Proposal
to Design a Systems Approach
for Improving Public Service Delivery in Sri Lanka
Executive Summary
Background
Sri Lankan government departments, Local Government administrations and other related organisations have been conducting their processes based on procedures that had been introduced way back in pre-1950 era. With the increase in population and expansion of services related activities, systems and procedures adopted have either failed or been inadequate, inefficient and ineffective.
The main objective of the Public Service in Sri Lanka is to serve their stake holders. The most important stake holder in this regard is the General Public in Sri Lanka, who yearn for an efficient and productive service without them being inconvenienced. To realise this potential, the culture of the Public Service as a whole, and the attitudes of public servants as individuals need to change with an orientation to serve their clients with empathy, and in a professional and dignified manner.
The success of the Public Service lies in delivering an efficient and productive service to the General Public, who is their major client
Decentralisation of some functions by the Central Government, with the introduction of Provincial Council system of governance has created a certain degree of convenience to the general public. However due to lack of direction, training and certainty of the procedures adopted, the benefit of decentralisation has not been efficiently passed on to the end users, in this case the general public.
Provincial council system of governance has at times led to disaster due to continuous interference by the local political authority. The procedures introduced are continuously tinkered, hampered, overlooked and many a times force is being exercised creating irregularities in the decision-making process. Such interference further creates an environment for the lower rung officers to take matters into their hands thus preventing the public a fair go in the quest for their needs.
The purpose of this document is to identify divisions, departments and other related organisations where there is direct interaction with the general public and to develop systems and procedures to serve the public in a more efficient manner devoid any political interference.
Sri Lanka has adopted a three tier Political Governing structure (Annexure 1) comprises:
1. Central Government: Cabinet of Ministers (25 Districts)
2. Provincial Councils (9): Governor, Secretary, Chief Minister and Council of Ministers
3. Municipal Councils (2), Urban Councils (41) Pradesheeya Sabhas (271), Mayor, Chairmen and councillors
The Administrative Management Structure of a Province (Annexure 2) comprises:
1. Provincial Governor (Political Appointment)
2. Provincial Secretary and staff
3. 25 District Secretaries and staff
4. 332 Divisional Secretaries and related staff
25 District Secretaries administer the functions of the third tier, through 332 divisional secretaries. The purpose of having district secretaries which duplicates certain functions is unclear. General public interact with the third tier for their needs. Unfortunately, public are inconvenienced most at this level due to inconsistencies in the procedures adopted.
It appears that the government is still adopting, Municipal Councils Ordinance of (1947), Urban Councils Ordinance of (1939) and Pradesheeya Sabhas Act of (1987). It is pertinent that the government revisit processes of the said authorities and introduce revised procedures to suit the needs of the present day.
Scope of this paper will not be limited to Government Departments and local government administrations, but will extend to other related organisations where services are provided to the general public.
A detail study is to be conducted to develop efficient and effective systems and procedures across all government and local bodies with the objective of providing a streamlined and satisfying service to the general public.
A more effective, efficient and performance-oriented public sector will be a better approach to the mounting demands for better and consistent services with a high level of accountability and transparency. Proposed performance reforms aim at bringing back the focus of the government, its political leadership and the public service to ensure more client and outcome focused service delivery rather than solely focussing on management and keeping to the budget. This will involve moving away from an input measurement focused approach to an outcome focused approach based on key result areas.
The Public Service in Sri Lanka is typically characterised by fixed jurisdictional areas, based on a strictly hierarchical model with minimal delegation involved. Most of the communications are made through hand-written or type-written documents and manually maintained filing systems. To what extent professional expertise, training and development are involved in improving the delivery of service is not clear, despite the positions occupied are based on full-time career employment with appointments mostly made outside merit based criteria. A consistent, stable rule based approach cannot seem to be implemented due to external influences exerted on the Public Service, mainly political.
Proposal
How can the public service in Sri Lanka, in terms of its administration and service delivery be transformed into a more effective and efficient one through modernisation and innovation?
At least adherence to traditional public-sector professionalism guided by consistent values pertaining to decision making, framed upon law and authorised policy positions and the best available researched information could be the solution. For professional public-sector accountability accurate, durable, secure and retractable records need to be maintained. It is also vital to keep all employees competent and on one page with appropriate training and development, to impartially serve their clients.
The focus of this proposal is limited to design and implement necessary reforms identified for creating a more effective and efficient Local Government and public administration in Sri Lanka. This will involve changes to administration and service delivery procedures currently adopted in the public local government and administration. We envisage such changes to occur in the not so distant future, simulated by the challenges currently posed on the government, the public administrators and the general public in the delivery of services.
Rather than taking an austerity approach that impacts on human resources by downsizing the workforce, or cost reductions in terms of cutbacks in their pays and conditions, this proposal will take an organisational and task-oriented approach to address the identified challenges.
This proposal will consider:
· Performance management in service delivery;
· Citizens involvement and participation in enhancing prioritised areas of service delivery; and
· Digitalisation and e-government for consistency and efficiency gains in service delivery.
