Citizens’ Charter is necessary to build trust between citizens and government

IPS’ GM Operations Naufil Shahrukh represented Institute of Policy Studies as a civil society organization in a discussion on major issues in the Citizens’ Charter at the roundtable conference on “Enhancing and Implementing Citizens’ Charter for Effective Service Delivery” at the Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives, arranged by Governance Innovation Lab on May 9, 2023.

The roundtable was chaired by Prof Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives, and participated in by various government officials, civil society representatives, and stakeholders to facilitate the enhancement of the Citizens’ Charter for the people of Pakistan.

During the roundtable, the participants discussed the relevance of the Citizens’ Charter as a mechanism to assure the delivery of high-standard services to citizens and encourage openness and accountability against it in government. Moreover, in order for the Citizens’ Charter to help foster trust and confidence between citizens and the government, the participants laid down the standards for service delivery and a procedure for grievance redressal.

The stakeholders offered suggestions for improving the Citizens’ Charter and developing a unified online platform for all government services, resulting in more convenient and quicker service delivery for all people of Pakistan.