The Commissioner Karachi Syed Hassan Naqvi on Friday convened a meeting of all Deputy Commissioners (DCs), of seven districts of Karachi division along with their respective Assistant Commissioners (ACs) and Mukhtiarkars to discuss public service delivery matters. The meeting witnessed threadbare discussion regarding public service delivery, development schemes, issues of cooperation and compliance from other agencies as well as holistic public service reforms through the legal framework to strengthen street-level bureaucracy. The meeting was held at the Commissioner Karachi Club inside DC South office at Garden.
The meeting was attended by DC South AltafSario, DC Central FawadGhaffarSoomro, DC West Ahmed Ali Siddiqui, DC East ShahzadFazzalAbbasi, DC KorangiJawad Ahmed, DC MalirIrfanSalarMeerwani, DC KeamariJunaid Khan and the Assistant Commissioners and Mukhtiarkars posted in different areas of Karachi. The Commissioner directed the ACs to assume full responsibility for their areas, be vigilant against miscreants, and pay special attention to public complaints about civic issues. Earlier, the DCs breifed the meeting on ground realities for implementing public policies.
They thanked the Commissioner Karachi for the interactive meeting with all field officers, who had information on the ground and face the pressures from different corners while performing their duties. Most of them echoed of non-cooperative attitude of different institutions, however, they vowed to deliver the best public service during duty.The field officers, ACs and Mukhtiarkars, voiced their concerns over pathetic cooperation from other relevant departments, which hindered effective public service delivery. They stressed the need for a legal framework with stronger power to ACs to get compliance from other agencies on matters of public grievances.
They were of the view that civic issues would be better resolved if they were given the municipal magistery powers and more funds be invested in technology and innovation to improve service delivery. Later, Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi applauded the field officers for voicing their concerns and said that although they had their hands on the pulse of the realities, yet why there was less good image of the administration. He stressed that the officers must focus on self-retrospection and self-accountability. He added that civil service was not a smooth sailing. He emphasized officers to stay relevant, visit their areas more regularly, and be present in their offices to listen to public complaints. He said that 70 percent of public issues are redressed when you are present on the spot to meet the public. “I want to see practical steps rather than paper reports.
I will get your reports verified on the ground, and will go on the maximum action if there is misinformation, ” he said. Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi directed the ACs to personally visit the markets for price check on a daily basis rather than relying on their subordinates.
He told the meeting that logistical issues were being resolved and the required legal framework was also in the pipeline and the officers would hear some good news within two months.
