Council Officially Launches its Customer Service Charter

 
The Omaheke Regional Council on Thursday, 26 June 2025, officially launched its customer service charter aimed to improve the standard of service delivery and ensure that customers are informed about the operations and services of the Council.

Customer Service Charters are among the public service reform initiatives that the government of the Republic of Namibia has prioritised in a bid to improve public service delivery. The Council’s charter establishes consistent, high-quality service delivery and fosters trust with customers.

The main objective of the Customer Service Charter is to provide a framework for defining service delivery standards, the rights of customers, and how complaints from customers will be handled. The charter further reflects Council’s commitment to its customers as well as expectations from the customers.

Speaking during the launch, Council Chairperson Honourable Ignatius Kariseb said the charter is Council’s commitment to deliver quality services, to listen to its citizens, and to build trust and accountability.

“It is a social contract between the Council and the people we serve, a compass that will guide all our interactions, decisions, and actions moving forward,” he said.

He further encouraged the staff members to hold themselves to the standards set by the charter and the residents to provide feedback in order to allow the Council to improve.

“Together, we can build a public service that inspires trust, delivers results, and upholds the dignity of every citizen,” Honourable Kariseb said. In order to ensure that the Customer Service Charter becomes active, the Customer Service Charter Implementation Committee was constituted. This Committee, which reports to the Chief Regional Officer, is chaired by the Director of Planning and Development Services and consists of staff members from various Divisions and Subdivisions within the Regional Council, such as Development Planning, Human Resource Management, Administration, Finance, and Internal Audit.

The Committee was tasked to review the charter not only to ensure that Council meet its customers’ expectations, but also to ensure that staff members provide the various services in a standardised and excellent manner. The channel of communication provided for when making complaints will compel each person or unit involved to ascribe to these standards and ultimately ensure service excellence.

The Committee is further required to conduct unannounced audits on the performance of various units on their service standards and provide recommendations to improve service delivery to the Chief Regional Officer.

The Office of the Prime Minister; the Department of Public Service Management, in particular provided guidance in the review of the Council’s Customer Service Charter. The review of the Charter was collectively done by all staff members of the Regional Council, including those at Constituency and Settlement Offices.