable groups. And when Nigerians are deprived of such services as a result of corruption, we have demanded that the stolen funds are returned. An example that illustrates this point is the Global Fund for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) audit.
15. We are supporting transparency and accountability in the use of public funds to deliver services. The Sanitation Hygiene and Water in Nigeria (SHAWN 2) programme, a UK Government funded programme, is working with 6 state governments’ ministries of water resources and budget and planning, bringing them together to discuss resource allocation for water and sanitation.
16. Our State Partnership for Accountability Responsiveness and Capability programme supported 10 state governments in the development and implementation service charters, institutional reforms and Service Improvement Plans. Some of the success stories include Lagos State Waste Management Agency, Kano State Water Board, and Enugu State Waste Management Authority, amongst others.
Key Principles
The principles listed below are not entirely new ideas. In fact many public service reforms in Nigeria are based on these principles and strategies. What has been missing is the commitment to implement these reforms in a sustainable manner:
17. Customer Centric Approach: Operations of parastatals must adopt a more customer-friendly approach by delivering services in ways that aim to improve customer experience. These include easy access of services, complaint mechanism, value for money and customer friendly environment.
18. Context is Everything: Our experience working across Nigeria shows that different states, sectors and services require different strategies for improving service delivery. Strategies for improving maternal health care in Zamfara may not necessarily work in Bayelsa State. It is important therefore that the context is duly considered with focus on the nuances that facilitate change.
19. Politics Matter: When reforms for service improvements are designed only from the technical perspective without due consideration of politics, such reforms are likely to fail. Reforms are political! There will be losers and winners – the winners in this regard being the customers/citizens. Groups that are likely to lose-out in the process could create blockages. It is critical therefore to get the commitment and active participation of the political leaders – Governors, members of the National Assembly, Local Government Chairmen etc.
20. Coordinating Agency/Department: The Bureau of Public Service Reform is a good example of government agency taking the lead on reforms. Reforming public agencies require a bureau with some degree of flexibility and mandate for the day-to-day running of the technical, professional and administrative issues of service improvement.
21. Public Participation: The social contract between citizens and governments is such that citizens can demand government officials and agencies to account for their actions and officials are sanctioned if they fail in their function. Citizens participation should include different community groups that take part in the decision making process on services in local communities. In Kaduna and the South East, the UK Government is working with the government and citizens through our Voice to the People (V2P) programme to strengthen and support capacity of citizens and government departments to engage on service delivery improvements. At the Federal level, BPSR and the National Bureau of Statistics have been leading the pack on the use social media to interact with Nigerians on service delivery.
22. Innovation and Technology: Technological advances in business process management, payment systems, online and mobile applications present good platforms for interfacing with customers.
23. Evidence Informed Service Delivery: Research and analyses provide empirical data that inform government policies and decisions on public services. Parastatals are not driven by evidence and often do not conduct research or independent evaluation to inform the outcomes/impact of their operations. Many parastatals lack the capacity to undertake comprehensive surveys. Parastatals can partner with private and non-governmental organisations to generate useful data to inform the demand and supply of their services.
Strategies for Improving Service Delivery
24. Establishment of Service Charters: As we have seen with the experience of SERVICOM and agencies that have improved performance, service charters are important to inform customers about their rights and responsibilities, parastatals’ services and standards, and measures for redress if service standards are not met.
25. Mandate a department/bureau to coordinate and facilitate reforms. In Lagos State, Office of Transformation, Creativity and Innovation (formerly Office of Transformation), Kaduna State Bureau of Public Service Reform, Enugu SERVICOM (formerly Performance Improvement Bureau).
26. Conflicting mandates of government agencies often lead to duplication of functions and clashes between agencies and departments. For instance, different levels of government engage in tax collection, road construction, provision of basic education etc. Government must embark on mandate clarification exercise to ensure efficiency in the allocation and use of public resources to deliver services. Implementation of the recommendations of the Oronsaye Committee Report will help in this regard.
27. Efficient and effective service delivery is directly linked to the budget performance of parastatals. Early releases of budget to key MDAs with service delivery functions will enhance their ability to deliver on their mandates efficiently.
28. Mechanism for citizens to publicly complain and track feedback on public services is essential for gauging service quality. For example, the UK Government funded education programme – Education Sector Support programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN) supported the establishment of over 12,000 School Based Management Committees (SBMCs) in 6 states, to lead citizen engagement in education service delivery and transparency and accountability of school resourcing and decision making. This approach has also been adopted in the health sector with the establishment of health facility based management committees.
29. Use technology – e-payment platforms and mobile applications to eliminate red tape and corruption in service delivery.
30. Public private partnership – where parastatals lack the resources to efficiently and effectively deliver services, some components of parastatals’ operations can be outsourced to private sector participants, to develop systems and processes that will improve service delivery.
31. Design and implement robust monitoring and evaluation system to build solid evidence base and allow for the measurement of performance.
Conclusion
32. The sustainability of service delivery reforms ultimately is dependent on the political commitment and capability of government organisations.
33. The UK Government is committed to supporting the government of Nigeria and is responding to some of the challenges through our bilateral programmes.
Thank you very much.
Chris C. Okeke
Governance Adviser, DFID
28 March 2017
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