The proposal will be is based on findings made by several researchers engaged for determining the state of play in public administration at the three levels of government, central, provincial and district. This will take into consideration the diverse nature of the society in the provinces and a unified and consistent approach towards problematic issues the citizenry in those provinces encounter. The researchers will assess these aspects and present the trends they have observed, the problematic issues stakeholders face in the process of administration and service delivery and possible solutions to be adopted in overcoming those identified challenges.
Performance management
Performance management in the Sri Lankan Public Service should address both the issues of productivity and the outcomes. Outcome in terms of service delivery can be defined as the results, the public service entities, attain in its sphere of influence through the provision of its services and products. If the efficiently produced output does not achieve the intended outcome, then it is not effective. As such, it is important to
1) Establish an information and documentation trail to substantiate and evaluate whether the output creates the desired outcome, and
2) Re-design the service delivery through a continuously improved process that would contribute towards achieving the desired outcome.
The means employed to generate desired outcomes are often dependent on public service entities whether they are government departments, subsidiary agencies, corporations etc., and their decentralised institutions at the provincial and district levels. Hence, for performance management, it is of paramount importance to engage staff at all levels, the employees, middle-management and top management of these entities as both central and decentralised institutions. The success of public service reform in terms of performance management and desired outcomes not only needs to make sense to them, but also will depend on their commitment and capacity to deliver those outcomes.
Active participation by citizens
Achieving efficient public service reform requires the development of strategies to mobilise the citizenry (clients) and bridge the gap between their needs and what the public service provides. Such strategies can take several different approaches, for example client satisfaction management, client journey mapping, citizen consultation, co-design, co-decision and co-production initiatives. Active participation of citizenry could be based on partnerships public service agencies can form with citizens, users and civil society organisations, and take the form of developing innovative co-production approaches to service delivery.
Citizen involvement will be an important way to trigger public service innovation and to bridge conflicting demands and expectations of clients and public servants. Such approaches could offer creative policy responses, which would enable governments to deliver better public services. Such citizen involvement and co-production may not only lead to cost reductions in service delivery, but also to better service quality and improved client satisfaction.
When implementing citizen focused innovations in public administration, commitment and support of the top/senior management are crucial. To create the necessary commitment, demonstration of a solid business case is important. As such, instruments that will systematically measure service delivery outcomes need to be established. Clear outcome measures will enable demonstrating efficiency gains and cost savings that could be gained because of the innovations achieved.
The most difficult part of the public service reform process will not be to find procedures that need to be changed, but the challenges that will be faced in negotiating the proposed changes with the ministries and other public service agencies. One of the major challenges of undertaking this proposal would be to convince that the public service administration needs to be able to distinguish between the times during which to keep control and ensure rules and rights and the times to let go and make use of the resources of citizens and other external stakeholders.
Digitalisation and e-government
The recent experiences of the crises faced, and the austerity initiatives implemented have spurred many governments to rethink their e-government priorities and the role of digitalisation strategies in supporting the recovery. Policy makers consider digitalisation as a pivotal policy tool to enable governments to do more with less. E-government strategies aim to exploit new efficiencies, create more effective ways of working and improve productivity within the public sector. Though Sri Lanka has not faced such an emergency, it is appropriate to take into consideration the fact that e-government will provide the core of public sector reforms.
At the same time, it is paramount to safeguard the privacy of citizens from being infringed by digitisation. It is also paramount to ensure that digitalisation will be strictly restricted for ethical use and that it does not discriminate against anyone or diminish human rights. This requires that the digital and human decision-making processes that will be used to be explicable, auditable, evaluable, trustworthy and only in the public interest.
Digitalization can be made into a shared services initiative at the three vertical levels of government as well as at the horizontal level between provinces or even between local government entities in the same province. For example, such shared service initiatives could be in the areas of finance, human resources and procurement and may include functions such as payroll, pensions and banking.
Utilizing ICTs to join-up various corporate functions, shared services reforms can aim at streamlining and aligning processes. Such initiatives will focus on standardized and simplified corporate processes across Government, to reduce the deficit, achieve sustainable savings and make Government more efficient. Yet, it becomes necessary to set aside the necessary time to define the standards and the processes, so they encompass the important needs of the clients and the institutions.
Introduction of shared service and centralized IT systems could be seen to an extent, as going against the efficiency gains that could be achieved through disaggregation and decentralisation. Some institutions and authorities will resent losing control of the functions and funds that they have been in charge of so far. The other challenge will be to demonstrate that the new shared service centres are capable of ensuring at least the same service and quality levels provided before introducing shared service centres.
If not implemented properly, a shared service centre can possibly cost more than the decentralised manual outcomes that had been provided previously.
Achievements
The immediate achievement of the reform process can be summarised as installing professional values for ensuring:
· a honest, fair, objective and impartial public service in equitably dealing with civil society;
· a decision-making process based on law and authorised policy; and
· a trackable responsibility for legitimate actions as authorised and/or delegated and documented[1] by the public-sector management.
