Pakistan Citizen Portal Manual 1.0 PDF
Pakistan Citizen Portal Manual 1.0 PDF
Pakistan Citizen Portal Manual 1.0 PDF
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
2 Complaint handling 8
3 Profile privacy 15
5 Suggestion handling 20
6 Approval of Manual 22
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1. Introduction
1.1 Prime Minister’s Performance Delivery Unit (PMDU)
Prime Minister’s Performance Delivery Unit (PMDU) established in 2013 has been
reorganized with a new vision to promote citizen-centric and participatory governance.
PMDU is pioneering a nation-wide complaints and grievance redressal mechanism with
special emphasis on facilitation of overseas Pakistanis, women, special persons and
foreigners. The primary objective of the unit is to provide citizens’ an opportunity to
seamlessly communicate with all government entities and have their issues resolved with
priority, in accordance with the vision of the Government. The Unit will enable the
establishment of a culture of quantified performance management and make the various
government entities accountable for their mandated roles and responsibilities. Besides, the
Unit will put forward recommendations for amendment and simplification of cumbersome
official procedures as evidenced from the database for the purpose of assuring public
facilitation.
The Unit strives to assure that the registered citizens/members on Pakistan Citizen’s Portal
(PCP) get every possible relief from the Government Organizations being interacted. The
citizens/members may have suggestions to put before the authorities or personal
complaints and grievances or to report violations of laws by the people or to seek
guidance etc. The Unit takes it as a prime responsibility to ensure that all complaints and
suggestions are handled fairly and efficiently through concerned organizations. This
manual is designed to help the Government Organizations to efficiently respond to the
matters raised on the Portal. The processes described in this manual are intended for
understanding and use of all concerned stakeholders.
1.3 Objectives
The manual aims to ensure that complaints, guidance seeking queries and suggestions from
registered members of the Portal are handled in a clearly defined and effective manner.
Objectives of the manual are to;
• Enable the Organizations to respond and attempt to resolve complaints of the
registered citizens/members in a timely and appropriate possible manner.
• Ensure complaints & suggestions are timely forwarded to the concerned officer/office
within the organization or other organizations (if not related).
• Respond and keep the member/citizen well informed at all levels of the complaint
Redressal process.
• Ensure complaints are resolved in the manner of a possible relief provided to the
complainant.
• Provide focal persons with an understanding about complaints & suggestions handling
processes i.e. lodging, forwarding, retrieving, reopening, resolving, responding and
closing.
• Identify how complaints & suggestions are used as basis for evidence-based policy
making.
• Establish review and summarization procedures, internal/external reporting
procedures, and procedures for handling confidentiality issues.
• Enable organizations to integrate all existing complaint cells/systems with Pakistan
Citizen’s Portal.
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Introduction
1.5 Responsibility
1.5.1 Head of the Organization/Government Entity
All Heads of Organizations/Government entities are primarily responsible and are
expected to ensure efficiency and quality in complaints resolution processes. For the
purpose, regular review meetings shall be conducted within the organization and with
respective attached departments so as to identify bottle necks in timely resolution as well
as performance accountability of the officer concerned. Furthermore, it shall be ensured
that the dashboard handler/focal persons are frequently trained from time to time and
fully equip with the necessary skills and resources to process complaints.
1.5.2 Focal Person/Dashboard Handler
Federal Ministries/Divisions and all other Government entities have nominated focal
persons (i.e. one administrative and other IT professional). Thus, it will be the joint
responsibility of both the focal persons (administrative and technical) to work
collaboratively to ensure the complaint resolution process is carried out in a uniform,
timely, and consistent manner. They are responsible for;
• Timely examination of all complaints & suggestions as received.
• Initiating action and referral of the complaints to concerned quarter for necessary
action within time frame.
• Immediate forwarding of all complaints & suggestions if related to other
organizations.
• Record appropriate comments at all stages of complaint resolution.
• Generate time to time analysis reports for the high-ups regarding total complaints,
resolutions and pendency status, suggestions as well as performance of the officer
concerned.
Introduction Page 6 of 24
1.7 General Principle
Except in cases where complaints and suggestions need to be referred to a different
dashboard, routine and ordinary nature complaints/grievances, especially guidance
seeking queries if possible shall be resolved without indulging into formal processes. The
overall objective of the Portal is to resolve complaints efficiently to the possible
satisfaction of the complainant. All Government Organizations shall develop a culture that
value complaints and is more likely to:
• Be accessible– this means being open to public complaints about standards of
service delivery, the conduct of staff, and Government policies, procedures and
practices, as well as being committed to promoting and implementing an accessible
complaints system as a means to address problems and enhance the performance
of the Organization and its human resource.
• Be approachable – responding to complaints in an efficient manner.
• Be fairly and factual – addressing each complaint with courtesy, and in an
objective and an unbiased manner.
1.8 Compulsion
People always want their complaints to be resolved in a reasonable time, they even want
to know the approximate resolution time after initial acknowledgement, and they want to
be kept up-to-date throughout the process. Some organizations may receive a lot of
complaints about issues that cannot be addressed, perhaps because of inadequate
resources or government policy. Perhaps the policy needs to be reconsidered or perhaps
resources could be better managed. If neither is practical or appropriate, at least the
complainant shall;
• be treated with respect and courtesy, and as an individual
• be patiently listened to and be given an explanation on a decision made.
