ISLAMABAD - Federal Ombudsman Syed Tahir Shahbaz has taken cognizance of the difficulties of senior citizens and widows regarding delay in issuance of profits against saving certificates issued by the post offices and directed the Pakistan Post to digitize all post offices by the end of February, 2021.
The Ombudsman said that saving certificates purchased by the people from post offices under ordinary and special accounts should also be maintained as per banking standards. The Secretary Communications Zafar Ahsan informed the Ombudsman at present, 3200 posts offices had been working around the country, out of which there were 85 A-grade post offices. He said out of these 85-A grade post offices, 32 had been digitized and remaining would be completed next year. He said Pakistan Post was maintaining more than 2.3 million accounts which had been regulated by the Auditor General of Pakistan, hence lot of difficulties were being faced in transformation of data, as all the ordinary and special saving accounts were being maintained manually, therefore its digitization would be a gigantic task.
Secretary Communications further said that measures had been taken to transmit post office consumers profit as per banking standards with the State Bank of Pakistan, and as soon as the digitization was completed, the system would be started as per the banking standards.
According to the officials, the Federal Ombudsman directed the authorities to form a two members committee at provincial level comprising Post Master General and the Provincial Controller General of Accounts who would meet fortnightly for reconciliation of data between the two departments. He directed Secretary Communications to complete digitization of 3200 offices by the end of February, 2021 and send its monthly progress report to the Ombudsman Office.
He observed that a number of complaints were regularly received against post offices on inordinate delay in dispensing the monthly profits and asked the authorities to issue standing instructions to all post offices for its in timely disbursement to the citizens.
