The deputy minister of fisheries and marine resources, Sylvia Makgone, says the non-delivery culture of her ministry “stinks”.
She said this during the launch of the ministry’s customer service charter in Windhoek on Friday.
The ministry has been dubbed secretive, especially since news of the Fishrot corruption scandal broke.
There have been calls for the ministry to disclose full details of rights holders, licence holders, and quota recipients, including beneficial ownership information.
The ministry has not published its annual report, and the last public document available on its website is dated 2012/13.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), in a November 2022 brief titled ‘After Fishrot: Urgent Need for Transparency & Accountability – MFMR Must Bring an End to Secrecy’, claims to have come across a 2019/20 annual report.
However, this document is not available on the ministry’s website.
Makgone expressed the hope that the ministry’s service delivery would improve after customer care training.
“We are not here for ourselves. We are here for our clients and customers. Unlike me, who was brought here, you applied because you saw yourself worthy to be in that position.
“So, come in and deliver. Why come in and sleep?” she asked ministry staff.
The development of the customer service charter is part of the public service reform initiatives of the government in an effort to improve public service delivery.
The minister of fisheries and marine resources, Derek Klazen, launched the charter with the sub-theme ‘We Listen, We Care, We Deliver’.
He described the charter as a living document of which the content needs to be part of the daily operations and attitude of the ministry’s staff.
“Adherence to quality service delivery is not an option, but a requirement. The Namibian people deserve world-class service from any government entity they encounter.
“Therefore, today, we from the management to the staff members of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, declare this institution as a customer-centric organisation,” Klazen said.
The commitments made by the ministry are that its phones would be answered after three rings, and if unanswered, the ministry would return the call in less than two days.
The ministry also committed to acknowledge receipt of emails and letters within two days, and to explain how it is handling a client’s case and when a response is to be expected.
Under the section of public relations, the ministry committed to disseminating accurate information at all times and updating its website and media pages.
However, a few days before the launch, the ministry failed to provide information regarding bycatch, especially for pilchard.
“The information is not readily available,” reads its response.
Executive director of fisheries and marine resources Annely Haiphene pledged that the ministry would improve.
“We are making a public commitment today to provide our clients with high-quality service,” she said.
The chairman of the Confederation of Namibian Fishing Associations, Matti Amukwa, pledged the industry’s support to the ministry.
He said some of the challenges the industry has been facing regarding service delivery include calls and emails not being attended to.
The ministry’s last customer service charter expired in 2012.
The latest charter was given the go-ahead of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) in August.
The deputy director of customer service charters in the OPM, Kabuba Mwilima, said the next step for the charter is implementation.
“We need to make sure we are sensitive to our customers . . . They need to know what we do as a ministry, the core functions, and service standards that we promise in our charters.
“We need to implement this, and it will be followed up with sustainability,” she said.
The OPM was to launch its revised customer service charter on Friday, but according to executive director I-Ben Nashandi, this was postponed.
“It was postponed because of other competing priorities. We will still have to do it, and a new date will be provided this week,” he said.
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