… As HOS Calls For Periodic Review of Service Charter Document
Lagos State Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola has made a renewed call to civil servants to be dedicated to quality service delivery in line with the provisions of the State’s Service Charter document being championed by the Lagos State Office of Transformation, Creativity and Innovation (OTCI).
The Head of Service made the call on Monday at an event commemorating the 10th year anniversary of the introduction of the Service Charter Initiative into the Lagos State Public Service, with the theme: “Service Charter – A Relevant Tool for Effective and Efficient Service Delivery”.
Represented at the event by the Executive Secretary of the Staff Housing Board, Mr. Abdulrafiu Fashola, the Head of Service stated that it is imperative that the content of the service charter document be reviewed regularly for effectiveness and efficiency in service delivery.
Muri-Okunola identified the dynamic nature of service delivery generally as well as the peculiarity of service delivery in the public sector as the justifications for the proposed periodic review of the content of the service charter document.
He maintained that the service charter document had proven to be a document that is relevant for effective and efficient service delivery in Lagos State Public Service, saying that the initiative has been institutionalised to instill the culture of excellent service delivery across the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
While acknowledging the noticeable improvement that the Service Charter Initiative had brought to the State Public Service, the Head of Service also challenged all government officials to be deliberate about improving their service delivery.
Also speaking at the event, the Director-General of OTCI, Mr. Toba Otusanya commended the MDAs that embraced the service charter initiative from inception 10 years ago, just as he charged other MDAs who are yet to become chartered MDA to embrace the initiative to achieve the optimal goal of effective and efficient service delivery to Lagosians.
Otusanya gave a comprehensive report of the performance of each MDAs that had successfully met the set standard in quality service delivery, listing the yardstick for the assessment of the service delivery of each of the chartered MDAs to include Quality of Service delivery, Professionalism, Adequate Information, Timeliness and Staff Attitude
He also revealed that the Public Service Staff Development Centre (PSSDC), Lagos State House of Assembly (LAHA) and Ministry of Health occupied the top positions in the areas listed above.
The Director of Branding and One-Stop Service Charter, OTCI, Mr. Olalekan Rufai remarked that the initiative was initially launched with just 14 MDAs, adding that the Office was able to overcome the initial challenges of resistance to change by members of the public.
He promised that OTCI will not rest on its oars but will instead continue with the constant sensitisation of service champions and service seekers for improved service delivery and high compliance with service charter dictates.
The highlight of the event was the presentation of awards to PSSDC for consistently upscaling excellent service delivery in Public Service and Lagos State House of Assembly for portraying excellence in service delivery.
Other award recipients are the State Treasury Office and General Hospital, Ikorodu; Isolo General Hospital; Lagos Internal Revenue Service and United Capital Trustees for excellent compliance with the tenets of the Service Charter. The Medical Director of Orile Agege General Hospital, Dr. Adesola Pitan was also presented with a recognition award for his selfless service delivery.
Recall that the Service Charter was introduced in the year 2012 with the sole aim of pioneering excellent service delivery initiatives within Lagos State Public Service.
