No one’s listening: Two years on, ombudsman post remains vacant

Around 12,000 complaints pending at regional ombudsman’s office in Peshawar.

PESHAWAR:

The absence of a Federal Ombudsman (Wafaqi Muhtasib) for the last two years has piled up 12,000 complaints against various government departments at the regional ombudsman office.

Since the retirement of Javed Sadiq Malik on October 27, 2010, no one has been appointed to the post.

The federal ombudsman secretariat was established under an Ordinance in 1983 to diagnose, rectify, and address concerns of citizens who might have been treated unfairly by any (federal) government department. It’s for the benefits of those citizens who cannot afford litigation.

However, there was rarely any action taken even when there was an ombudsman because government departments do not act or agree on any directive sent by the regional ombudsman’s office.

Nearly 80% of complaints lodged at the office in Peshawar are about the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda). Other complaints have been filed against the State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan, Employees Old Age Benefit Institution as well as gas companies.

Khan, who belongs to Cherat, had lodged a complaint with the ombudsman office in Peshawar against the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco), which billed him for Rs98,232.

The original amount as per the metre reading is Rs2,320, he claimed, adding that Pesco officials at the Pabbi office were not cooperating or listening to him. They also threatened to cut off the power supply at his house. Khan said he has nowhere to go and complain.

When Muhammad Umer Afridi, the additional secretary in-charge at the Peshawar office, was asked about the administrative problems faced in the absence of an ombudsman, he referred the matter to Director Jehanzib Latif.

Latif remained tight-lipped, asserting that he was not authorised to talk to the media. He only acknowledged that the post of the federal ombudsman was vacant.

An investigation officer familiar with the matter said that after investigating every complaint, a summary is forwarded to the federal ombudsman for a final decision and approval. But since the post is vacant, no public complaints are addressed.

The President is required to appoint a federal ombudsman by law. When an ombudsman is absent for any reason, an acting ombudsman has to be appointed. But this has not been done either.

Zafar Iqbal, a resident of Sheikhabad, also complained about a jacked up electricity bill, which he said does not correspond with the meter reading. After his complaints fell on deaf ears at the Pesco office, he filed a complaint at the ombudsman’s office and is still waiting for his case to be addressed.

Another troubled citizen, Mustafa Khan from Rashid Ghari area, was billed Rs1,997 extra for gas, which was later reduced to Rs600 by the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Company Limited (SNGPL). Last month, he was again billed for Rs12,750. He walks the halls of the ombudsman’s regional office still hoping that some official will help him out.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 29^th, 2012.