In a solemn ceremony held at Governor House in Karachi, Governor Sindh Mr. Muhammad Kamran Khan Tessori administered the Oath of Provincial Ombudsman Sindh to Mr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput. The event was attended by Provincial Secretaries, Senior Government Officials, and dignitaries from the city. He was congratulated by Governor Sindh on assuming the responsibilities of Ombudsman Sindh.

The Ombudsman, Ms Winnie Chiu, announced the completion of a direct investigation into the effectiveness of the 1823 service in handling complaints and enquiries, and made
13 recommendations for improvement to the Efficiency Office (“EO”).

Established more than 20 years ago, 1823 under the EO provides a one-stop service round the clock to answer public enquiries about the services of 23 participating departments, and receive complaints about any area of Government services.

The Office of The Ombudsman’s investigation reveals that over the past six years, the service handled an average of around 1.95 million enquiries annually.  In the case of telephone enquiries, 1823 achieved first-call resolutions of issues 99 per cent of the time, in line with its aim of providing a one-stop enquiry service.  Regarding complaint handling, the Office finds that 1823’s existing mechanism cannot effectively resolve cross-departmental complaints and complaints involving unclear delineation of responsibilities, nor can it ensure direct communication and collaboration among departments.

The Office also identifies room for improvement in 1823’s handling of calls, co-operation arrangements with participating departments, daily operations and use of data.

Ms Chiu said, “Most complaints which are cross-departmental and involving unclear delineation of responsibilities are about district problems directly related to people’s livelihood.  Simply relying on 1823’s existing escalation mechanism does not ensure that these complaints are properly handled. Under the Government’s proposals to improve district governance, the Task Force on District Governance (“TFDG”), led by the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, has been set up to steer and co-ordinate cross-departmental district issues.  The District Officers of the Home Affairs Department are representatives of the Government at the district level who co-ordinate departments’ services and assist in problem solving locally.  1823 should escalate cases about recurring district problems with unclear delineation of responsibilities to the District Officers or the TFDG in a systematic and timely manner with a view to resolving these problems more effectively through the high-level structure of the Government.”

The Office’s recommendations for improvement to EO include:

• Stringently enforce the requirement that departments reply within a specified time limit with reasons if they consider a case outside their purview or should be handled by another department; if departments fail to reply after the deadline, 1823 can activate the escalation mechanism outright or request departments to review the case under the mechanism, so as to ensure timely handling of complaints;

• Establish a mechanism and draw up guidelines to standardise and regularise the procedures for escalating cases about recurring district problems with unclear delineation of responsibilities to the District Officers or the TFDG in a systematic, proper and timely manner;

• Request participating departments to submit forecast plans of new services or arrangements on a regular basis for preparation accordingly, and remind departments from time to time of the importance of updating the knowledge base;

• Proactively monitor and conduct timely review of the newly upgraded telephone system with a view to further enhancing 1823’s call answering rate, and expand the application of artificial intelligence on enquiry handling;

• Further consolidate the data collected from enquiries and complaints handled by 1823 to facilitate bureaux/departments capturing the data required and conduct comprehensive analyses, with a view to improving Government services; and

• Conduct systematic analyses of cross-departmental cases and consolidate relevant data, submit reports to the TFDG from time to time to facilitate the Government’s resolution of cross-departmental district issues and formulation of long-term strategies to enhance district administration.

 EO has accepted the improvement recommendations made by the Office.

The full investigation report is available on the website of the Office of The Ombudsman for public information.

– 17 laws including the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Prevention of Illegal Trafficking in Narcotics, etc. to be added to the list of laws the violation of which is subject to public interest disclosure

– personal identity of a public interest whistleblower who reports concealment of proceeds of narcotics crimes, etc. to be thoroughly protected

(21. Feb. 2024, ACRC)

From now on, whistleblowers can receive protection and rewards under the Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act for reporting concealment of narcotics criminal proceeds.

Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Ryu Cheol Whan) announced that the revision bill on the Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act, which aims to add 17 laws including the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Prevention of Illegal Trafficking in Narcotics, etc. to the list of laws violations of which fall under the scope of acts detrimental to the public interest subject to public interest disclosure, passed at the National Assembly’s plenary session on March 1.

