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Transport captures the lion's share of service excellence awardsThe Department of Transport again demonstrated their formidable unity and passion towards world-class service delivery by winning seven of the top 12 awards at the prestigious Premier’s Service Excellence Awards for 2003, held at the ICC in Durban on 7 November 2003. One of the coveted silver awards went to the Road Traffic Inspectorate: Pietermaritzburg Station. Three bronze awards went to Regional Director Durban, District Superintendent Estcourt and District Superintendent Pietermaritzburg. Finally Certificates of Commendation were awarded to the Motor Licencing Bureau Pietermaritzburg, District Superintendent Durban and the Regional Engineer’s Office Dundee. The Premier’s Service Excellence Awards is the most esteemed practice for recognising and rewarding those public servants who have gone beyond the call of duty towards excellence in service delivery. In the face of the many challenges and regular criticism that government officials have to deal with, Transport officials are proving to their customers that their service is improving. These awards are the strongest possible recognition that can be given to public servants who have delivered excellence in their normal line of duty. Considering that the public service in KwaZulu-Natal is made up of 120 000 public servants, this recognition is even more important. The success can be attributed to excellent leadership – where the leaders of the Department walk the talk; team spirit of the all DOT staff through team member involvement; and the implementation of the Mission Directed Work Teams (MDWT) program, which ensures target setting, problem solving and performance management. At the gala awards ceremony the importance of good governance was emphasised continuously because it results in a thriving economy. Teams were encouraged to scale to greater heights in their pursuit of excellence. In his keynote address, the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal Dr Lionel Mtshali said, "This events is the climax of our performance as the centre of government. This occasion affords us the opportunity to review the targets we set for ourselves at the beginning of the year and to gauge our rate of success." "Excellent service and good governance are critical factors towards ensuring that we attract investment in order to improve all of our citizens. We commend the KZN Provincial Government for its commitment to improved service delivery. To the winners we say "Well done!". You are indeed worthy winners of these awards," said Ben Kruger, Managing Director of Standard Corporate and Merchant Bank. The project team and panel of judges said: "Judges and site assessors all agree that the site visits are at once a tremendously inspired and often a humbling experience. One gets to see first-hand the excellent work being achieved through sheer dedication and hard work, often under severe operational constraints. It is also only through first-hand work observation that true understanding comes of how effective our strategies for service delivery are, as it is at this point that the policies and strategies at higher up the hierarchical line are played out. We salute the pioneers for they are leading the way. The KZN DOT teams have been recognised and rewarded but the real winner are the public that we serve – those who enjoy the benefits of improved service delivery, value for money and better quality.
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