ISLAMABAD: Hafiz Ahsaan Ahmad Khokhar, Senior Adviser and Grievance Commissioner for Overseas Pakistanis stated that as per advise of M. Salman Faruqui, Federal Ombudsman Pakistan, all federal government departments have been asked to resolve public complaints in 15 days.
He explained through new complaint management system, public complaints cells have been established in all 183 federal government departments and senior officials have been posted in these public complaints cells by their respective competent authorities as focal persons and public grievance officers for resolution of public complaints.
He further clarified that new public complaints resolution mechanism has been introduced in all federal government departments to resolve public grievances in minimum time under intimation to complainants and all departments have further been asked to submit monthly progress report in Federal Ombudsman Secretariat about the status and resolution of public complaints filed with them.
Hafiz Ahsaan Ahmad Khokhar Senior Adviser and Grievance Commissioner for Overseas Pakistanis to Federal Ombudsman Pakistan said that in case the government departments would fail to respond or resolve the public complaints in 15 days then the complainant would also have a right to file complaint to federal ombudsman secretariat and further at the same time the pending complaint would also be transferred through ombudsman computerized system to the website of Federal Ombudsman Secretariat for its resolution.
He told that all Federal Government Ministries and Departments have been advised for implementing the present new complaint system to set up the system of proper registration of public complaints and of feed back to the complainants about their status or resolution of complaints.
He explained that thousands of complaints have only been filed in Federal Ombudsman Secretariat against maladministration federal government departments due to non responsive attitude of federal government officials, therefore the present Ombudsman’s initiative for resolution of public complaints would not only rectify this systemic issue generated within the government departments but public complaints would be resolved in minimum time at departments level.
He informed that all federal government departments have further been advised to display the contacts details of Federal Ombudsman Secretariat, their focal persons in their offices and on their websites so people could easily approach them for filing and resolution of their issues related to their jurisdiction.
He appreciated the idea that the new complaints resolution management system would be a positive sign towards good governance in public administration and would change the delaying attitude of government officials.
In the end, he disclosed that more than three hundred thousands complaints have been resolved in Federal Ombudsman Secretariat and presently every complaint filed with Federal Ombudsman Secretariat is being decided in 45 days which is unprecedented.