There are some excellent civil servants. I have personally benefited from their commitment, their expertise and their efficiency. But there are still others who think that delivering a service refers to what they do on Saturday afternoons on the tennis court.
Take the officials in the Northern Cape who recently refused to travel to outlying areas in case they damaged their new cars. The reason they receive travel allowances in the first place is so they have cars to get them to the outlying areas, where they are supposed to be providing services.
These are government officials who think that Batho Pele is a way of greeting a great Brazilian soccer player. But Batho Pele — Putting People First — is about enhancing “the quality and accessibility of government services by improving efficiency and accountability to the recipients of public goods and services.” Even in the arts and culture sector.
Herewith the eight principles of Batho Pele, as understood by the uncivil service — and as experienced by many:
1. Regularly consult with customers. Better still, regularly customise your consultants. This way, they will always tell you what you want to hear.
2. Set service standards. The onus is on you to do this. Not the public. Ensure that these standards are as low as possible so that you don’t raise public expectations unnecessarily. And always have the telephone number of the public order police unit handy just in case.
3. Increase access to services. You are at the coalface of service delivery. There is no reason why you and your family should not have increased access to houses, social services, modern forms of transport, good education and sport and entertainment amenities.
4. Ensure higher levels of courtesy. Always be nice to those in positions above you. Practise the principle of non-racism by cultivating the habit of brown-nosing.
5. Provide more and better information about services. If you absolutely have to, then provide such information about services in other departments. This will allow you to continue to improve your solitaire skills and to reduce your golf handicap.
6. Increase openness and transparency. Always go for the office with the best view. Alternatively, insist on open-plan offices so that you can see which of your colleagues work less than you.
7. Remedy failures and mistakes. Get rid of those who have a habit of pointing these out.
8. Give the best possible value for money. Always make sure that those who pay you a little bit extra, in cash or in kind, get what they pay for. This will ensure your capacity to increase delivery of services — to yourself.