Govt Service Centres process over 204,000 transactions since December

…customer service training coming for public servants – Minister

More than 204,000 Guyanese have completed transactions through the Government service centres now operating in six regions across the country, sparing them the time and cost of travelling to Georgetown to conduct business at key state agencies like the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and General Register Office (GRO). The rollout of these service centres began in Leonora, Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) last December and has since expanded to Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).
This was highlighted by the Minister of Public Service, Government Efficiency and Implementation Zulfikar Ally during a recent interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI). “It saves them time and money,” Minister Ally said. He added that the centres provide “reliability and predictability in the everyday movement of our citizens.” The centres are a one-stop shop where citizens and residents can access a wide range of public services, official documents and administrative support from different Government departments under one roof.

In addition to the GRA and GRO, the centres also offer services by the Central Immigration and Passport Office (CIPO) as well as handle enrolment and issuance for the national electronic identification (E-ID) card programme. Following Leonora, service centres launched in Fort Wellington, Region Five in February; Anna Regina, Region Two in April; Port Mourant, Region Six in May, and Lethem in July. A sixth centre in Bartica, Region Seven was launched last week. Minister Ally said the Ministry is now working to extend coverage to remaining gaps, including in Region One (Barima-Waini) and Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

Public service training
Meanwhile, as the Government work on taking services to the people, the Ministry of Public Service is rolling out customer service training for public servants across all regions with the aim of improving the quality of service citizens receive at public offices. During the recent interview with DPI, Minister Ally explained that the training is a major priority, particularly for public servants who interface directly with citizens. He noted that the initiative forms part of the Government’s effort to ensure citizens are treated with respect, dignity, understanding and patience when accessing public services. “We are embarking now on a customer service training for all of the public servants who have to interface with the public,” Minister Ally said. The Minister further pointed out that customer service training will also become a mandatory component for new public servants whose duties require them to interact with the public. He stated that the objective is to transform the culture of public service delivery and ensure citizens leave Government offices satisfied with the assistance they receive. Minister Ally noted that while many public servants consistently go beyond the call of duty, poor interactions by a few officers can undermine the work of others. The public service Minister stressed too that repeated complaints about an officer should also prompt reflection and corrective action. “We’re going to issue that public service training to every single public servant until we change the culture of our country, we change the culture of service delivery, and we ensure that people are at the forefront of the development of our country,” he said. Meanwhile, the Minister disclosed that more than 3,480 public servants have been trained over the past year in various areas, including professionalism and ethics, information and communications technology (ICT) literacy, project management, digital transformation and customer service. The expansion of customer service training comes alongside Government’s wider efforts to modernise public service delivery, including the establishment of service centres in the regions and the digitisation of Government services. Ally stressed that modern infrastructure and digital systems would have limited impact if citizens are not treated with the respect and dignity they deserve when interacting with public servants.