UGU DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY-

EMBRACING BATHO PELE AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF MUNICIPAL BUSINESS: A

CASE STUDY OF UGU DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY

INTRODUCTION• Batho Pele is understood by us to be an initiative that aims to get

our Municipal employees to be service orientated, to strive for excellence in service delivery and to commit to continuous service delivery improvement. It commits us as Ugu District Municipality to be held accountable by our communities for the level of services we deliver. Therefore, we have to put our communities in centre in delivering services.

• What we consider central is the fact that Batho Pele has its roots in a series of policies and legislative frameworks, which have beencategorised into three themes namely: those that are overarching or transversal, those that deal with access to information and those that deal with transformation of service delivery. We therefore consciously made a commitment to embrace Batho Pele as an integral part of municipal business in order to transform our service delivery.

INTRO CONTINUES

• Our commitment is in line with legislation that demands that all government spheres must align their service delivery mandates and service delivery improvement plans with the overall service delivery priorities of the government based on the needs of the citizens.

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY• A Batho Pele Change Management Engagement

Programme ( BPCMEP) was only conducted on the 13th – 15th of March 2007 for Ugu and SisonkeMunicipalities. Within four months, we were able to develop the Batho Pele Policy Framework and Implementation Strategy that was adopted by Council. A Service Delivery Improvement Plan informed by this policy framework was then developed and also approved by Top management.

• The two documents have since set in motion a process of change in the Ugu District Municipality (DM). When a team from DPSA conducted the workshop at Ugu DM participants were immensely motivated and caught the DPSA vision of…”a transformed public service...” This was the time Ugu District Municipality reached a turning point, and agreed to turn.

Table 1: Batho Pele Implementation Plan

PRINCIPLE STRATEGY RESPONSIBILITY TIME FRAME

CONSULTATION Communicate BP change management concept to extended top management, top management and EXCO through a presentation

Batho Pele Task Team 31st May 2008

Streamline Batho Peleprinciples through budget road shows/Izimbizo/public meetingsCascade BP principles to all staffBP principles to be included in orientation workshops

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN CONTINUES

Access Update internet websiteProcure and acquire appropriate sign boardsindicating office locationFacilitate launch of intranet siteEstablish a toll-free help line in all satellite offices

IT SectionCorporate Services and Mayoralty SectionIT Corporate Services

30th June 2008

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN CONT

Redress Design template/form for suggestion boxes and have clear instructions for usage and encourage clients to make use thereof

Batho Pele Task Team 30th October 2007

Courtesy Ongoing exposure of staff to training on customer care and emotional intelligence workshops

Batho Pele Task Team 30th October 2007

Openness Inform public of Heads of Departments Distribution of annual reports to the publicDistribute Ugu news to staff and public

Batho Pele Task Team 30th June 2007

Implementation Plan continuesService Standards

Develop a service standard manual and distribute to all different departmentsImplement Service Delivery Improvement PlanCommunicate service standards to public through

Batho Pele Task TeamTop ManagersCommunications Section

30th June 2008

Launch intranet siteUpdate internet website regularlyContinue with radio slots – Ukhozi and Sunny SouthDistribute internal and external newsletters –

IT SectionMayoralty SectionCommunications Section

31st May 2008Ongoing

Value for money

Enforce expenditure controls

Task Team 30th June 2008OngoingOngoing

Implementation Plan Continues

The implementation plan is based on the Municipal Service Delivery Implementation Plan that captures all key services for each Department.

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

The main objective of cascading Batho Pele is to have a positive impact on the behavioural and organizational change of Ugu DM. The Implementation Strategy (Table 1) is followed assiduously through Top Management. Consequently, we have ensured that critical Batho Pele principles and Service Delivery Improvement Plans are in the Performance Agreements of all Section 57 managers who report on their progress on a monthly basis.

GOOD GOVERNANCEOBJECTIVE KPI TARGETS TIME FRAME

Ensure the implementation of a Batho Pele policy and strategy

Batho Pele principles’plan of implementation and process plan of one flagship project

100% by 30th June 2008

Top management resolutions adopting, Batho Pele District Forum and one Flagship

Annual review, development and implementation of Batho Pele Service Delivery and Improvement Plan (SDIP) To ensure full implementation of the Service Delivery Improvement Plan.

Service Delivery Improvement Plan in place

100% by 30th June 2008

Top management resolution adopting SDIP and evidence of implementation

Good Governance continuesTo ensure full implementation of the Service Delivery Improvement Plan.

1.Awareness and communication sessions/ workshops held with customers and staff.

