Public service

Agenda Serving the people: What it is, and what it is not Three modes and voice (illustrated by telecom and passport examples) Trust Command and control Competition and choice How can we improve delivery of public services by local government?

Public service . . . NOT Officiating at ceremonies Contributing to weddings and funerals . . . BUT Delivering essential services to the people, efficiently (more of the same for less money) and in improved ways every year (new services)

Public services v. private supply Difference between government service supply and private service supply? Mostly, government provides services people cannot do without Monopoly, not subject to regulation or oversight Only help the service-seeker can get is from a politician

Three modes Command and Choice and Control Trust Competition Voice

Telecom services, 1896-1990s Mix of trust and command-and-control For the most part engineers were trusted to provide services But as supply fell short of demand, command and control became the main mode (politicians in charge) Yet, supply was still inadequate and bribes had to be paid for connections and maintenance Voice, in the form of letters to editor complaints to political authorities, etc.

Telecom services, 1990s - Competition introduced; government-ownership reduced; SLT organizational culture changed Result 12 million plus connections; more than 70% of households in the country have a phone; pretty much no one pays bribes to get a phone Prices as low as 49 cents a minute; incoming free; even fixed prices not being increased as permitted by legal provisions Improvements in quality of service; not the best, but still better than what we got from Department of Telecom Not much need for voice; change your supplier if he does not treat you well

How choice and competition improve performance When Mobitel introduced Upahaara, others had to respond (e.g., Blaster packages) When Tigo made incoming free, other had to respond In order to make money with low prices, had to cut costs and become more efficient (same for less) Also compelled to offer new services (more) Watch the news in June

How can we improve the supply of public services? Remove undersupply E.g., garbage not collected from peripheral areas; garbage left for days without collection; . . . No/few street lights No one gives 24 hrs of water pressure Improve efficiency: do more for less Offer new services

Example: Dept of Immigration and Emigration

Dept of Immigration and Emigration: core functions

Dept of I & E: core functions improved

Dept of I & E: Ancillary functions outsourced and improved

Dept of I & E: Services useful to users brought into the building

Dept of I & E: Outsourcing improves convenience and generates revenue

Improving public service delivery Where possible, introduce incentives for continuous improvement Either through choice and competition, as in telecom (“competition in the market”), or Through command and control, as in Department of Immigration and Emigration Outsource ancillary services like food and photocopying, focusing energy on core supervisory functions; driving efficiencies through “competition for the market” (need for transparency) Study the core functions and improve them continually

Continually improving public service delivery Today you can get your passport in the afternoon if you hand over documents in the morning But, what if there is a problem? Beta testing use of SMS to communicate to applicants throughout the process Passport office more efficient than NIC office, issuance of police reports, etc.; follow the value chain and improve each part of it Improve form distribution countrywide and ensure greater use of 1919 Still filling forms at airport while we have machine-readable passports

Local government Money is not so much a problem Closest to the people People willingly pay for significantly superior service Additional fee for one-day passport Failure of parking fees in Kandy Closest to the people Plenty of room for improvement Learn from each other Vital role for Federation of Sri Lanka Local Government Authorities