Task Force may be set up to make Ombudsman Office more effective: Zardari

President Zardari said that the government may consider setting up of a Task Force to consider ways and means to make the institution of Wafaqi Mohtasib more effective. The Task Force may suggest legislative and administrative measures necessary for making the institution of Wafaqi Mohtasib (Federal Ombudsman) strong and more effective in dealing with public complaints, he added.
The President made these remarks during a meeting with Federal Ombudsman Javed S. Malik, who called on him here on Friday. Wafaqi Mohtasib has informed President Asif Ali Zardari that most of the complaints filed by the general public are against the public institutions like Wapda, gas companies and telephone company (PTCL). During the meeting Malik informed the President that most of the public complaints were against Wapda accounting for nearly half of total complaints and these pertained to excess billing and delay in providing power connections. Gas and telephone companies were next to attracting the largest number of public complaints. Largest number of complaints against Wapda came from the people of NWFP, he added.
President said that the Wafaqi Mohtasib (Federal Ombudsman) is an important institution for redressing the grievances of public without recourse to long and expensive court procedures. He said that the courts were already over burdened and poor people could not afford time consuming and expensive court procedures.
It was therefore, necessary to strengthen the institution of Wafaqi Mohtasib to address the problems of the people arising out of inefficiency, delay and maladministration in government departments, the President said.
The President also called for the setting up of web based system in the Wafaqi Mohtasib office whereby complaints of public and the decisions taken on them were available to the general public for viewing. This will promote efficiency and transparency, he said.
The Wafaqi Mohtasib informed the President about the organisational and administrative matters of the office of Federal Ombudsman and the procedure by which it addressed public grievances. He said that a Research Wing has been established in the Ombudsman office to investigate flaws in the administrative system that resulted in such a large number of complaints against government departments. The findings of the Research Cell would help in suggesting measures for removing weakness and flaws in the administrative system. He further informed that an implementation unit had also been set up in the office to monitor the outcome and final disposal of recommendations made by the Mohtasib on any petition.
It may be mentioned that the law under which the office of Federal Ombudsman was created in 1983 is included in the 7th Schedule of the Constitution and change in the law can be made only in a manner in which amendment is made to the Constitution. Under the present law petitions against Mohtasib orders are made to the President.