Ministry says efforts intensified to improve gov’t services

AMMAN — The Ministry of Public Sector Development is determined to ensure that government departments improve the quality of services offered to the public by fully exercising its mandate.

A senior official said ministry teams would continue their unannounced visits to state agencies and in case targeted departments fail to make the suggested changes, “strongly worded letters will be sent to the officials in charge”. 

In remarks to The Jordan Times on Tuesday, Public Sector Development Minister Khleef Al Khawaldeh said ministry inspectors have made unannounced, follow-up visits to dozens of public agencies to check on the quality of services and sometimes to see if already visited departments have addressed shortcomings documented during the tours. 

"Some agencies cooperate and some don't," the minister said. 

For example, Khawaldeh said inspection teams had made several check visits to branches of the Department of Land and Survey (DLS) across the Kingdom to evaluate their services and recorded a number of observations related to their failure to meet the standards, adding that inspectors returned to these branches and found that no changes had been made. 

Khawaldeh said the ministry officially informed the prime minister, who directed the finance minister, as DLS is affiliated with his ministry, to send a harshly worded letter to the concerned director. 

The official cited the Civil Status and Passports Department and the National Aid Fund as among the “cooperative”. 

Late last year, the Foreign Ministry relocated an office concerned with attesting certificates and documents near the 1st Circle in Jabal Amman to a new building in Shmeisani as inspectors from the Ministry of Public Sector Development found the old premises not suitable to serve the public.  

Recently, ministry inspectors carried out unannounced visits to five government departments to evaluate the quality of services offered to the public.

The visits, made over the past four weeks, covered the Orphans Fund Development Foundation, municipal affairs department in Madaba, DLS’ branch in Salt, Social Security Corporation’s branch in eastern Amman and the National Aid Fund’s office in western Amman. 

Copies of the inspectors’ reports were made available to The Jordan Times.

At the DLS’ branch in Salt, for example, problems included failure to activate electronic tickets, absence of some employees who receive applications and hygiene issues, according to the report.

On the level of services at the Orphans Fund Development Foundation, the experts said the building was not equipped with a special entrance for people with disabilities or the elderly, in addition to communication shortcomings with the public.   

The report, however, highlighted that transactions were going on smoothly due to follow-up measures with clients by specialised staff at the agency. 

The report on Madaba’s Department of Municipal Affairs commended the quality of services in terms of the way employees dealt with people. They also found that the design of the building was friendly to physically challenged people.

Positive observations were also recorded at Social Security Corporation’s branch in eastern Amman and the National Aid Fund’s office in western Amman, according to the reports.