Twenty-five years after the adoption of the Batho Pele Principles, Cabinet has approved the Batho Pele Revitalisation Strategy, which seeks to drive behavioural change across the public service.
Government and nongovernmental institutions have overseen various research on the effectiveness of the 1997 Batho Pele Policy and the Revitalisation Strategy comes as government moves to professionalise public service and bring about a “citizen-centred public service delivery programme” for all departments to follow.
The strategy outlines five guidelines as minimum standards for government departments: taking the lead by building capacity; development of Batho Pele standards with stakeholders; fostering compliance; reinforcement of Batho Pele standards in poor or non-compliant areas; and redress for citizens.
Public Service and Administration Minister Ayanda Dlodlo said the operationalisation of the Batho Pele Revitalisation Strategy will create a public administration that “personifies the democratic values and principles enshrined in the Bill of Rights and [comes as] a timeous response to the voices of citizens calling for a public administration system that puts their needs and aspirations first”.