The training began at 9:32am with an opening prayer by Mr. Dominic Otoo. It was followed by a self-introduction of all staff present. The District Co-ordinating Director, Dr. John A. Nunya welcomed the Resource Personnel from the Regional Co-ordinating Council. He entreated all to participate in every bit of the training.
Mr. Moses Nyame expressed joy on the reception the District gave to them on their arrival and the enthusiasm of the staff towards the training.
He stated that the Head of Local Government Service has develop a Client Service manual and all 16 Regional Coordinating Councils are directed to train all staff of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) by February 2024. He began with a management story in a form of a brain teaser that suggests that effort is important but knowing where to apply the effort makes the difference. He took participant through the following:
- Understanding the current practices of client service management in the Local Government Service (LGS)
- Identifying the gaps and best practices in current operations
- Ghana’s Decentralization
- Administrative Decentralization and the LGS
- The roles of the various levels of Government
Ms. Linda Yaa Kwabiaa took the participants through Definition of a Client, Client Service Management System, Client Service Charter, Responsibility of all LGS staff towards Client Service Management and Innovation in Client Service. She defined a client as a person, group of persons, or organization who access(es) the services of or interacts with a Local Government institution. She indicated that a client can either be internal (i.e. from within the Local Government institution) or external. Clients of the Local Government institutions can be categorized into people who are coming in for a visit, enquiries or to make complainants. She underscored that, there are six (6) key actors involved in the LGS Client Service Management System as follows:
- The Administrative Heads of LGS institutions (Chief Directors and Coordinating Directors)
- Heads of Directorates/Departments/Units
- The Heads of Client Service Unit (CSU)
- Client Service Officers
- Action officers (the officers who take action on managing client’s complaints, enquiries and requests)
- The Client (The visitors, complainants and stakeholders)
The District Chief Executive, Hon. Willyevans Obiri-Awuah thanked the Facilitators from the Regional Coordinating Council for the time spent imparting knowledge to the staff.
