SUKKUR, Mar 21 (APP): President Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday called for making fast decisions, being responsive to people’s needs, and providing speedy relief to the citizens in their complaints against the maladministration of government officials and agencies.
He also urged government officials to be just in their dealings and adopt an open-door policy for the facilitation of the people and putting the country on the path of fast-paced socio-economic development.
The president expressed these views while addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Federal Insurance Ombudsman (FIO)’s office in Sukkur.
Addressing the ceremony, the President stressed the need for instituting alternate dispute resolution mechanisms to reduce the case burden on courts, adding that this model had been quite successful in other countries and was also in line with our culture.
He said that training in ADR mechanism should be provided to government officials for the early resolution of people’s issues.
The president also emphahsized the need for introducing crop insurance schemes to provide coverage to farmers against natural calamities.
He said that insurance coverage in Pakistan was quite low as compared to other regional countries, adding that insurance products needed to be introduced in Pakistan.
He stated that there was a lack of trust in insurance products in Pakistan, and Federal Insurance Ombudsman was playing its role in ameliorating this situation.
He said that insurance companies had initiated pilot projects on crop insurance in Pakistan with the help of local and international funding. He added that the government would have to provide initial support and conducive environment in this regard.
President Alvi said that Federal Insurance Ombudsman and Banking Ombudsman were providing relief to people in cases involving insurance issues and bank frauds.
He said that most people were unaware of the services and role of the five federal ombudsmen that were providing speedy justice within 60 days to people against the maladministration of government agencies, banks, insurance companies, tax authorities, and in cases of sexual harassment at workplaces and provision of property rights to women.
He said that people needed to be informed about the services of the federal ombudsmen that had already provided quick relief in thousands of cases.
The president said that modern communication means could help provide justice to greater number of complainants and help state institutions become more responsive to people’s needs.
He said that responsiveness had become essential for modern day governments and digital technologies were helping states in becoming more efficient and improving service delivery.
The president said that all the good decisions of the ombudspersons and government agencies should be publicized to create greater awareness about their services and role.
Federal Ombudsman Tax, Dr Muhammad Khawar Jameel highlighted the significant role played by the Insurance Ombudsman in facilitating the citizens. He also gave an outline of the steps taken by his office to address the grievances of general public regarding the insurance disputes.