• be given an apology if a relief is not granted due certain limitations, if
appropriate.
• be compensated, if appropriate.
• be treated fairly .
• be assured the problem won’t happen again.
• be encouraged and assured not suffer any adverse consequences from making a
complaint.
Appropriate response is critical as it will avoid a complaint escalating to the higher authorities.
Introduction
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2. Complaint Handling
2.1 What does complaint mean?
It is imperative to define a complaint for a much better understanding of the Government
Organizations dealing Pakistan Citizen’s Portal to address public concerns. A complaint
may refer to an objection over poor service delivery, failure to provide information,
inefficiency, unfair decisions, merit violation, poor administration etc. People make
complaints because they are unhappy with a decision, the way a service was delivered,
the level of service they have received, or the behavior of staff. The dissatisfaction of the
complainant is communicated in two capacities;
i. Personal Capacity; Personal matters or grievances that are being taken up with the
concerned Government organization for Redressal/resolution.
ii. Social Responsibility; Matters or issues to be taken up with Government
organizations for attention/redressal as a social responsibility.
A complaint may include any grievance related to an organization i.e. caused by long
procedural delays in availing some service(s), or as a result of policy or legal lacunas etc.
A complaint may also include allegations of some form of mis-conduct, misuse of authority,
non-cooperation of the officer, demand for bribe etc. A complainant may also raise some
guidance/information seeking queries.
2.2 Complaint Obstacles
All Government Organizations shall help citizens to easily complain to an authority by
removing all obstacles like;
• Letting the people know who to contact or what process to follow in availing any
service.
• Giving people confidence that no privilege or service already granted will be
withdrawn if a complaint is made
• No biased treatment if a complaint is lodged on the Portal
• Giving the surety that the issue will be addressed in time and with no hurdles.
• Giving an impression that the complaint will not prove a cry in wilderness.
2.3 Stages of Complaint Resolution
A complaint may pass through the following stages as evident in the picture of a sample
Dashboard;
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2.3.1 New Complaints
Any complaint upon its first arrival at a dashboard will get hosted under the icon of
the new complaints. It will remain there until it is opened for some comments or
further processing. The assigned timeline of any complaint either received directly
from the citizen or forwarded by any organization will start at this stage.
2.3.2 In-Process Complaints
This is the initial stage of a complaint, guidance seeking query reflected on the
respective dashboard. Every complaint has a default resolution time in the system
that may vary from category to category. At this initial stage, a complaint received
on a dashboard will be reflected as In-process. This stage involves steps like
initiation of action, assignment of complaints to concerned officer and processing till
timely resolution.
2.3.3 Escalated Complaints
Escalation is a state wherein a complaint assigned to a dashboard (the level which
routinely handles and makes operational decisions about the subject matter of a
complaint) fails to resolve within the default timelines. The system records escalation
at two stages as given below;
2.3.4 Red Icon/Initial Escalation;
A complaint in process, shall assume the status of initial escalation (red icon) after 10
days of lodging/arrival. However, it will remain on the same dashboard till 20th day
and will not escalate to the next higher level of decision making in the hierarchy of
organization. This type of escalation pushes the Organization to look into the matter
and resolve.
2.3.5 Black Icon/Super Escalation (to be operationalized)
An initially escalated complaint, shall assume the status of super escalation
(black icon) on 21st day of lodging/arrival. However, the same will escalate to the
dashboard of the next higher level of decision making in the hierarchy of
organization. The handler of initial dashboard will no longer be able to resolve the
same rather liable to explain as to why the complaint was not addressed at their
level. During complaint resolution process, frequent super escalation of complaints
from a dashboard will be treated as inefficiency on part of the
officer/organization concerned and the Administrative Head of the Organization
shall be responsible for action under efficiency and conduct rules. Escalation due to
the following reasons will not be treated as inefficiency;
• Delayed forwarding from other Organizations.
• Complaint requiring further clarification and details either from the complainant
or the organizations involved.
• Complaints leading to financial implications/development schemes
• Delays due to procedural or legal requirements
• Potential fraud/misrepresentation
• Complaints involving joint responsibility of two or more organizations.
• Likely litigation
However, the citizen shall be given logical response by all means during the assigned
timelines.
b
a
c
k
t
he organization from where it is received shall be avoided. The complaint or
suggestion shall be forwarded by the officer concerned when he/she feels it
relevant to a different dashboard/entity either within the organization or outside.
The focal person shall ensure that all irrelevant complaints and suggestions are
forwarded to concerned organizations within 24 hours. It is worth to mention that
all forwarding shall go through the system and not by conventional means. While
forwarding a complaint to the concerned organization/the dashboard handler may face two
situations;
2.3.6.1 Federal Organizations
The complaint, guidance seeking query or suggestion pertaining to Federal
Government shall directly be forwarded to dash board of the Federal
Secretary/Head of the Organization with appropriate comments.
