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The award was for being the most customer focused local authority in the country.
Speaking during the launch at the Tower Block yesterday, Bulawayo Mayor, Councillor Thaba Moyo, said the call centre innovation was in line with prevailing trends in the global economy designed to give customer satisfaction and value for residents’ money.
“We recognise that in the global economy, a lot has changed and this initiative has also changed the face of the municipality. While this may be a relatively new concept in the country for local authorities, it is my hope that it will facilitate better understanding of customers and also benchmark council activities, at the same time monitoring customer satisfaction,” said Clr Moyo.
He said the call centre set-up allowed council to constantly compare its services against international standards and identify areas that needed improvement.
“The contact centre is fully furnished with top of the range high-tech equipment for speedy and excellent services. It is nothing short of a modern technologically advanced futuristic call centre. It has the capacity to provide a tracking mechanism for service provision against international set standards in order to improve response times,” said the Mayor.
Clr Moyo said at least 800 council employees underwent customer care training by Zimhost, also a first in the country, to support the establishment of the call centre.
He said the Bulawayo Water and Sanitation Emergency Response (Bowser) project, funded the training.
In a speech read on his behalf at the launch, the Governor and Resident Minister of Bulawayo Province, Ambassador Cain Mathema, urged stakeholders to take advantage of the initiative to build a conducive environment for the restoration of confidence and goodwill in the City of Kings.
“The call centre will therefore be a centralised system for receiving complaints, queries and feedback from stakeholders.
“The centre will undoubtedly create a platform for discussion on council operations and enhance the municipality’s responsiveness to queries, thereby improving council’s effectiveness in service delivery,” said Ambassador Mathema.
Mr Speedy Moodlier, the senior manager in strategic planning for sanitation at eThekwini Municipality in Durban, South Africa, said the call centre was comparable with any system in the Sadc region.
The eThekwini Municipality helped council to set up the call centre using experience from its own centre and donating logging software and technical support.
It is also Bulawayo’s twin city.
AusAid’s second secretary for development, Ms Claire Chivell said: “The Australian Government has been pleased to support Bulawayo City Council’s work to improve services to residents.
“The establishment of the call centre with the assistance of the eThekwini Municipality demonstrates how cross learning and information sharing between public entities in two different countries can deliver technologies to meet local needs.”
Speaking at the same occasion, World Vision Grants and Humanitarian Affairs Director Mrs Janelle Zwier-Marongedza applauded yet another milestone by Bowser in Bulawayo. “As World Vision Zimbabwe, we are very excited that this project has developed from attending to burst sewers, rehabilitating water and sewer systems, health and hygiene education, installation of new chemical dosing equipment and replacement of outflow sewers among other things undertaken by Bowser, to the establishment of a call centre.
“It is very warming and heartening to note that this call centre is not only a product of Bowser, but was also complemented by other players. I seek to thank all the partners who contributed in the setting up of the call centre,” said Mrs Zwier-Marongedza.
Partners that include the Bowser project, UN Habitat, AusAid, Dabane Trust, World Vision, European Union the Swedish Development Aid (Sida) and eThekwini Municipality were instrumental in making the call centre dream a reality.
The centre is housed at the Tower Block’s ground floor. Councillors, Mayors from other cities, residents and other stakeholders attended the launch.
Online Reporter