To successfully realise innovation in service delivery, the key areas: knowledge management, employee engagement and user empowerment, cooperation and collaboration, effective leadership and agility need special consideration in the reform process.
Measures of Success
The outcomes of this reform project will entail better service experience for clients such as citizens or businesses; higher productivity in the delivery of public service; better outcomes for citizens and businesses; and enhanced participation, openness and transparency. Such outcomes will flow from a better understanding of problems and opportunities by adhering to an empathetic human perspective; developing tested and tried methods and solutions of service delivery; better ownership of innovation and change within the organisation and without; and being empowered to be better, more effective and specific in service delivery.
Despite the fact that the value of success cannot be defined, measured and translated into monetary units, the measures of success of the reform can be assessed in comparatively in terms of:
- The throughput value created by the services, laws, regulations and other actions;
- The value and importance clients attach to the outcomes generated as a result of the reform process; or
- The ability to deliver socio-economic outcomes that correspond to client expectations.
Importance
The current vale system of public administration in Sri Lanka appears to be based on prioritising administrative efficiency at the cost of administrative accountability. The commitment to service improvement appears subsidiary and the value assigned for client engagement may even be negative. The current system of prioritisation poses a productivity and efficiency imperative. Pubic sector managers need to take much of the responsibility for selecting, commissioning, implementing and realising the benefits of ICTs and the resultant digitalisation.
The value of the reform process, particularly of the digitalisation will depend on the administrative efficiency achieved, service improvement provided to clients and the extent of client engagement in the process itself.
It will be difficult to implement a process of reform including the digitalisation of service delivery unless, the government and the public service consider productivity and efficiency as major concerns that need to be urgently addressed. In this regard, the commitment of the public-sector managers to professionalism, efficiency, service and engagement is vital.
Methodology with options
The reform initiative could suffer from its complexity, lack of vision, lack of clear objectives and lack of commitment to the process. Public sector management of every institution would suffer from the deeply engrained cultural attitudes engendered in the environments during the formative stages. Such attitudes and environments do not always necessarily contribute to harmony within the workplace or with each other.
We would work with the Government of Sri Lanka to research and design an agreed service delivery model and intervention. Initially this will be delivered by our staff acting as facilitators at several workshops and then by your own people as internal instructors. After preliminary work, this option will involve assessing the types of service delivery functions, delivery methods and procedures, current competency and performance/success/failures levels, the outcomes achieved, and the resulting client satisfaction levels compared with the expected outcomes as currently stipulated by the government institution.
The implementation phase will include aligning the government’s strategic goals so that the institution’s performance is aligned with those goals. A possible one day workshop to include interactive discussion of service delivery concepts with the provision of relevant support materials and group exercises including role play; And a possible two day workshop involving a “train-the-trainer” type of workshop to train selected employees to be trained as internal trainers to conduct one-day workshops.
It will be an option to develop and implement a performance management system providing career incentives for all government employees including managers. This will encourage and empower them to acquire and practice skill sets commensurate with those needed for better service delivery and commit to the process by claiming ownership of it. These incentives should not be monetary, rather better career prospects in terms of recognition and promotion etc. A performance review process, does not necessarily have to rely on his or her prior knowledge and training and the reviewer’s assessment alone. A half a day session for selected employees is considered sufficient so that they can understand and question the performance management process, understand their accountabilities and role in the process, participate in exercises in objective settings and measurement criteria, and develop their skills to provide and receive ‘feedback’.
Duration of the study
The preliminary work needed for this project such as case study of five institutions to research into and assess the current status of service delivery, priority areas of improvement that need reform and client consultations can commence any time soon. Whilst the case studies are on, a suitable government institution needs to be selected to implement a pilot project. After the preliminary work (of about two months), organizational mechanisms that are needed to finalise the forms of change that are agreed to be necessary and to implement such forms of change without creating unnecessary friction can be set up. In July 2018, the implementation process could begin in earnest. After a 90-day initial phase of implementation, a mid-term evaluation of progress can be made and an assessment with regard to what further assistance would be necessary for the full implementation of the project. The Project therefore can begin now with case studies commencing and full implementation of the project will continue till the end of this year.
Responsibilities
A team of three individuals from Australia and Sri Lanka would work with the Prime Minister’s Office and with his guidance. We would jointly make determinations during the initial 90 days regarding what objectives and interventions need to be prioritised and need to receive more emphasis, and/or whether unanticipated new needs have arisen that need our efforts redirected to.
In considering the government institution selected for the pilot project implementation, an organisational consultative mechanism jointly accountable for project outcomes need to be set up. Ideally, such an organisational mechanism needs to include the Cabinet Ministers responsible for Public Administration and Local governments, Secretaries, the Secretary of Ministry of Finance, the Governor of the Provincial Council, the Chief Minister and District Secretaries. With the completion of the project implementation, the responsibility and accountability of continuing with the gamut of changes resulting from the reform process could be transferred entirely to the Provincial Council.
