Ministry of Finance Customer Charter Promises Timely and Efficient Service

Customers conducting business with the Ministry of Finance and Public Service can now expect more efficient service, including less waiting and processing time, with the launch of the Ministry’s revised Customer Charter.
The Charter, which was unveiled on (Nov. 21) at the Ministry’s Heroes Circle office, is built around seven core values: fairness, integrity, teamwork, transparency, excellence, accountability and mutual respect (FIT TEAM).
With a commitment to providing the public with timely, courteous and efficient service, some of the provisions of the Charter are: that telephones will be answered within three rings; customers visiting the location will be acknowledged within five minutes; and customers shall wait no longer than 30 minutes to be attended to and will be seen within 15 minutes of the agreed time of a pre-arranged appointment.
Customers can also expect reduced response time to written or electronic correspondence for tax relief, remissions and waiver requests, financial investigations and the dissemination of information to the public.
The Charter also pledges to treat customers “equitably, and respectfully; handle your information with utmost confidence; display honesty and integrity in dealing with your affairs; provide you with timely and accurate information; conduct customer surveys biannually, and display actual performance against stated standards for customer information at least once per year.”
In turn, customers are asked to conduct themselves “in a polite and courteous manner, adhere to the rules and regulations when visiting our offices; provide timely and proper documentation where necessary; promptly advise us of dissatisfaction with service provided; offer comments and suggestions for improved service, and respond to customer surveys on the quality of our service.”
In his remarks, Paul Lai, Chairman of the Citizen’s Charter Committee, urged all members of staff to re-dedicate themselves to the standards and “use the mission to drive all other important decisions, and focus our energy, talent and resources to achieve our ultimate goal of development through excellent service.”
“I urge us therefore to take up the tools that will ensure that we exhibit a passion for excellence in all we do, push us to go above and beyond what is expected and commit to do what we say we will do, thereby meeting the needs of our customers. If we follow this path, then the image of the Ministry must surely be enhanced in the eyes of the demanding public,” he stated.
Financial Secretary, Colin Bullock emphasized that the Charter will be an instrument of culture change within the organization, which will include instilling staff with the values, traits, patterns and behaviour associated with a service culture. “The Citizen’s Charter is therefore a means by which the staff and our customers can facilitate the emergence of a customer-driven organization through discussions about our services,” he stated.
The Ministry also used the occasion to unveil its new Vision Statement which, pledges to provide “development through excellent service” and its Mission Statement, which is a promise to “combine professionalism and expertise in pursuit of sound socio-economic and financial policies for achievement of sustainable growth and development.”