MORE MDAs AND MMDAs SIGNS NEW CHARTER.

Fifty-three additional Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have signed to the new charter to commit themselves to improve productivity and service delivery in the public sector. The total number of MDAs that have signed the charters so far is 120 also comprising of MMDAs.The charter which was introduced by President John Agyekum Kufuor in October 2007 is to ensure excellence in public service delivery through which the institutions would make undertakings to improve their performance. The Chief Advisor to the president of Ghana Mrs. Mary Chinery-Hesse disclosed all thesein Accra at the launch of the charter. " It had been the President's agenda to redeem the sinking image of the public service providers and empower the ordinary person to access satisfactory public services".She indicated that the MDAs were asked to set the performance benchmarks themselves, taking into account their remit and what they considered as respectable level of services. MDAs that signed the charters would be held to their promises and therefore called for public support in drawing attention to any lapses. Mrs.Chinery-Hesse appealed to the public to take advantage of the complaint machinery to keep the public service institutions on their toes.She expressed the hope that more public institutions would also sign the charter to enable the country boost of at least 1,000 charters in order to hold public servants more accountable to the public. The next government should work hard to sustain to the charter. The Minister of Public Sector Reform Samuel Owusu- Agyei stated that the charter marked a major achievement in government's public sector reform strategy. "There have been tremendous improvements in some of the MDAs that signed the charters months ago and hope those that those joining would emulate them"He announced that call centres had also been set up within five pilot agencies, with the toll free number (021-611161) to give the public free access to services of the agencies. The agencies are the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, Registrar- General's Department, the Passport Office, Controller and Accountant General's office and the Land Title Registry Mr. Owusu-Agyei also launched the call center.He therefore appealed to heads of MDAs to sensitise their staff on the charter and to periodically review their targets. The Minister of Water Resources Works and Housing Alhaji Abubakar sedique- Boniface promised his ministry's commitment to the charter. Others who signed the charters included Ministry of Ports Harbours and Railways, Ministry of Information and National Orientation, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment. Other governmental sectors such as the National Ambulance Services, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, National Sports Council, National Accreditation Board and Ghana Maritime Authority, ,