[1] For example, see Attachment A: Proposed Client Service Charter for the Public Service in Sri Lanka
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Annexure 1
Organisational Chart of the Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Councils
Divisional Secretariats of Sri Lanka
The Districts of Sri Lanka are divided into administrative sub-units known as divisional secretariats. These were originally based on the feudal counties, the korales and ratas. They were formerly known as 'D.R.O. Divisions' after the 'Divisional Revenue Officer'. Later the D.R.O.s became 'Assistant Government Agents' and the Divisions were known as 'A.G.A. Divisions'. Currently, the Divisions are administered by a 'Divisional Secretary', and are known as 'D.S. Divisions'.
9 Provinces consist of 25 districts
5 North Western Province, Sri Lanka
Divisional Secretariats of Sri Lanka
Central Province
List of Divisional Secretariats of Central Province, Sri Lanka
Kandy District 20
· Akurana Divisional Secretariat
· Delthota Divisional Secretariat
· Doluwa Divisional Secretariat
· Ganga Ihala Korale Divisional Secretariat
· Harispattuwa Divisional Secretariat
· Hatharaliyadda Divisional Secretariat
· Kandy Divisional Secretariat
· Kundasale Divisional Secretariat
· Medadumbara Divisional Secretariat
· Minipe Divisional Secretariat
· Panvila Divisional Secretariat
· Pasbage Korale Divisional Secretariat
· Pathadumbara Divisional Secretariat
· Pathahewaheta Divisional Secretariat
· Poojapitiya Divisional Secretariat
· Thumpane Divisional Secretariat
· Udadumbara Divisional Secretariat
· Udapalatha Divisional Secretariat
· Udunuwara Divisional Secretariat
· Yatinuwara Divisional Secretariat
Matale District 11
· Ambanganga Korale Divisional Secretariat
· Dambulla Divisional Secretariat
· Galewela Divisional Secretariat
· Laggala-Pallegama Divisional Secretariat
· Matale Divisional Secretariat
· Naula Divisional Secretariat
· Pallepola Divisional Secretariat
· Rattota Divisional Secretariat
· Ukuwela Divisional Secretariat
· Wilgamuwa Divisional Secretariat
· Yatawatta Divisional Secretariat
Nuwara Eliya District 5
· Ambagamuwa Divisional Secretariat
· Hanguranketha Divisional Secretariat
· Kothmale Divisional Secretariat
· Nuwara Eliya Divisional Secretariat
· Walapane Divisional Secretariat
Eastern Province
List of Divisional Secretariats of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka
Ampara District 21
· Addalachchenai Divisional Secretariat
· Akkaraipattu Divisional Secretariat
· Alayadiwembu Divisional Secretariat
· Ampara Divisional Secretariat
· Damana Divisional Secretariat
· Dehiattakandiya Divisional Secretariat
· Eragama Divisional Secretariat
· Kalmunai Divisional Muslim Secretariat
· Kalmunai Divisional Tamil Secretariat
· Karativu Divisional Secretariat
· Lahugala Divisional Secretariat
· Mahaoya Divisional Secretariat
· Navithanveli Divisional Secretariat
· Ninthavur Divisional Secretariat
· Padiyathalawa Divisional Secretariat
· Pothuvil Divisional Secretariat
· Sainthamarathu Divisional Secretariat
· Samanthurai Divisional Secretariat
· Thirukkovil Divisional Secretariat
· Uhana Divisional Secretariat
Batticaloa District 14
· Eravur Pattu Divisional Secretariat
· Eravur Town Divisional Secretariat
· Kattankudy Divisional Secretariat
· Koralai Pattu Divisional Secretariat
· Koralai Pattu Central Divisional Secretariat
· Koralai Pattu North Divisional Secretariat
· Koralai Pattu South Divisional Secretariat
· Koralai Pattu West Divisional Secretariat
· Manmunai North Divisional Secretariat
· Manmunai Pattu Divisional Secretariat
· Manmunai South & Eruvil Pattu Divisional Secretariat
· Manmunai South West Divisional Secretariat
· Manmunai West Divisional Secretariat
· Porativu Pattu Divisional Secretariat
Trincomalee District 11
· Gomarankadawala Divisional Secretariat
· Kantalai Divisional Secretariat
· Kinniya Divisional Secretariat
· Kuchchaveli Divisional Secretariat
· Morawewa Divisional Secretariat
· Muttur Divisional Secretariat
· Padavi Sri Pura Divisional Secretariat
· Seruvila Divisional Secretariat
· Thambalagamuwa Divisional Secretariat
· Trincomalee Divisional Secretariat
· Verugal Divisional Secretariat
North Central Province
List of Divisional Secretariats of North Central Province, Sri Lanka
Anuradhapura District 22
· Galnewa Divisional Secretariat
· Galenbindunuwewa Divisional Secretariat
· Horowpothana Divisional Secretariat
· Ipalogama Divisional Secretariat
· Kahatagasdigiliya Divisional Secretariat
· Kebithigollewa Divisional Secretariat
· Kekirawa Divisional Secretariat
· Mahavilachchiya Divisional Secretariat
· Medawachchiya Divisional Secretariat
· Mihinthale Divisional Secretariat
· Nachchadoowa Divisional Secretariat
· Nochchiyagama Divisional Secretariat
