Trade Ministry receives ‘Diamond Standard Certification’ for service to customers

: Trade Minister Vasant Bharath (centre); Mr. Norris Herbet, PS (Ag.) MTIIC (4th right front row); Mr. Randall Karim, Director Policy and Strategy (3rd right front row) along with members of the TTBizlink and Trade Licence Unit team at the Awards. (Photo courtesy Ministry of Trade, Industry, Investment and Communications)

The Ministry of Trade, Industry, Investment and Communications (MTIIC) continues to place service to the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago at the top of its agenda. On January 22, 2015, the Ministry’s TTBizLink Unit, which is the Single Electronic Window (SEW) for Trade and Business Facilitation, and the Trade Licence Unit (TLU) were both awarded the Diamond Standard Certification by the Ministry of Public Administration (MPA) at the Trinidad and Tobago Diamond Standard Award Ceremony which took place at Queen’s Hall. Both Units were awarded arising from current excellent service standards, and a drive to work towards excellence.

Ms. Colleen Gallazzi, Director at Ministry of Public Administration at a special meeting with the Ministry’s staff offered congratulations and challenged them to ‘maintain the certification by continuing to monitor, evaluate and address line items in your service improvement plans to ensure the end user is delighted with your service’. The Certification is valid for three (3) years in any one instance and is subject to satisfactorily and continuously meeting the relevant assessment criteria. Should an Agency fail to maintain the required standards of service delivery, the certification can be withdrawn at anytime.

In 2013, the MTIIC participated in the Trinidad and Tobago Diamond Standard Programme led by the MPA. This is a core element of the MPA’s 10-year programme of Public Service Transformation “taking us from Gold to Diamond”. The Diamond Standard Programme is a Citizen Service Certification Programme based on, and aligned to, achieving excellence in service delivery. It seeks to encourage, recognize and reward improvements in the quality of public service delivery. The pilot is seen as the National Standard for Excellence in Citizen Service in the Public Service in Trinidad and Tobago.

The Diamond Standard Programme seeks to achieve:

Greater customer satisfaction;
Greater commitment to providing quality service;
Enhanced accountability, efficiency and effectiveness in service provision;
Improved public image for investors locally, regionally and internationally; and
Improved rankings for Ease of Doing Business and Global Competitiveness.

TTTBizlink and the Trade Licence Unit of the MTIIC underwent a rigorous assessment process that allowed for evaluating all aspects of what comprises service delivery and covered the following eight (8) criteria: Customer Involvement and Understanding; Communications; Promoting a Customer Service Culture; Responsiveness and Service Standards; Service Environment; Innovation and Creativity; Technology; and Partnership. The Assessment Process included reviews by both an Independent Assessors and an Independent Advisory Panel (IAP), the latter of which is a multi-disciplined, multi-sectorial Team, who is charged with the responsibility to ensure that the Diamond Standard is vigorous, credible and respected by the national and international community. This was complemented by Intense Moderation Exercises.

For further information please contact:

Corporate Communications

Ministry of Trade, Industry, Investment and Communications

Level 17, Nicholas Tower
63-65 Independence Square
Port of Spain.
(868) 625-9947/623-2931 ext. 2714