Legal Instrument to Strengthen SERVICOM (NG0030)

Brief description:
The commitment is aimed at strengthening and institutionalizing the operational capacity of SERVICOM to enforce strict compliance to service charters for all MDAs and SERVICOM’s reporting mechanism.

General problem:
SERVICOM currently has very little statutory powers to enforce compliance with public service rules and regulations. The lack of a SERVICOM law makes the articulation and implementation of existing Service Charters ineffective.

Specific OGP issue:
The SERVICOM law will provide the legal framework to ensure the responsiveness of government through strict compliance with service charters by MDAs. It will also contain a mandatory reporting requirement for MDAs to make periodic reports to SERVICOM.

Rationale for the commitment:
To provide SERVICOM with the legal framework to serve as a statutory body with the responsibility of tracking/monitoring and supporting quality service delivery.

Main objective:
For SERVICOM staff to have the legal backing to sanction those that violate public service rules and regulations and ensure that work ethics are observed within the organizations.

Anticipated impact:
Improved legal framework to enforce compliance towards improving satisfaction and access to public services and goods by the citizens.

See action plan for milestone activities

16.  Enact SERVICOM Bill and National Policy

Main Objective

“For SERVICOM staff to have the legal backing to sanction those that violate public service rules and regulations and ensure that work ethics are observed within the organizations.”

Milestones

1. Joint (state and non-state actors) retreat to review the SERVICOM Draft Bill with representation from the six geopolitical zones
2. Appointment & Engagement of Technical Committee on Passage of SERVICOM Bill
3. Continuous consultation through the media on the SERVICOM Draft Bill
4. SERVICOM Draft Bill passed to NASS
5. Advocacy & Engagement for the passage of SERVICOM Bill
6. Passage and accent of national SERVICOM Bill into Law
7. Conduct High-level Advocacy through the Governors’ Forum for States to sign a compact/ social contract
8. Lead advocacy and consultative process of drafting a policy for the compact/ social contract between the government and the citizens of Nigeria.
9. Convene a policy dialogue forum on the draft SERVICOM national policy
10. Draft policy review with Community of Practice of Leads (The Permanent Secretaries of the Ministries), to provide direction for the development/ enactment of legal, legislative or Executive Instruments

Editorial Note: For the complete text of this commitment, please see Nigeria’s action plan at https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/nigeria-action-plan-2019-2021/

Commitment Analysis

This commitment’s goal is to improve public service delivery by strengthening SERVICOM’s capacity to enforce MDAs’ compliance with Service Charter Standards.

This commitment includes 10 milestones. These activities seek to support the SERVICOM Bill’s development, adoption, enactment, and advocacy. In developing the bill, SERVICOM intends to incorporate citizen feedback through a citizens’ policy dialogue and advertised calls for input by mail, phone, and social media. This commitment also plans for a complementary SERVICOM National Policy and compact/social contract between the government and citizens of Nigeria. ^[187]

This commitment is relevant to the OGP value of civic participation, as it aims to conduct a consultative process drafting a policy for the compact/social contract between the government and the citizens of Nigeria. The commitment is also relevant to the OGP value of public accountability, as the commitment would, through the enactment of the SERVICOM Bill, provide for the legal backing to sanction those who violate public service rules. ^[188]

If fully implemented, this commitment could have a moderate potential impact on sanctioning violations on public service rules and work ethics within MDAs. Given SERVICOM’s precarious legal status, ^[189] passage of the SERVICOM Bill could strengthen the agency’s capacity to enforce compliance by government agencies in public service delivery. During the last two legislative sessions, the SERVICOM Bill was not enacted. ^[190] As an agency, SERVICOM has faced challenges in meeting its mandate. MDAs exhibit a low level of compliance with service charter standards ^[191] and do not perceive SERVICOM as empowered to enforce recommendations. ^[192] Few citizens understand SERVICOM’s role and engage in demanding proper public service delivery by government agencies. Additionally, lack of funding has presented a significant constraint for SERVICOM’s performance. Several sources have indicated the need for a legislative framework that empowers SERVICOM to execute its mandates and function more effectively. ^[193] SERVICOM anticipates that gaining a legal foundation will improve MDAs’ compliance with service improvement initiatives given that noncompliance would become unlawful. Additionally, it expects that a legally defined structure, authority, and budget will increase its efficacy. ^[194] However, according to the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), beyond SERVICOM, improving service delivery will require a concerted effort by MDAs’ leadership. ^[195] Although this commitment improves SERVICOM’s functionality, service delivery cannot be improved by SERVICOM alone. Additionally, this commitment does not clarify how sanctions against noncompliance will be enforced.

Financial sustainability and a clear legal mandate would be essential for the effective functioning of SERVICOM, including the ability to enforce compliance more rigorously. Fostering stronger ownership among agencies could also help facilitate the implementation of this commitment.

Commitment 16. Enact SERVICOM bill and national policy

● Verifiable: Yes

● Does it have an open government lens? Yes

● Potential Impact: Moderate

● Completion: Limited

● Did it open government? No early results to report yet

This commitment aimed to improve service delivery by mandating MDAs’ compliance with service charters and periodic reporting through passage of the SERVICOM bill. Even though the SERVICOM bill had not been passed into law by the end of the implementation period, a public hearing was held in the National Assembly in February 2022. [239] The OGP Secretariat’s evaluation report states that a National Policy on service delivery was developed. The report also states that SERVICOM carried out a baseline survey of public service delivery in pilot states in partnership with the State2State program. [240] This commitment has been continued in Nigeria’s third action plan.