· Nuwaragam Palatha Central Divisional Secretariat
· Nuwaragam Palatha East Divisional Secretariat
· Padaviya Divisional Secretariat
· Palagala Divisional Secretariat
· Palugaswewa Divisional Secretariat
· Rajanganaya Divisional Secretariat
· Rambewa Divisional Secretariat
· Thalawa Divisional Secretariat
· Thambuttegama Divisional Secretariat
· Thirappane Divisional Secretariat
Polonnaruwa District 7
· Dimbulagala Divisional Secretariat
· Elahera Divisional Secretariat
· Hingurakgoda Divisional Secretariat
· Lankapura Divisional Secretariat
· Medirigiriya Divisional Secretariat
· Thamankaduwa Divisional Secretariat
· Welikanda Divisional Secretariat
Northern Province
List of Divisional Secretariats of Northern Province, Sri Lanka
Jaffna District 15
· Delft Divisional Secretariat
· Island North Divisional Secretariat
· Island South Divisional Secretariat
· Jaffna Divisional Secretariat
· Karainagar Divisional Secretariat
· Nallur Divisional Secretariat
· Thenmaradchi Divisional Secretariat
· Vadamaradchi East Divisional Secretariat
· Vadamaradchi North Divisional Secretariat
· Vadamaradchi South-West Divisional Secretariat
· Valikamam East Divisional Secretariat
· Valikamam North Divisional Secretariat
· Valikamam South Divisional Secretariat
· Valikamam South-West Divisional Secretariat
· Valikamam West Divisional Secretariat
Kilinochchi District 4
· Kandavalai Divisional Secretariat
· Karachchi Divisional Secretariat
· Pachchilaipalli Divisional Secretariat
· Poonakary Divisional Secretariat
Mannar District 5
· Madhu Divisional Secretariat
· Mannar Divisional Secretariat
· Manthai West Divisional Secretariat
· Musalai Divisional Secretariat
· Nanaddan Divisional Secretariat
Mullaitivu District 6
· Manthai East Divisional Secretariat
· Maritimepattu Divisional Secretariat
· Oddusuddan Divisional Secretariat
· Puthukudiyiruppu Divisional Secretariat
· Thunukkai Divisional Secretariat
· Welioya Divisional Secretariat
Vavuniya District 4
· Vavuniya Divisional Secretariat
· Vavuniya North Divisional Secretariat
· Vavuniya South Divisional Secretariat
· Vengalacheddikulam Divisional Secretariat
North Western Province, Sri Lanka
List of Divisional Secretariats of North Western Province, Sri Lanka
Kurunegala District 30
· Alawwa Divisional Secretariat
· Ambanpola Divisional Secretariat
· Bamunakotuwa Divisional Secretariat
· Bingiriya Divisional Secretariat
· Ehetuwewa Divisional Secretariat
· Galgamuwa Divisional Secretariat
· Ganewatta Divisional Secretariat
· Giribawa Divisional Secretariat
· Ibbagamuwa Divisional Secretariat
· Katupotha Divisional Secretariat
· Kobeigane Divisional Secretariat
· Kotavehera Divisional Secretariat
· Kuliyapitiya East Divisional Secretariat
· Kuliyapitiya West Divisional Secretariat
· Kurunegala Divisional Secretariat
· Mahawa Divisional Secretariat
· Mallawapitiya Divisional Secretariat
· Maspotha Divisional Secretariat
· Mawathagama Divisional Secretariat
· Narammala Divisional Secretariat
· Nikaweratiya Divisional Secretariat
· Panduwasnuwara Divisional Secretariat
· Pannala Divisional Secretariat
· Polgahawela Divisional Secretariat
· Polpithigama Divisional Secretariat
· Rasnayakapura Divisional Secretariat
· Rideegama Divisional Secretariat
· Udubaddawa Divisional Secretariat
· Wariyapola Divisional Secretariat
· Weerambugedara Divisional Secretariat
Puttalam District 16
· Anamaduwa Divisional Secretariat
· Arachchikattuwa Divisional Secretariat
· Chilaw Divisional Secretariat
· Dankotuwa Divisional Secretariat
· Kalpitiya Divisional Secretariat
· Karuwalagaswewa Divisional Secretariat
· Madampe Divisional Secretariat
· Mahakumbukkadawala Divisional Secretariat
· Mahawewa Divisional Secretariat
· Mundalama Divisional Secretariat
· Nattandiya Divisional Secretariat
· Nawagattegama Divisional Secretariat
· Pallama Divisional Secretariat
· Puttalam Divisional Secretariat
· Vanathavilluwa Divisional Secretariat
· Wennappuwa Divisional Secretariat
Sabaragamuwa Province
List of Divisional Secretariats of Sabaragamuwa Province
Kegalle District 11
· Aranayaka Divisional Secretariat
· Bulathkohupitiya Divisional Secretariat
· Dehiovita Divisional Secretariat
· Deraniyagala Divisional Secretariat
· Galigamuwa Divisional Secretariat
· Kegalle Divisional Secretariat
· Mawanella Divisional Secretariat
· Rambukkana Divisional Secretariat
· Ruwanwella Divisional Secretariat
· Warakapola Divisional Secretariat
· Yatiyanthota Divisional Secretariat
Ratnapura District 17
· Ayagama Divisional Secretariat
· Balangoda Divisional Secretariat
· Eheliyagoda Divisional Secretariat
· Elapattha Divisional Secretariat
· Embilipitiya Divisional Secretariat
· Godakawela Divisional Secretariat
· Imbulpe Divisional Secretariat
· Kahawatta Divisional Secretariat
· Kalawana Divisional Secretariat