* acts detrimental to the public interest mean any of the following acts detrimental to the health and safety of the people, the environment, the interests of consumers, fair competition, and public interest equivalent thereto: any act subject to the penalty provisions or administrative measures for the cancellation or suspension of approval or permission, etc. under the Acts prescribed in the attached Table of the Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act.

When the Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act was enacted in 2011, only the acts that violate 180 laws stipulated in the Act were prescribed as acts subject to the public interest whistleblowing disclosure.

Since then, ACRC has continued to add laws directly linked to the public livelihood and requiring protection and rewards for whistleblowers to the list of laws subject to the public interest whistleblower disclosure, and currently there are 474 laws on the list.

Amid rising needs for facilitating reports on narcotics crimes while reinforcing whistleblower protection and rewards due to recent incidents involving narcotics, the revision bill on the Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act was passed at the National Assembly on March 1, adding 17 laws including the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Prevention of Illegal Trafficking in Narcotics, etc. to the list of laws subject to public interest whistleblowing disclosure.

From now on, if a person files a report on acts violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Prevention of Illegal Trafficking in Narcotics, etc. such as concealing proceeds of narcotics crimes, the person will be protected and rewarded as a public interest whistleblower.

The personal information of a whistleblower will not be disclosed without consent, and protective measures against disadvantageous measures or life/physical threats, etc. by reason of having filed a whistleblowing disclosure will be provided by the ACRC. Where a criminal act of a whistleblower is found in connection with a whistleblowing disclosure, the whistleblower may face reduced punishment or be exempt from the relevant punishment.

In addition, where a whistleblowing disclosure brings remarkable property benefits to a public institution, prevents its loss, or promotes the public interest, the whistleblower may be granted up to 500 million won in monetary awards.

ACRC Secretary General and Vice Chairperson Chung Seung Yun said, “I expect that the scope of protection for a whistleblower will be expanded through the revision to the Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act, thereby facilitating the detection of acts detrimental to the public interest, including narcotics crimes.”

– Personally engage in the field of policies regarding the protection of rights and interests and the prevention of corruption to deliver the voice of young people –

The “1st ACRC 2030 Advisory Group” was launched, designed to represent the voice of the youth and provide original ideas on policies for young people in the course of implementing policies of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Ryu Chul Whan) regarding the protection of rights and interests and the prevention of corruption.

The “ACRC 2030 Advisory Group“ will carry out activities, including their participation in and monitoring of major ACRC policies regarding the resolution of citizens’ grievances, prevention of corruption, administrative appeals, and institutional improvements. Additionally, the Group will engage in policy discussions and proposals to collect the opinions of the youth. These activities commenced with the “launching ceremony and orientation” held for two days starting from February 22.

During the two-day orientation, ACRC discussed the direction of operating the Group and provided education on major policies to enhance its capacity.

The members of the “ACRC 2030 Advisory Group” were selected through open recruitment via the “Youth DB” with a competition ratio of 10 to 1.

The Group consists of 20 members in their 20s and 30s with various career backgrounds, including university students, practitioners from the education and social welfare sectors, and company employees, with a youth aide, Choi Hyun Seok, as the head of the Group.

The head of the Group, Mr. Choi, said, “The 2030 Advisory Group will be committed to actively reflecting the voice of youth in policies regarding the protection of rights and interests and the prevention of corruption.”

ACRC Chairperson Ryu Chul Whan requested the newly launched “ACRC 2030 Advisory Group” by saying, “We kindly ask you to examine ACRC policies through the lens of youth, identifying blind spots yet discovered, and actively raise your voices.”

The Ombudsman, Ms Winnie Chiu, announced at a press conference, the completion of a direct investigation into the regulation of licensed swimming pools by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (“FEHD”) and made 12 recommendations for improvement.

Swimming pools in Hong Kong can largely be categorised into public swimming pools operated and managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (“LCSD”) and private swimming pools licensed and regulated by FEHD pursuant to the Swimming Pools Regulation subsidiary to the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance.  At present, there are around 1,400 licensed swimming pools across the territory.  As the licensing authority, FEHD ensures licensees’ compliance with the Regulation and licensing conditions mainly through regular inspections and complaint handling to protect swimmers’ safety and maintain environmental hygiene.

