Providing inclusive service delivery is necessary to ensure the quality of the public service sector. Discrimination in the service sector based on gender, ethnicity, language or any other factor can hamper strengthening social cohesion and reconciliation.
Identifying the need to mitigate such discriminatory practices, NPC’s Social Cohesion and Reconciliation Activity (SCORE) conducted training sessions for government officers and local government authority representatives in Batticaloa, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Anuradhapura and Ampara.
The trainings sessions consisted of a three-step approach including identifying perceptions of discrimination, sharing experiences and learnings on best practices in providing quality, non-discriminatory customer service and brainstorming ways to rectify discriminatory practices. “This is the first time we participated in this kind of training. I knew the simple meaning of discrimination but now I know it contains many different meanings. My plan is to develop the skills, attitudes, knowledge and values of my staff to provide an inclusive service to recipients,’’ said Poonakary Pradesiya Sabha Secretary Mr. Ganesan Kamsanathan.
Mr. S. Senthuran, Human Resources Development Officer of the Poonakary Divisional Secretariat, believed discrimination could not be eliminated, but it was possible to mitigate discrimination through changing service providers’ values and attitudes. “The training gave us room to discuss discrimination and its unknown forms. The whole system has been politicalised so changing attitudes of service providers is important to ensure the quality of public administration service,” he said.
“Based on different political ideologies, service providers sometimes discriminate against recipients, which is completely unacceptable. Through this training, I learnt to stand against discriminatory practices,” said W.A. Gamini Weerasinghe, a local government authority representative in Padaviya.
In Mullaitivu, participants highlighted the importance of sharing the knowledge with the public service delivery sector. Mrs. Sharmika Sharuban, the Management Service Officer of Maritimepattu Divisional Secretariat, said government officers should be committed to providing a quality service to the public. “As a public servant, I am getting paid through the taxes of the public. Discriminatory practices violate the rights of service recipients so we need a proper mechanism to identify and rectify such discrimination,” she said.
In Ampara, G.G. Chandana Galappathi, a Development Officer in Saddhatissapura, emphasised the importance of conducting training for newly appointed government officers so they could learn the concepts early in their careers.
An officer from the Ampara Municipal Council said, “What I learnt is important not only for my career but also for my personal life. In our society there is a lot of discrimination against girls based on their gender. I am an open-minded person and I condemn such discrimination.”