· Kiriella Divisional Secretariat
· Kolonna Divisional Secretariat
· Kuruvita Divisional Secretariat
· Nivithigala Divisional Secretariat
· Opanayaka Divisional Secretariat
· Pelmadulla Divisional Secretariat
· Ratnapura Divisional Secretariat
· Weligepola Divisional Secretariat
Southern Province[edit]
List of Divisional Secretariats of Southern Province, Sri Lanka
Galle District 19
· Akmeemana Divisional Secretariat
· Ambalangoda Divisional Secretariat
· Baddegama Divisional Secretariat
· Balapitiya Divisional Secretariat
· Benthota Divisional Secretariat
· Bope-Poddala Divisional Secretariat
· Elpitiya Divisional Secretariat
· Galle Divisional Secretariat
· Gonapinuwala Divisional Secretariat
· Habaraduwa Divisional Secretariat
· Hikkaduwa Divisional Secretariat
· Imaduwa Divisional Secretariat
· Karandeniya Divisional Secretariat
· Nagoda Divisional Secretariat
· Neluwa Divisional Secretariat
· Niyagama Divisional Secretariat
· Thawalama Divisional Secretariat
· Welivitiya-Divithura Divisional Secretariat
· Yakkalamulla Divisional Secretariat
Hambantota District 12
· Ambalantota Divisional Secretariat
· Angunakolapelessa Divisional Secretariat
· Beliatta Divisional Secretariat
· Hambantota Divisional Secretariat
· Katuwana Divisional Secretariat
· Lunugamvehera Divisional Secretariat
· Okewela Divisional Secretariat
· Sooriyawewa Divisional Secretariat
· Tangalle Divisional Secretariat
· Thissamaharama Divisional Secretariat
· Walasmulla Divisional Secretariat
· Weeraketiya Divisional Secretariat
Matara District 16
· Akuressa Divisional Secretariat
· Athuraliya Divisional Secretariat
· Devinuwara Divisional Secretariat
· Dickwella Divisional Secretariat
· Hakmana Divisional Secretariat
· Kamburupitiya Divisional Secretariat
· Kirinda Puhulwella Divisional Secretariat
· Kotapola Divisional Secretariat
· Malimbada Divisional Secretariat
· Matara Divisional Secretariat
· Mulatiyana Divisional Secretariat
· Pasgoda Divisional Secretariat
· Pitabeddara Divisional Secretariat
· Thihagoda Divisional Secretariat
· Weligama Divisional Secretariat
· Welipitiya Divisional Secretariat
Uva Province
List of Divisional Secretariats of Uva Province
Badulla District 15
· Badulla Divisional Secretariat
· Bandarawela Divisional Secretariat
· Haldummulla Divisional Secretariat
· Hali-Ela Divisional Secretariat
· Haputale Divisional Secretariat
· Kandaketiya Divisional Secretariat
· Lunugala Divisional Secretariat
· Mahiyanganaya Divisional Secretariat
· Meegahakivula Divisional Secretariat
· Passara Divisional Secretariat
· Rideemaliyadda Divisional Secretariat
· Soranathota Divisional Secretariat
· Uva-Paranagama Divisional Secretariat
· Welimada Divisional Secretariat
Moneragala District 11
· Badalkumbura Divisional Secretariat
· Bibile Divisional Secretariat
· Buttala Divisional Secretariat
· Katharagama Divisional Secretariat
· Madulla Divisional Secretariat
· Medagama Divisional Secretariat
· Moneragala Divisional Secretariat
· Sevanagala Divisional Secretariat
· Siyambalanduwa Divisional Secretariat
· Thanamalvila Divisional Secretariat
· Wellawaya Divisional Secretariat
Western Province
List of Divisional Secretariats of Western Province, Sri Lanka
Colombo District 13
· Colombo Divisional Secretariat
· Dehiwala Divisional Secretariat
· Homagama Divisional Secretariat
· Kaduwela Divisional Secretariat
· Kesbewa Divisional Secretariat
· Kolonnawa Divisional Secretariat
· Kotte Divisional Secretariat
· Maharagama Divisional Secretariat
· Moratuwa Divisional Secretariat
· Padukka Divisional Secretariat
· Ratmalana Divisional Secretariat
· Seethawaka Divisional Secretariat
· Thimbirigasyaya Divisional Secretariat
Gampaha District 13
· Attanagalla Divisional Secretariat
· Biyagama Divisional Secretariat
· Divulapitiya Divisional Secretariat
· Dompe Divisional Secretariat
· Gampaha Divisional Secretariat
· Ja-Ela Divisional Secretariat
· Katana Divisional Secretariat
· Kelaniya Divisional Secretariat
· Mahara Divisional Secretariat
· Minuwangoda Divisional Secretariat
· Mirigama Divisional Secretariat
· Negombo Divisional Secretariat
· Wattala Divisional Secretariat
Kalutara District 14
· Agalawatta Divisional Secretariat
· Bandaragama Divisional Secretariat
· Beruwala Divisional Secretariat
· Bulathsinhala Divisional Secretariat
· Dodangoda Divisional Secretariat
· Horana Divisional Secretariat
· Ingiriya Divisional Secretariat
· Kalutara Divisional Secretariat
· Madurawela Divisional Secretariat
· Mathugama Divisional Secretariat
· Millaniya Divisional Secretariat
· Palindanuwara Divisional Secretariat
· Panadura Divisional Secretariat
· Walallavita Divisional Secretariat
Annexure 3
Proposed Client Service Charter for Public Service in Sri Lanka