The investigation by the Office of The Ombudsman revealed that swimming pools might be closed during FEHD’s surprise inspections.  In one case, FEHD managed to conduct only one successful inspection during the entire swimming season.    Currently, no guidelines on how FEHD staff should handle such situations are in place.  Hence, it is difficult to ensure that the frequency of successful inspections would be on target.  The Office had found from a site inspection that undesirably, FEHD failed to identify irregularities (such as the abnormal test result of pH value of pool water) of the licensed swimming pool concerned from its inspection. In addition, there are different checking methods for some inspection items, which vary in rigorousness, and health inspectors may not always adopt the most reliable method during inspections.   Meanwhile, owing to omission of important items in the previous inspection record form, the FEHD’s inspections were unable to ensure full compliance of swimming pools.  Certain items on the inspection record form were too generic and lacked specification, making it difficult to apprehend the actual circumstances of inspections through the form.  Improprieties involving compilation of inspection records were also noticed; for example, the condition of an inspection item was recorded as satisfactory even though it had not been duly checked by the health inspectors, and the verbal warning given during an inspection was not logged by the health inspector.

The Office’s investigation also found that licensees are not required under the existing licensing conditions to maintain duty logs of life-saving attendants.  In the absence of corroborative evidence, it is difficult for FEHD to conduct targeted investigation to ascertain whether a licensee has violated the requirements when handling complaints about insufficient life-saving attendants.  With basic equipment excluded, there are also inadequacies in the Department’s requirements regarding life-saving and first-aid equipment for licensed swimming pools. On water quality, FEHD does not regulate how licensees should tackle pollution sources found in pool water, nor are there any criteria for closing swimming pools of substandard water quality.

Moreover, in the absence of an accident notification mechanism for licensed swimming pools, FEHD has no idea whether a serious accident has occurred in a licensed swimming pool and is hence unable to conduct investigation or take follow-up actions.

Ms Chiu said, “As the licensing authority, FEHD is duty-bound to properly regulate licensed swimming pools to ensure public safety and hygiene. In light of our findings, it is necessary for FEHD to make multipronged improvements to its inspection of licensed swimming pools, and to explore amendments to licensing conditions with the industry to further safeguard safety and hygiene.  FEHD should also explore ways to engage pool users in compliance monitoring.  We are pleased to learn that in the course of our investigation, FEHD has made progressive improvements.  From a holistic perspective, given the respective strengths of FEHD and LCSD in regulating and managing swimming pools, a standing communication mechanism between the two departments should be set up for greater synergy.  We hope that FEHD can promptly implement our recommendations for more effective regulation of licensed swimming pools.”

The recommendations made by The Ombudsman to FEHD include:

• formulate operational guidelines for its staff specifying the follow-up arrangements in the event of closure of swimming pools during surprise inspections;
• strengthen the training for health inspectors regarding the inspection of licensed swimming pools, provide more guidelines on the circumstances under which different checking methods are applicable, and unify the checking standard of inspection items where feasible, with a view to enhancing the quality of inspections;
• implement measures to help health inspectors familiarise with the new inspection items on the inspection record form as soon as possible, while continuing to review other items on the form as necessary to improve the effectiveness of inspections;
• more proactively apply technology and explore the use of mobile apps/smart phones in recording the inspection results for licensed swimming pools;
• explore stipulating in the licensing conditions the requirement for licensees to maintain duty logs of life-saving attendants and produce such records upon FEHD officers’ request, to provide reference for complaint investigation or other enforcement actions;
• establish a notification mechanism for accidents in licensed swimming pools and require licensees to report cases involving casualties within a prescribed period;
• review the existing licensing conditions regarding the requirements for life-saving, first-aid and resuscitation equipment and explore the inclusion of basic equipment. FEHD should also identify licensed swimming pools of higher risk (such as those of higher usage or used by high-risk groups including school children) and encourage licensees to upgrade relevant equipment;
• with reference to LCSD’s opinions, formulate and issue to licensees in due course guidelines on the handling of pollution sources in swimming pool water. The guidelines will serve as standards for licensees when handling different pollution sources;
• formulate internal guidelines on the handling of complaints about water quality of licensed swimming pools by health inspectors and continue to monitor their implementation;
• step up its enforcement against non-compliant licensed swimming pools;
• explore different ways to engage pool users in the monitoring of licensed swimming pools; and
• set up a standing communication mechanism with LCSD on the regulation and management of swimming pools for greater synergy and exchanges.

FEHD has accepted all of the Office’s recommendations.

The full investigation report has been uploaded to the website of the Office of The Ombudsman for public information.

