Federal Ombudsman Salman Faruqui has inaugurated a speedy complaint redress mechanism in 181 federal ministries, departments and agencies under which every department has nominated a focal person designated as grievance liaison officer for entertaining and resolving complaints relating to his department within15 days.
Addressing the focal persons appointed by their respective departments, Faruqui said that the idea behind launching the mechanism was to install an in-house institutional system for redressal of grievances and thereby improve the governance status of the departments. He said that self-accountability of public administration institutions in developed countries was an integral part of their democratic system.
He said that it was our collective responsibility to address maladministration, increase efficiency and bring transparency in the operation of the government machinery. He said that accessibility to the complainants as grievance officer of your agency could make a great difference, adding that it was the foremost duty of a government functionary to serve the public and satisfy the citizens.
In this era of globalisation, countries are closely watched by the international community, especially in the context of rights violations. Therefore, “we must commit ourselves to work hard to improve our image in the community of nations.” He also gave an overview of the working of his institution.
On this occasion, Justice (retd) Ali Nawaz Chauhan, Chairman, National Commission of Human Rights, in his address said that Salman Faruqui has taken the Institution of Mohtasib to new heights and the institution was resolving public complaints with an exceptional commitment. He said a delay in administrative decisions by government agencies results in maladministration, which is a big cause of corruption and denial of rights to the common citizens.
Under such circumstances, he said it was the institution of Ombudsman which was rendering help to the suffering citizens. He added that dispensation of justice was essential for the promotion of civilization and social values of a society. Justice (Retd) Chauhan said that the institution of Ombudsman in Pakistan is poised to play a much bigger role in the future in providing relief to people against maladministration and thereby protecting their fundamental rights.
Law Commission Secretary Sarwar Khan praised the role of Ombudsman in resolving common man’s problems. Under the newly introduced Complaint Redress Mechanism, departments have established their complaints resolution cells and appointed Deputy Secretary level focal persons for resolution of complaints within 15 days. All the cset up in government departments would be connected with the Complaint Management Information System (CMIS) of WafaqiMohtasib Secretariat.