The main objective of the Public Service in Sri Lanka is to serve their stake holders. The most important stake holder in this regard is the General Public in Sri Lanka, who yearn for an efficient and productive service without them being inconvenienced. To realise this potential, the culture of the Public Service as a whole, and the attitudes of public servants as individuals need to change with an orientation to serve their clients with empathy, and in a professional and dignified manner.
The success of the Public Service lies in delivering an efficient and productive service to the General Public, who is their major client.
The main barriers to realising this objective in the Public Service in Sri Lanka appear to be:
1. Political appointments made to the Public Service from higher up to lower ranks, making them not being responsible or accountable to the General Public or to the the Government for the services they provide;
2. Abundance of public servants, who do not have a specific duty, role, responsibility or discipline;
3. Lack of a formulated policy framework and consistent guidelines for carrying out their responsibilities;
4. Lack of an agreed Public Service wide value system to uphold;
5. Lack of professional training and development that enable them to provide the expected services in a satisfactory manner;
6. Lack of consistent guidance by the higher ups through delivering 360 degree communication in their agencies, regarding all new developments and updates;
7. Unnecessary interventions made by politicians;
8. Belief and attitude that the public owes for the services public servants provide, despite their salaries being paid by the public purse; etc.
First and foremost, the Government of Sri Lanka needs to define and set up a Value System and a Client Service Charter for its Public Service in general, and then client service charters specific to each individual entity. The Value System and the Client Service Charter need be set up by an appointed professional body with members qualified to do so in public administration and client service. This needs to be realised in consultation with the Public Service and the General Public. Elected governments and politicians need to avoid unnecessarily interfering in this process.
Such a Value System needs to specify that the entities dealing with the General Public need to be professional, comprehensive, understanding and first and foremost not inconveniencing. All government entities and their staff should commit both individually and collectively to uphold the Sri Lanka Public Service Values, such as impartiality, commitment to service; accountability; respectfulness and ethical behaviour.
In order to make this cultural change in the Public Service possible, the commitment of both political and governmental leadership is vital. Both encouraging and corrective measures may be used to achieve this outcome.
In addition, each agency needs to develop a client service charter of its own for its own service delivery purposes. It should set out each entity’s commitment to provide their clients an excellent service that the clients could expect.
Access to and Provision of services
The Public Service needs to consider serving the General Public with empathy at the forefront of everything they do. Their services need to provide quality and consistency in the information they provide, the needed support, advice and assistance to help the public achieve their legally eligible requirements.
Individuals and business entities in Sri Lanka and the visitors to the country need quality advice and support of the Government and the Public Service, in addressing the problematic issues they encounter in dealing with many day to day issues in their lives. Hence, the need for public servants to be guided by specific client service principles including adequate response times, provision of quality services, confidentiality of the information they handle, transparency in dealing with and processing client requests, professionalism in the provision of service, and maintenance of ethical communication services.
Responsiveness:
· Public service needs to respond as promptly as possible, to any enquiries made by the public through mail, phone, email and social media, and also via the provisional and district based office networks;
· Public service needs to set deadlines and enforce those deadlines as strictly as possible; for example, in responding to mail enquiries within ten working days, to phone and email enquiries within three working days, and to email and social media enquiries within one working day;
· Public service needs to provide accurate, up to date and consistent information, when public needs it; and
- Public service targets need to be transparent and outline the processes involved and timelines including for making any required payments.
