Citizen’s charter is a document that informs citizen's about: - the service entitlements they have as users of a public service, the standards they can expect for a service (time frame and quality), remedies available for non-adherence to standards, and the procedures, costs and charges of a service.
A Citizen’s Charter is the expression of an understanding between the citizen and the public service provider about the quantity and quality of services citizens receive in exchange for their taxes. As public services are funded by citizens, either directly or indirectly through taxes, they have the right to expect a particular quality of service that is responsive to their needs and is provided efficiently at a reasonable cost.
The Citizen’s Charter is a written, voluntary declaration by service providers about service standards, choice, accessibility, non-discrimination, transparency and accountability. Therefore, it is a useful way of defining for the customers, the nature of service provision and explicit standards of service delivery.
Role of Citizen's charter
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Citizens’ charter Improves the quality of services by publishing standards which users can expect for each service they receive from the Government
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Citizens’ charter entitles users to an explanation (and in some cases compensation) if the service standards are not met
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The charter lays down the commitments of the service provider and informs citizens about their rights as clients. If citizens are well informed about their rights as clients of public services and about existing complaint mechanisms to voice grievances, they can exert considerable pressure on service providers to improve their performance
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The charters also play an important role for other social accountability mechanisms. The standards which service providers commit themselves to are useful yardsticks for monitoring and evaluation of service delivery.
Citizen’s Charters are one of the critical Social Accountability tools that are being used extensively by the public service delivery agencies to inform to the citizens on the services that are being provided by them and the time within which the services would be provided to them.
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