Consumers ‘demand more’ of public services

PUBLIC servants need to improve service and efficiency to meet the demands of a more sophisticated South African consumer, Public Service and Administration Minister Collins Chabane says.

South Africans were no longer “passive” consumers of public services, Mr Chabane told managers in the civil service at the eighth annual Public Service Innovation Conference yesterday.

“They are sophisticated and more informed, thus demanding better, more efficient, more personalised services and multiple channels of access to match their preferences,” he said.

This year’s conference is aimed at highlighting the importance of innovation, which is critical to implement the government’s flagship National Development Plan.

This plan calls for the government to make major policy and operational adjustments to grow the economy and create jobs.

“We need to ask ourselves very basic, fundamental questions. How do we get world-class education to children in underserviced areas? How do we get rid of the bucket system, which has been haunting us for decades?” Mr Chabane said.

The department’s directorgeneral, Mashwahle Diphofa, said innovation was not an optional extra for public servants.

“Citizens are much more empowered,” Mr Diphofa said. “They are not prepared to settle for second best.”