The Know Your Service Rights Media Launch
Date: 10 March 2008
Venue: Sunnyside Park Hotel - Park Town, Jhb
Background
There has been mounting concern within and outside the public service about the extent to which citizens are aware of their rights regarding the level of services provided to them by various government departments. The Know Your Service Rights Campaign (KYSR) seeks to address concerns that were raised by the citizens during the studies conducted by the Public Service Commission and the Department of Public Service and Administration (dpsa) in 2002 and 2003 respectively. These concerns are addressed by creating awareness amongst citizens about their rights regarding services provided as well as to educate them on ways of exercising these rights as responsible citizens of a democratic state.
In response to some of these concerns, the dspa has developed an information booklet that focuses on highlighting key services provided within the Social Cluster and the major areas of focus are labour, education, health, home affairs, housing, social development, and the basic services of water and sanitation.
Objectives of the Know Your Service Rights Campaign
The main objectives of the campaign are to:
- Inform citizens of the different types of services that government provides as well as rights that emanate from these services.
- Make the public aware and educate citizens of means and institutions for exercising such rights including redress mechanisms.
- Explain to citizens these rights in a user-friendly and easily understandable manner that will make the citizens aware of their obligations when accessing government services.
- Exert positive pressure on the public service and its officials through a concerted public awareness effort that is aimed at educating citizens about their rights in relation to how services are delivered.
- Discourage complacency among public servants as citizens would be more aware and knowledgeable about their rights and expected service standards as well as the recourse process should their rights be violated, as well as
- Strengthen and emphasize the importance of partnerships between the public and government in ensuring citizen participation in the service delivery continuum.
The Media Launch
The Know Your Service Rights media launch seeks to complement the launch that took place at the Batho Pele Learning Network in Klein Kariba Resort, Bela-Bela on the 9th October 2007. The intention is to raise awareness on the Know Your Service Rights Campaign and to highlight and explain the content of the booklet on Social Cluster issues that have been developed.
Intended audience
The main target audience is all public servants and communities across the board that the department can possibly reach out to through television. This will make the public servants to start thinking of putting their complaints handling mechanisms in order, as citizens will over time become more aware of their rights.
Format of the Launch
The event will consist of Morning Live and a Press Conference. The Morning Live slot will take approximately 5 to 15 minutes any time from 06h00 to 08h00 and the Press conference will take about an hour from 09h00 to 10h00.
Contact us
For further information on the Know Your Service Rights Campaign, please contact Folusho Mvubu at (012) 336 1508 or Mvubu@dpsa.gov.za.
