Redressing public Complaints

When Imran Khan set up Pakistan Citizens Portal at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) for prompt redressal of the citizens' grievances it was generally viewed as an exercise in futility destined to end in a whimper. However, he seems to be proving the sceptics wrong with his hands-on approach, frequently getting briefings regarding the provinces performance based on the PMO's monitoring cell reports that give the worst rating to Balochistan. He has sent a letter to the Chief Secretary, expressing his displeasure over the "poor" performance of the bureaucracy in that province, noting that Balochistan ranked last among all the provinces in terms of disposal of public complaints. Out of 4,791 complains only 800 had been resolved, said the letter, which showed only 17 percent of the total complaints were disposed of by the provincial bureaucracy.
Of course, not all complaints are genuine, which is why the officers concerned are required not to dispose of any complaint until it is redressed or is proven false as verified by a senior officer. Clearly, in the case of Balochistan, they do not seem to have deemed the issue worth their while. Neither of the two requirements has been fulfilled. To say the least, it is unfortunate that this should be happening in the most deprived part of the country. The usual bureaucratic lethargy blights this initiative, also shedding a bad light on the provincial government's attitude. The Chief Secretary in Islamabad can admonish members of the federal service only. But most of the public complaints are about local issues, which should be resolved by officers working under the provincial government. Those familiar with the affairs of provincial administrations have often pointed to lax atmosphere, except for Punjab, in senior bureaucrats' offices, especially in far-flung underdeveloped areas. There the local influential people are known to feel free to ride rough shod over the rights of small people. That explains why compliance with the PMO's complaint cell is as poor as it is in Balochistan.
The feedback from the Citizens Portal is also an important channel for the government to find out the nature of the problems people face in their daily lives and the ways to resolve them. Things will not change for the better in Balochistan, however, unless and until the provincial government gets its act together. It needs to shake up the provincial bureaucracy and also ensure the power elites do not exert pressure on officers to get their way in situations where they impinge on the rights of ordinary people. The government in Balochistan and as well as those in the other provinces are not expected to change the status quo, they can and must do is to make a serious effort to mitigate public grievances. Hopefully, the PM's interest in the issue will push them in that direction.