Quality service:
· Public servants, because of their extensive knowledge and experience, need to understand with empathy the issues General Public would raise with them;
· Public servants need to tailor their responses to the needs of the General Public;
· Public servants need to be capable of providing directions, linkages and referrals to other government related information relevant to the needs of the General Public; and
- Public servants need to ensure that the General Public will receive the same excellent service standard from a third party working on behalf of the Government.
Confidentiality:
· Public service needs to ensure that systems are in place to protect confidential information the General Public provides;
· Public service needs to assure that they will consider with respect and make use of the ideas and concepts the General Public provides for the betterment of services the government provides;
· Public service needs to assure that the information the Government receives from the General Public will not be used to their personal or individual advantage, or to cause detriment or inconvenience to the General Public; and
- Public service needs to ensure that they handle all information provided by the General Public in accordance with the privacy and Right to Information laws that have been enacted in Sri Lanka.
Transparency:
· Public servants should not engage in any activity that involves conflict of interest and if so, should disclose such interests at the earliest possible opportunity;
· Public servants need to be open and transparent about their processes
· All programme information of an agency needs to be shared, published and regularly updated on all their communications including their websites;
· Public Service agencies and public servants need to provide consistent and clear information across all their communication channels;
- Public Service needs to ensure that they provide access to the personal information they hold regarding an individual of the public upon his/her request.
· Dealings with the General Public including businesses need to be conducted with integrity and honesty;
· Public servants need to focus on helping the General Public including businesses to find solutions to their personal and business needs;
· Public service needs to assure and ensure that all individuals and businesses are treated equally and equitably; and
- Public servants need to be accountable in their dealings with the General Public including businesses.
1. Via media:
· Public servants need to be contactable using any media of communication when and where it is convenient for the General Public;
· The public servants responding to telephone enquiries need to be experienced and knowledgeable;
· The agency website needs to be easy to use, with intuitive navigations and customised content so General Public can quickly find the information they need;
· The General Public should be able to access information about the agency using any device, any time;
· If an individual or entity in the General Public signs up to receive information from the government, the option to unsubscribe from such information needs to be provided;
· An agency needs to be contactable between specified time periods such as 9.00 am to 5.00 pm nationally on every working day; and
- An agency needs to develop a phone solution that will enable the General Public to communicate in their mother tongue, or language of his/her choice so that any citizen, who does not communicate in any one of the national languages, Sinhala, or Tamil, or English would not be inconvenienced.
2. Via face-to-face:
· In dealing with an application, a public servant always needs to advise an individual the criteria against which the eligibility and merit of any application that person lodges will be assessed;
· The public servant needs to advise the individual how long the assessment processes may take and where relevant, inform of any payment processes involved;
- If an individual or an entity receives governmental assistance, a public servant needs to formally advise/inform of the individual’s or entity’s obligations involved.
3. General:
· An individual or an entity needs to provide the government, information that is timely, accurate and complete;
· An individual or an entity needs to take the time they need to understand their obligations and the way those obligations would be met;
· An individual or an entity would provide the department or agency with honest and constructive feedback on the services provided to or received by them;
· An individual or an entity that believes an agency has made an error or acted inappropriately, and wish to make a complaint, the contact information (online/phone/email) required for doing so needs to be provided in public; and
- Public servants need to clarify that this feedback can include compliments, complaints, suggestions or any relevant information about program or service delivery, or performance.
4. Complaints policy:
· If an individual or an entity has a complaint, providing the Public Service with the first opportunity to resolve it, needs to be appreciated;
· The individual or the entity needs to be assured that making a complaint will not affect their relationship with the agency;
· All people have the right to raise concerns and make legitimate complaints and expect that the issues raised will be handled in a fair, confidential and responsive manner, free from repercussion or prejudice;
· If an individual or an entity clearly explains the issue and what they think should be done to fix it will assist the agency and needs to be appreciated;
· If an individual or an entity considers documentary evidence is relevant and important in supporting their case, then including copies of relevant documents needs to be appreciated;
· The Public Service needs to ensure that at the conclusion of a formal complaint, the individual or entity will receive the decision in writing;
· The Agency needs to specify the legal avenues available to an individual or an entity to ask for a review of handling of the matter, if they are still not satisfied;
· Such a review process needs to determine if the Agency has acted according to and within their policies and guidelines;
· The agency needs to outline to the individual or entity, if they remain dissatisfied, the further legal avenues, such as a Central Government Ombudsperson, that investigates complaints about administrative actions of agencies;
· Such a Central Government Ombudsperson may not, but in certain cases cannot, investigate complaints until such complaints have first been raised directly with the agency involved; and
An individual or an entity needs further to have the option to write to the Government, i.e., Ministers or the relevant Member of Parliament (or Senator);
· The individual or entity needs to be advised that the Government will probably refer their complaint to the agency, so that the agency will assess the complaint according to their standard established policy framework; and
- At the completion of the process, the agency needs to report back to the Government.
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