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Batho Pele matters because the author of the white paper sees citizens – in a way – as the ‘customers’ of the government’s public services departments. It sympathises with the person making use of government departments because they cannot ‘take their business elsewhere’ as they can in the private sector. They have no choice but to deal with specific government departments, and therefore those departments must provide good ‘customer service’. It guides government departments on how to deliver good service through eight easy principles, while understanding that there are challenges and the public cannot expect the impossible.

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What is “Batho Pele”?

Batho Pele means “People First”. The Batho Pele White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery is a document that attempts to addresses and improve the way government serves the public.  In section 3 the paper provides eight key principles government departments need to apply.

The paper talks about service delivery in terms of ‘customer service’ by the government to the citizen. It understands that a citizen is not really a ‘customer’ – there are clear differences – but it wants government departments to treat those that deal with them as if they were customers.

It hopes to achieve better service delivery and it applies to all government departments that serve the public. The late Zola Skweyiya in the foreword says “I want people to view and experience public service in an entirely new way”. I would love to commend the author for the whitepaper, it sounds like he deeply cared. Please read the full whitepaper for more.

Does it promise the impossible?

Batho Pele whitepaper does not pretend to promise the impossible and notes that we must “live within the resources the nation can afford”. But even so says that “It asks public servants to commit themselves to the limits of what is possible; and then to push on to the next goal. If the initiative is to achieve its aims, public servants at every level, from the very top to the most junior, must understand it and support it.

Batho Pele must become the watchword of the new South African public service” (section 12).

I know many government workers at QCTO, TETA, and HWSETA for example, that are exemplary, really care about customer service, and go the extra mile.

Who is the ‘customer’ and what are they entitled to?

Annexure A of the white paper asks the government department to identify itself.

Annexure B contains 9 sections for that specific government department to complete. Each section tells the government department what they must do; there is a direct requirement.

These are the sections and what they require the department to do:

1. Customers: To name their ‘customer’.  It defines the customer as direct recipients of services, and indirect recipients of services are ‘secondary customers.
2. Services: To list services (they provide to their customers).
3. Consultation: To make consultation with their named customers.
4. Access: To state how the customer accesses the department (e.g. by phone or other).
5. Standards: To define the standards set (for service delivery to the customer).
6. Information: To define how their customers receive information.
7. Courtesy: To govern their behaviour (e.g. through a code) and have customer service incorporated performance appraisals.
8. Openness and transparency: To state what information they convey about themselves, who receives that information, what methods are used, how frequently this is done, in what languages, and what contact information us used for the customer.
9. Redress: To have a complaint system addressing accessibility, speed, fairness, confidentiality, responsiveness, review, and training.

Placing test data:

Annexure A: I have placed some test data in here for the government department QCTO.

Annexure B: Relate this to your own experience. Do you agree or disagree?

1. Customers: QCTO customers are training providers and learners.
2. Services: QCTO services offered to these customers includes: Processing training provider applications for accreditation, quality assurance of training, and certification of competent learners are all services.
3. Consultation: QCTO books consultations with training providers on matters that affect them and their learners.
4. Access: QCTO is accessible by phone or email or via other methods.
5. Standards: QCTO has written service standards that are met.
6. Information: QCTO communicates necessary information with customers.
7. Courtesy: QCTO governs their behaviour (e.g. through a code) and has customer service incorporated performance appraisals that are reviewed often.
8. Openness and transparency: QCTO conveys information about themselves to customers, customers receive that that information, and this is done frequently.
9. Redress: QCTO has a complaint system that addresses accessibility, speed, fairness, confidentiality, responsiveness, review, and training.

The eight Batho Pele principles

Annexure B above is in line with the principles, but the principles are listed differently in section 3.

The eight principles are:

1. Consultation: Government departments must consult with citizens (especially customers) about their needs and preferences for services. This ensures that the public’s voice is heard and considered in service delivery.

2. Service Standards: Departments are required to set and publish service standards, which define the level of service that citizens can expect. This helps to maintain transparency and accountability.

3. Access: Public services should be accessible to all citizens, ensuring that physical, financial, and other barriers are minimized.

4. Courtesy: Government employees must treat all citizens with respect and courtesy, promoting a positive and professional interaction.

5. Information: Government departments must provide accurate, clear, and timely information about their services. This includes making information available in a user-friendly format and through accessible channels.

6. Openness and Transparency: There should be openness and transparency in how decisions are made and services are delivered. This helps to build trust between the public and government.

7. Redress: Mechanisms must be in place for citizens to complain and seek redress if they are not satisfied with the services they receive. Complaints should be addressed promptly and effectively.

8. Value for Money: Government services should offer good value for money, ensuring that resources are used efficiently and effectively to benefit the public.

The relationship between the QCTO and its customer the training provider

There’s a phenomenon in training quality assurance that is understood by many training providers, but also other consulting firms like mine. It works like this.

The QCTO has not consulted adequately with training providers on the accreditation process (principle 1). The process does not need to be ‘easy’ but it does need to effective and economical to run (principle 8) so that QCTO can meet its own standards like turnaround time (principle 2).  

QCTO is not open with training providers (principle 6) on how they came to do their administration the way they do, and when issues are pointed out they are not redressed by QCTO (principle 8), the administration process remains the same or becomes bulkier as new forms and fields are added, again, without consultation with training providers (principle 1).

Training providers fear that any resistance or any disagreement from their end will lead to reprisals, so they attempt to follow to the “T” everything they are told to do by QCTO, even if those things are unreasonable or not within QCTO policy or procedure (can cite examples).

The QCTO gets very little resistance from training providers, and concludes that everything is fine. They have not consulted with them, which is the proper mechanism for understanding how their services are reveied by their customer (principle 1).

And the result is situations like this:

• Mitigating QCTO QA monitoring delays for FISA
• Can QCTO prohibit the use of consultants?

What can you expect as a training provider?

Without expecting the impossible (section 12) compare your own experience with QCTO to the eight Batho Pele principles (section 3).

It is ok to:

1. Expect to be consulted with regarding services that affect you as a customer.
2. Know what standards are in place (and expect them to be met).
3. Have access to these services as a customer.
4. Be treated courteously.
5. Be well and frequently informed.
6. Be included in how decisions that affect you are made and expect openness and transparency
7. Expect redress where necessary.
8. Receive value for money and efficient and economical services.

And it is ok to expect the possible

“Batho Pele must become the watchword of the new South African public service” (section 12)

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