PRESS RELEASE

•  SYED TAHIR SHAHBAZ FEDERAL OMBUDSMAN ELECTED PRESIDENT OF ASIAN OMBUDSMAN ASSOCIATION (AOA).
• •PRINCIPLES OF GOOD GOVERNANCE PROVIDE BASIC FOUNDATION FOR BETTER SERVICE DELIVERY.

(Address of Syed Tahir Shahbaz Federal Ombudsman in International Ombudsman Conference at Istanbul Turkey)

Syed Tahir Shahbaz, Federal Ombudsman has been elected second time as President of Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA) during International Ombudsman Conference held at Istanbul Turkey.  The President of Turkey Mr. Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated the conference.  During election proceedings, China nominated Pakistan for President-ship, Japan and Turkey seconded the move.  Pakistan elected un-opposed President for next four years.  Speaking on the occasion, Syed Tahir Shahbaz thanked all the member countries for ensuring confidence 2nd time on the leadership of Pakistan.  He especially thanked China, Turkey and Japan for backing the president-ship. It is pertinent to mention that the Secretariat of AOA is also situated in Pakistan.  The Chief Ombudsman of Turkey Mr. Seref Malkoc appreciated the performance of Pakistan in running the affairs of the association.

Syed Tahir Shahbaz, Federal Ombudsman said that the need of the principles of good governance in the supervision of the administration is manifest from the fact that no society can survive and flourish unless the basic needs of its people are fulfilled in a transparent and efficient manner and the people are provided inexpensive and expeditious administrative justice against mal-administration of government agencies.  He said that good governance can be better ensured by selecting the men of integrity who have good knowledge and skill.  He said that the contribution of Ombudsman in good administration is multifarious. He provides check against any irregularity committed by the administration in recruitment, corruption and discrimination in provision of service to people at large, cognizance of delay, incompetence and inefficiency etc. in discharge of responsibilities.  He added that Ombudsman also look into the systemic issues to satisfy the requirements of good governance.  He said that in Pakistan his institution has contributed significantly to good administration by disposing 62,000 public complaints against government agencies this year, including carrying out systemic reforms to address the root causes of complaints, up gradation of complaint management system and establishing interface with a number of government agencies for better monitoring and expeditious resolution of public grievances.  He also said that special arrangements have been made for resolving the problems of millions of Pakistanis by establishing One Window Facilitation at all international airports of the country, early settlement of pension claims of new retirees and ensuring regular visits of Ombudsman office at districts and tehsils headquarters to resolve public complaints closer to their doorsteps.  He further added that the Ombudsman Office has also contributed a lot to improve living conditions in jails.

During conference most of the countries appreciated the efforts of Pakistan in the way of improving good governance and urged to follow the good practices of Pakistan.