Commissioner Karachi Syed Hassan Naqvi held a meeting with all deputy commissioners of the seven districts of Karachi division along with their respective assistant commissioners and Mukhtiarkars.
The meeting witnessed threadbare discussion regarding public service delivery, development schemes, issues of cooperation and compliance from other agencies, and holistic public service reforms through the legal framework to strengthen the street-level bureaucracy which was the face of government. He directed assistant commissioners to assume full responsibility for their areas, be vigilant against miscreants, and pay special head to public complaints about civic issues.
Held in the Commissioner Karachi Club inside DC South office at Garden, the meeting was attended by DC South Altaf Sario, DC Central Fawad Ghaffar Soomro, DC West Ahmed Ali Siddiqui, DC East Shahzad Fazzal Abbasi, DC Korangi Jawad Ahmed, DC Malir Irfan Salar Meerwani, DC Keamari Junaid Khan, and by a large number of Assistant Commissioners and Mukhtiarkars posted in different areas of Karachi.
Deputy Commissioners started the meeting by presenting a careful picture of what they called “ground realities” for implementing public policies. They thanked Commissioner Karachi for such an interactive gathering with all the field officers who have first information on the ground and who face the pressures from different corners while performing their duties. Most of them echoed of non-cooperative attitude of different agencies, yet they vowed to deliver the best public service.
The field officers – Assistant Commissioners and Mukhtiarkars – voiced their concerns over pathetic cooperation from other relevant departments which hinders effective public service delivery. They stressed the need of a legal framework with stronger power to assistant commissioners 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.
Addressing the meeting, Commissioner Karachi applauded the field officers for voicing their concerns and said that officers should do self-retrospection and self-accountability. He emphasized officers to stay relevant, visit their areas more regularly, and be present in their offices to listen to public complaints. He said, “The 70 percent of public issues are redressed when you are present on the spot to meet the public.” He elaborated the officers about his governance strategy saying, “For me, the redressal of civic issues is top priority. 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 directed the assistant commissioners to personally visit the markets for price checking on a daily basis rather than relying on their subordinates. Naqvi told the meeting that the logistical issues were being resolved.