Islamabad, 25 March 2024: The Wafaqi Mohtasib of Pakistan has processed a record 194,099 complaints against the maladministration of government departments in 2023, which is 18% higher than the previous year. Out of these, 193,028 complaints were disposed of which is 22% higher than the year 2022.

This was reported by the Wafaqi Mohtasib, Mr Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi, who called on President Asif Ali Zardari and presented the Annual Report of the Federal Ombudsman, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, today.

The Mohtasib briefed the President about the performance and initiatives taken by the Federal Ombudsman. He said that the Ombudsman was providing speedy and free-of-cost justice to the complainants against the maladministration of various government departments. He informed that 49,190 complaints were received online in 2023, which was an increase of 47% from last year. He added that 22,321 complaints were received through the Mobile App, showing an increase of 21% as compared to the year 2022. He stated that the Ombudsman was using the latest technology to help in the speedy redressal of cases and to enhance its outreach to the people in remote areas of the country.

The Mohtasib highlighted that the opening of new regional offices, holding of Khuli Katcheries, launching of the Informal Resolution of Disputes mechanism, and visits of Mohtasib’s inspection teams had helped in addressing complaints, besides leading to an increase in the registration of complaints. He further said that the office of Overseas Pakistanis in the Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat had processed a record 202,367 complaints received through Pakistan Missions abroad, and One Window Facilitation Desks at all international airports of the country.

The President appreciated the performance of the Mohtasib and urged the need to take further steps to enhance its outreach so that the maximum number of people could benefit of its services.

The 29^th annual meeting of the Forum of Pakistan Ombudsman (FPO) was held on 3^rd January, 2024 at Lahore. The meeting was hosted by the Provincial Ombudsman Punjab and attended by Federal Ombudsman, Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi, Federal Tax Ombudsman, Dr. Asif Mahmood Jah, Provincial Ombudsperson for Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplace Punjab, Ms. Nabila Hakim Khan, Ombudsman of Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Ch. Muhammad Naseem, Mr. Mubassher Naeem, Director General, Federal Insurance Ombudsman, Pakistan and Mr. Ishrat Mehmood, Registrar Provincial Ombudsman Sindh. The meeting reviewed activities of the Forum and agreed on various steps to improve the working of the FPO and strengthening plans for enhancing cooperation and exchange of best practices.

Mr. Shoaib Ahmed Sidddiqui, Chief Commissioner, Pakistan Information Commission, Islamabad & Ms. Samaira Nazir Siddiqui, Member, Anti-Dumping Appellate Tribunal, Islamabad visited the office of Provincial Ombudsman Sindh on 22.01.2024 and discussed the issues of mutual interest. Honourable Ombudsman Sindh Mr. Ajaz Ali Khan presented Annual Report 2022 to the Chief Commissioner. The Honourable guests appreciated the efforts made by him in providing relief to the aggrieved persons.

• Federal Ombudsman Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi visits Regional Office, Lahore.
• Instructs the Staff to ensure speedy redressal of grievances of the general public.
• Urges the need to enhance the outreach of the institution

Federal Ombudsman Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi visited the Regional Office, Lahore on
19 October 2023. He received detailed briefing from the Head of the Regional Office
Dr. Arshad Mehmood about the performance of this Office at the provincial metropolis.

Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi appreciated the work of the Regional Office and directed the Officers and Staff to extend best possible services in providing expeditious relief to the general public facing difficulties and delays in their dealings with the governmental agencies. He instructed the staff to ensure effective implementation of the decisions so that the aggrieved citizens can get rightful relief without undue delays. Mr. Qureshi stated that the pension cases of the widows deserved special attention and, if necessary, the Officers may call on the Heads of various agencies to expedite settlement of their outstanding matters.

Federal Ombudsman appreciated the good performance of the Regional Office, Lahore and directed them to employ their best abilities and skills in the service of the general public.

On September 25, 2023, the Public Defender of Georgia met with members of the delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Levan Ioseliani introduced the mandate and activities of the Office to the Special Representative for the Eastern Partnership at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Rein Dekkers. The parties reviewed the state of human rights in the country and talked about the implementation of the 12 initiatives laid down by the European Parliament for Georgia to get candidate status for EU membership and the role of the Public Defender of Georgia in this process.

The meeting was also attended by the Senior Policy Officer EU External Affairs, Camille Merlen, and the Deputy Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Georgia, Maurice Paulussen.