2.3.6.2 Provincial Departments
The complaint, guidance seeking query or suggestion pertaining to
Departments in the Provincial Governments shall directly be forwarded to dash
board of the Chief Secretary concerned or the Department if listed in the
system with appropriate comments.
2.3.6.3 Retrieval of a forwarded complaint
A complaint forwarded erroneously or to an irrelevant dashboard shall
immediately be retrieved back and
be re-directed to concerned
Government entity with appropriate
comments.
a
f
t
e
r
processing is resolved with actual relief granted while in second the complaint is
resolved as per merit with no relief granted. Every complaint resolution may not earn
the complainant a satisfactory response. In both situations, it is mandatory for the
dashboard handler/organization to record proper remarks in the comment box
while marking a complaint as resolved. In both cases, necessary notification or
reference of the rule/regulation applied thereon shall also be attached as an
evidence for satisfaction of the complainant. Similarly, complaints in the form of
guidance seeking queries shall also be responded with proper attachment of the
documents (where required).
Note: All complaints shall be resolved while adhering to relevant
laws/rules/regulations. Any complaint lodged on the Portal does not make it
entitled to be dealt above the law.
2.3.8 Reopening of a closed complaint
A complaint if marked resolved or closed erroneously shall be reopened
immediately and be resolved as per merit required. A closed complaint can be
reopened in two ways;
• By the dashboard handler/organization
• B
y
t
h
e
PMO/PMDU if the Organization concerned has not properly resolved the complaint
as per its merit.
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2.4 Trending Complaint
An issue being common and frequently highlighted in complaints shall be treated as
trending complaint. Such cases shall specifically be looked into for a permanent or
possible long term solution. In this regard laws/policies/procedures or developmental
projects (where required) shall be proposed to do away with the frequently caused public
inconveniences. To address trending complaints, any of the following measures shall be
adopted;
• Adopting policy/legal instrument/SOPs if missing or amendment in the same if
required in the public interest.
• Inclusion of projects in relevant development portfolios.
• If existing procedures involved in availing some services are cumbersome they shall
be simplified to the maximum possible way. Technological solution shall also be
taken into consideration.
• Addressing deficiency of human resource, equipment and space where required.
• Performance and efficiency accountability of the concerned organization/officer.
2.7 Response/Comments
Every citizen/member maintains an account of his/her complaints with details. Thus, comments
are mandatory at all stages of complaint processing. However, reply to complainants shall be
prompt, accurate, and with courtesy. It shall also be ensured that comments/response shall be
in same language wherein the complaint has been lodged. While responding/commenting on
a complaint during processing, the following shall be considered;
3.2 Privacy
Every registered member/citizen on Pakistan Citizen’s Portal has the liberty to hide or
restrict his/her identity with regard to the contents of complaint being lodged. However,
members with unhidden profile(s) shall also be kept confidential to the maximum extent
possible, until otherwise required in the best interest of the complainant and fair
determination of the complaint. The authorized dashboard handler(s) if intends to see the
profile of the complainant shall consider the following two scenarios;
Note: All organizations are at liberty to resolve any assigned complaint before its due time while
adhering to the rules/regulations. However in case of exceeding the upper limit of the assigned
timelines, the complaint will be reported as escalated.
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5.2. Chief Secretaries
6.2.2Policy/Legislative
Suggestions whose adoption/implementation may warrant devising of a
policy or legislative instrument for public conveniences, transparency or
accountability in the service delivery regime shall be listed under this
category.
6.2.3 Administrative/Procedural
Suggestions whose adoption/implementation may lead to initiation of
reforms in administrative or procedural processes. All such suggestions that
warrant devising new procedures (if missing) for availing certain services or
simplification of procedures or making them technology oriented shall be
listed under this category.
6.3 Processing Stages of Suggestions
A suggestion received on any dashboard, shall pass through the following stages;
6.3.1 Stage-I (Ministry/Division/Organization/Provincial Department’s Level)
6.3.1.1 Initial examination
• A suggestion shall first be examined by the focal
person/dashboard handler in terms of its relevance to the
organization and suitability for further processing.
• Checking for any possible duplication at the level of the
organization with any ongoing similar initiatives.
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• Enlist the suggestion and referral to the Departmental Committee
(to be constituted at the main organization’s level) for final expert
opinion prior to initiation of concrete steps for implementation.
6.3.1.2 Appraisal
• Thorough evaluation of suggestion(s) by an
organizational/departmental team/committee of experts in terms
of resources required and target beneficiaries.
• At this stage, merits/demerits or tangible/intangible benefits shall
be looked into and the list of finally shortlisted suggestions be put
forwarded to the Central Committee.
• An internally constituted committee shall select the most suitable
and implementable suggestions with proper analysis and
recommendations for implementation.
The endorsed list of policies/projects proposed under various suggestions, shall be returned to
the concerned Administrative organization for formal implementation in light of the decision of
the forums and conveying official acknowledgment to the citizen for his/her valuable
suggestion.
Suggestion Handling
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6. Approval of the manual
This manual is approved by the Competent Authority and will be updated from time to
time.
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