An assessment of the implementation of batho pele - University of ...

service delivery plans should be carried out in close consultation with unions and
staff, and especially with service users. It also states that the Ministry for Public
Service and Administration places considerable emphasis on the need for
effective consultation, both within the public service and with the South African
society. This means that communities should be afforded an opportunity to
participate in the decision making process on issues affecting their welfare and
should also be encouraged to contribute to the delivery of services through
community based initiatives.
The White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery, 1997 lists the policy
goals, namely, consultation; service standards; courtesy; information; openness
and transparency; redress as well as value for money. It has as its principal aim
the transformation of the South African Public Service into a coherent,
representative, competent and democratic instrument for executing government
policies and meeting the needs of the people (Van der Waldt, 2004:86). This
implies that its purpose was to advance one of the eight transformation priorities,
namely, transforming service delivery. It provided a policy framework and
practical implementation strategy for a more efficient, effective and equitable
provision of public services.
The Batho Pele principles indicate that the public servants have to be committed
to the provision of high quality services to all South Africans in an unbiased and
impartial manner, responsive to the needs of the public, accessible, informative,
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