Dr Julius Debrah calls for Public Service reforms to cut business costs

Chief of Staff, Dr Julius Debrah is urging public sector leaders to adopt private-sector customer service practices to improve efficiency, reduce bureaucratic delays and strengthen Ghana's business environment. He says poor service delivery, duplicated administrative processes and weak accountability impose unnecessary costs on citizens and businesses through wasted time, repeated visits and delays in accessing essential public services.

Speaking at the Citizen Experience Roadshow Workshop at the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) Accra Campus, Dr Debrah stressed that improving citizens' experience must be the primary focus of public administration.

"The primary purpose of public service is to improve the lives of the citizens. Everything else is secondary," he said.

Using the example of a mother seeking to register her child's birth, he highlighted the financial and personal cost of being turned away after arriving at a public office with incomplete documentation.

"What happened at the counter took a few seconds. On her way home, she's already working out what another journey will cost her and how to ask for another morning duty off," he said.

Dr Debrah called for a review of administrative procedures to eliminate duplication and reduce the number of steps citizens must complete to access services.

"Walk through a service as a citizen would. Follow a file from the first desk to the last. If three units ask for the same information, find out why and see which steps you can take out," he advised.

He added that processes involving five stages could be reduced to two through better coordination, describing this as essential to efficiency.

The Chief of Staff also cited pension processing as an example of where stronger collaboration among public institutions could reduce delays.

"The heads of those institutions should be able to sit together and work out how much of that journey they can spare the pensioner," he said.

He further urged public sector managers to equip frontline workers with the tools, training and authority to resolve routine challenges, noting that they represent the face of government to citizens.

"For the citizens at the counter, the officer behind it is the face of the state or the institution," he said.

On digital service delivery, Dr Debrah called for simpler online processes and accessible support for users who encounter difficulties.

"Digital services can save people their journey. Make them simple. Give people someone to turn to when they get stuck and keep a way to get help to the person," he said.

He also encouraged institutions to publish service requirements, fees and processing times, while tracking waiting periods, repeat visits and complaints resolved to measure improvements.

"When people complain, don't take so much offence... no matter how they put it, don't take offence because you are being paid to render that service," he said.

The Citizen Experience Roadshow forms part of efforts to promote citizen-centred governance and improve public and civil service delivery, following the launch of the book ‘Citizen Experience: A Reset for Superior Public and Civil Service Delivery’, co-authored by Dr Debrah and Professor Robert Ebo Hinson.