2. Register of services rendered to customers at various places about different issues and

30 June 2008In terms of the approved SDIP for 2007/2008.

Quarterly reports on workshops and or sessions.

Registers of customers and staff issues attended and

Good governance continues

In order to ensure the delivery of key services in the SDIP by top managers, a register of services was developed and approved by top management. The register of services is a tool that measures services rendered to customers at various places about different issues and staff. After rendering the service a top manager records that service in accordance with the elements in the register.

REGISTER OF SERVICESDATE SDIP KEY

SERVICE

BP PRINCIPLE CURRENTSTANDARD

INTERVENTION FOR DESIRED STANDARD

FOLLOW UP COMMENTS

10TH September 2007

Treasury:Render efficient, effective and better treasury service

An external customer was promised refund and told to come on a certain date. When she arrived the cashier went to request payment section process payment, but a person talked to refused on the grounds of being too busy to attend. The cashier relayed the message which angered the customer. The Cashier’s supervisor decided to resolve the matter himself, without informing the cashier. The cashier was upset by this because the customer felt that the cashier was simply reluctant to help her get her money.

INTERVENTION FOR DESIRED STANDARDThesupervisor was praised for assisting this customer, but his approach violated two principles– information and openness and transparency. The cashier should have not been sidelined because this is her job. The supervisor should have informed her and assisted her to solve this problem.This was conveyed to the supervisor

There will be a follow-up to ensure that same does not recur.

RESULTS

Batho Pele Principles

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Acc

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Cou

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Series1

CUSTOMER CARE SURVEYBatho Pele is being cascaded to all departments in the Ugu Municipality. We started with departments and sections that are at the coalface of service delivery such as frontline staff and call centre. We observed during BathoPele workshops, especially supervisors’ BathoPele workshops, that the Municipality is not doing well in the Batho Pele Principles. This has necessitated the development of Customer Care Programme that should be informed by the needs of our customers, hence a preliminary survey was conducted.

PURPOSE AND METHOD• Consumers who have recently visited our offices, seen and talked to

our frontline staff telephonically or in writing or in person were purposefully sampled. Also correspondence registers held by our Credit Controllers, Enquiry Clerks, Call Centre staff, Cashiers and Junior Administration Clerks based in the rural Satellite Offices were used to answer our questionnaire that were based on eight BathoPele Principles.

• Questions were open ended requiring probing and exploration of issues in order to get deeper into the core issues. The customers were called telephonically or interviewed at their visit of our offices.

• As stated above the purpose of the survey was not for extrapolation or generalisation to the whole population, but to gain an understanding of performance in terms of Batho Pele principles at our front offices in order to package a relevant Development Programme.

INFORMANTS’ COMMENTS1. Consultation – 22%

– Cannot attend because Road shows take place during working hours

2. Service standards – 0%• I am not aware of service standards. How would I

know them?3. Access – 66%• I am not aware of the call centre• Centre can be easily contacted, there is poor response• Phone rings and rings, you are transferred from one

person to another• If I am lucky, my call goes through• It is easy to send emails, but there is no feedback

COMMENTS CONTINUE4. Courtesy – 33%

• Some staff are rude• They are unprofessional• They need training

5. Information – 44%• Get news through newspapers which I hardly take notice of• I don’t understand my monthly invoice

6. Openness and Transparency – 11%• Do not know at all, it would help to know

7. Redress – 22%• Staff are usually defensive and arrogant• I can complain, but who listens

COMMENTS CONTINUE8. Value for money – 22%

• Water deposit is too high, but I am prepared to pay if I am guaranteed uninterrupted water supply.

• How did you decide to increase it from R2 000 to R4 000 within such a short time?

• For good service, I would pay the same• For good service I would pay the same, but right now I don’t see value for

money in Ugu.• I think water is too expensive.• I feel we are paying too much.• But, in general, we would not mind paying this for good service.• Please, teach your people to respond to queries. The other queries as per

my email in August are still outstanding. Why is it so difficult to give me an answer?

• We are paying too much for water• I would pay anything for good service

GENERAL COMMENTS

• The replication of the survey with a larger sample is necessary in order to validate the information we received from the respondents. However, we know given the short time we have had to introduce Batho Pele that we have not yet started Municipal weeks and road shows where we shall announce our service standards.

• The respondents’ comments will be used in developing a customer care programme for all our frontline staff.

CONCLUSION

The Ugu District Municipality is striving for world-class service delivery excellence that is the driving force of our Mission. A total transformation of the organisation and improvement of service delivery is our commitment, and this is not an end in itself, but a development journey.