By Issah Olegor
As the world marks Customer Service Week, the public sector is once again under the spotlight for the wrong reasons.
A new report by CUTS International, Accra, a respected research and policy think tank, has painted a troubling picture of how poor service delivery within government agencies continues to frustrate citizens and businesses, stifle investment, and erode public trust.
CUTS Raises Red Flag Over Service Breakdown
In a strongly worded statement issued on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, CUTS International warned that customer service delivery in the public institutions has fallen to alarming levels, despite years of public sector reforms and digital transformation efforts.
The organization’s recent survey revealed that the public sector performed the worst compared to private enterprises in areas such as responsiveness, communication, and feedback.
According to the report, many public offices are characterized by long response times, inefficient bureaucratic processes, and a lack of accountability systems. This situation, CUTS says, is undermining national productivity and the credibility as a destination for business and investment.
A System Plagued by Indifference
Speaking to journalists, Appiah Kusi Adomako, West Africa Director of CUTS International, said Ghana’s public institutions urgently need to “retool and reset” their customer service delivery mechanisms to meet the expectations of a digitally evolving society.
“Customer service is not just about smiles and greetings—it’s about responsiveness, efficiency, and accountability. Every citizen or business that engages a government agency is a customer and deserves the same level of respect and service quality expected from the private sector,” Adomako stated.
He lamented that despite the government’s significant investments in public sector reforms and digitalization, citizens still face avoidable frustrations when accessing public services.
“Telephone lines listed on most municipal and district websites are often out of order, and where they work, calls go unanswered. Some agencies don’t even accept electronic filings, except perhaps the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA),” he said.
Digitalization Efforts Undermined
CUTS’ findings reveal a worrying pattern of neglect within the government’s digital agenda.
Many agencies reportedly ignore emails or fail to acknowledge online submissions, even though the Electronic Transactions Act mandates timely responses. Others continue to rely heavily on outdated paper-based procedures, forcing citizens to make in-person visits for basic administrative processes.
Equally disturbing, Adomako said, is the informal handling of official communications, where officers request that citizens send documents to personal email addresses such as Gmail or Yahoo.
This, he warned, compromises both professionalism and data security.
Broken Feedback Channels and Public Frustration
The report further criticized the lack of public engagement mechanisms for citizens to report issues such as faulty streetlights, damaged roads, or unsafe infrastructure.
CUTS noted that the absence of such systems has created a culture of neglect, where public grievances go unheard, and accountability remains elusive.
“These deficiencies collectively send a damaging signal—not just to citizens but to development partners and investors. When people cannot get timely responses from government agencies, they lose confidence in public institutions. This affects everything from tax compliance to investment decisions,” Adomako emphasized.
CUTS Proposes a “Public Sector Service Reset”
To address these deep-seated challenges, CUTS International is calling for a Public Sector Service Reset, a nationwide initiative to reorient attitudes, improve efficiency, and rebuild trust between citizens and the state.
According to the think tank, this reset must focus on three strategic pillars:
1. Capacity Building – Continuous training of public officers in customer relations and communication.
2. Technology Integration – Ensuring that all MDAs adopt and effectively use digital tools for service delivery.
3. Accountability and Feedback Loops – Establishing mechanisms for citizens to rate services and hold agencies to account.
Citizens as Customers, Not Subjects
Mr. Adomako stressed that public servants must begin to view citizens as customers—not subjects or spectators.
“Customer service is at the heart of democratic governance. When complaints go unanswered and bureaucracy becomes a wall, trust in government collapses. Rebuilding that trust begins with listening and responding,” he said.
CUTS has also appealed to President John Mahama’s administration to take policy leadership in enforcing service delivery accountability.
The think tank recommends that Chief Directors and Heads of Agencies be evaluated based on their responsiveness to the public as part of their performance assessments.
