Dhaka: Prime Minister’s Adviser for Public Administration Md Ismail Zabihullah today emphasized the importance of identifying and resolving service delivery issues in government services by thoroughly understanding the beneficiaries, providers, costs, and expected outcomes.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Zabihullah, who is also a BNP Standing Committee member, shared his insights during the “Inter-Ministerial Validation Workshop on Public Service Delivery Policy Briefs and Matrix.” The Ministry of Public Administration organized this event at the Bangladesh Civil Service Administration Academy’s conference room in Shahbagh. An official handout highlighted his remarks regarding the need to align government services with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the government’s election manifesto.
Zabihullah stressed that a comprehensive service delivery matrix should be developed by identifying the services offered by various ministries and divisions, linking them with beneficiaries, responsible institutions, required budgets, and potential barriers. He further stated that viewing services as the responsibility of a single ministry is inadequate, advocating instead for an integrated framework encompassing policies, beneficiaries, budget, outcomes, and citizens’ feedback.
This integrated approach, he argued, would facilitate the preparation of a national list of services, minimize duplication, and enhance inter-ministerial coordination. It would also help establish a connection between service delivery and desired outcomes with budget allocations, improving the efficiency of public administration and the quality of citizen services by providing a clearer understanding of the relationship between work and measurable outcomes.
Zabihullah emphasized the need for an effective grievance redress system to address service delivery challenges and proposed a tracker to monitor progress, detailing problems, responsible institutions, required actions, deadlines, and progress. He highlighted the workshop’s main objective as linking policy with services, services with beneficiaries, beneficiaries with responsible institutions, and institutions with budgets.
Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration Mohammad Monirul Islam delivered the welcome address at the workshop, while BCS Administration Academy Rector Dr. Mohammad Altaf-Ul-Alam served as the special guest. Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration Md Quamruzzaman Chowdhury presided over the event, which was attended by officials from various ministries and divisions and faculty members of the Bangladesh Civil Service Administration Academy.