1. Public service

2. 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?

3. 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)

4. 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

5. Three modes Command and Choice and Control Trust Competition Voice

6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. Example: Dept of Immigration and Emigration

11. Dept of Immigration and Emigration: core functions

12. Dept of I & E: core functions improved

13. Dept of I & E: Ancillary functions outsourced and improved

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

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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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