The Ombudsman, Ms Winnie Chiu, presented the 2022-23 Annual Report of the Office of The Ombudsman to the public. The Office received 766 pandemic-related complaints in the year of 2022-23, accounting for about 14% of the total number of complaints, a hike from 206 last year.

“Before the pandemic subsided, Hong Kong was hit by a fifth wave, the worst so far.  The Government has to constantly adjust its measures to combat the pandemic, triggering complaints touching on a wide range of subjects such as vaccination and testing, quarantine and isolation as well as various relief schemes.  There were also complaints arising from the disruption of public services caused by special arrangements during the pandemic.  Tolerance of the public seemed to have dwindled and patience worn out as people yearned for return to normality. Consequently, more have taken their grievances to our Office,” Ms Chiu said.

The Office received 5,357 complaints in 2022-23, which was an increase of 8.6% from last year.  A total of 5,323 cases were completed in the year, including those brought forward from the preceding year.  Among these cases, 2,558 were pursued and concluded while the rest of the complaints (2,765) were closed after assessment due to insufficient grounds to pursue the complaints or because of jurisdictional or legal restrictions.  The Office also received 9,279 enquiries, which was an increase of 4.8% compared to previous year.

In the year, 141 complaints were concluded by the way of full investigation and 78 (55.3%) of them were substantiated, partially substantiated or unsubstantiated but with other inadequacies found.  Among the 2,112 inquiry cases concluded, inadequacies were found in 378 (17.9%).  Meanwhile, nine direct investigations were completed in the year.

During the year, the Office made a total of 211 recommendations upon completion of its full investigations and direct investigations.  Of these, a total of 189 (89.6%) were accepted by the organisations for implementation while 22 (10.4%) were under consideration as at 30 June 2023.

Mediation has proven to be an effective and speedy way of complaint resolution.   Successful mediation cases reached a record high of 305 in the year, out of which 182 cases (59.7%) were pandemic related.  It took about 11.6 days on average to conclude a complaint by way of mediation (1.8 days faster than the previous year), and over 64% and 91% were resolved within 10 days and less than one month respectively.

The Office received a total of 67 complaints about the Code on Access to Information (ATI) during the year, which was the lowest in the past five years.  There were 18 cases with inadequacies found, out of the 71 ATI complaints concluded, which was also the lowest in recent years.  A reasonable inference is that government departments and public bodies have become more conversant with the Code.

The President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi administered the Oath of Office of Banking Mohtasib Pakistan to Mr. Sirajuddin Aziz at a simple and impressive ceremony held at Aiwan-e-Sadr, Islamabad.

The appointment of Mr. Sirajuddin Aziz as Banking Mohtasib for a period of four years was notified by the Ministry of Law and Justice on 4^th July, 2023. He has replaced Mr. Muhammad Kamran Shehzad, who has completed his four-year tenure as Banking Ombudsman.

Mr. Sirajuddin Aziz brings a lot of banking experience to his new assignment. He is professionally qualified and experienced banker, who has worked for different organizations in Pakistan, China, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Nigeria and United Arab Emirates.

He was the President and Chief Executive Officer at Habib Metro Bank. Prior to this, he also served as the Chief Executive Officer of Bank Alfalah from 2007-2011. By virtue of being a senior member of banks’ Management Teams/Committees, he has been actively involved in overseeing the entire spectrum of banking operations of various banks for over 15 years. His last assignment was as the Chief Executive Officer of all Financial Institutions, Habib Bank AG Zurich.

Mr. Sirajuddin Aziz is a Fellow of Institute of Bankers Pakistan (IBP).He was also the Editor of the Journal of IBP for over a decade. He is also a Member of Pakistan Institute of International Affairs and of the English-Speaking Union of Pakistan.

He served on the Board of Governors of various educational institutions and social organizations and is a regular speaker at prestigious universities and professional forums, where he conducts sessions on a diverse range of subjects.

Mr. Sirajuddin Aziz is a regular contributor to national and international dailies, journals and magazines on varied subjects. He is an accomplished author, with published works comprising “In Quest of Mirage,” “Bitter & Sweet – Life & Times of Dad,” “Surabki Talash Main”, “The Essence of Islam” and “Emerging Dynamics of Management”.

On July 11th, 2023, the International Seminar under the theme, “Asian Ombudsman as a Mechanism for Promoting Fair Administration, Good Governance and the Rule of Law” was held in conjunction with the IOI Asian Regional Meeting 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Seminar commenced with an opening ceremony, featuring warm welcome remarks from the IOI Asian Regional President and Chief Ombudsman of Thailand, Mr. Somsak Suwansujarit. Afterward, the distinguished participants were privileged to receive special lectures from notable speakers. The IOI President, Mr. Chris Field PSM, graced the occasion with his participation, along with the Former President of the National Assembly of Thailand, Mr. Chuan Leekpai, and the IOI Asian Regional President. Together, they delivered enlightening lectures that stressed the important role performed by Asian Ombudsman institutions as a mechanism for promoting Fair Administration, Good Governance, and the Rule of Law.

This Seminar served as a unified platform for an exchange of best practices, experiences, and technical expertise through engaging panel discussions. It also delved into the essential keywords and key elements outlined in the Venice Principles and the UN Resolution on the role of Ombudsman (A/RES/77/224) to illustrate how Ombudsman institutions in the Asian region can effectively support the two aforementioned documents.

Esteemed speakers from the IOI Asian member institutions: Ombudsman of Thailand, Wafaqi Mohtasib (Federal Ombudsman) of Pakistan, Ombudsman of the Republic of the Philippines, Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia, Provedor for Human Rights and Justice of Timor-Leste, Provincial Ombudsman Sindh (Pakistan), Administrative Evaluation Bureau (Japan), and Seoul Metropolitan Citizen’s Ombudsman Commission (the Republic of Korea) took the stage and delivered captivating presentations. These insightful talks centered around two tailored sub-topics: (1) The importance of Ombudsman’s accountability, independence and transparency in establishing a peaceful society and (2) Ombudsman’s networks and stakeholders for the promotion of fair administration, good governance and the rule of law.

The exchange of ideas and experiences shed light on the indispensable contributions made by Ombudsman institutions in fostering responsible governance and ensuring justice for the citizens they serve.

The Commissioner Against Corruption Chan Tsz King earlier led a delegation of the CCAC to Bangkok (Thailand) to attend the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) Asian Regional Meeting and International Seminar.

The meeting was hosted by the Office of the Ombudsman of Thailand. Participants included representatives from Asia, such as Pakistan, Bahrain, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and East Timor. Chris Field, President of the IOI, attended the events as the Guest of Honour. The meeting aimed to allow participants to exchange their professional knowledge and experience and to discuss how to strengthen the role and importance of ombudsman institutions in the region. At the international seminar, the keynote speakers also shared their experiences as ombudsman of promoting fair administration, good governance and the rule of law.

Apart from combating corruption, the CCAC also performs the function as the ombudsman. As a member of the IOI and the Asian Ombudsman Association, the CCAC has been maintaining communication with the ombudsmen of other countries and regions. It participates in the meetings and training activities held by the relevant organisations in order to enhance its personnel’s professional knowledge of ombudsman’s work.

The Honourable Wafaqi Mohtasib Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi, visited the office of Provincial Ombudsman today, discussed issues of mutual interest and the way forward to improve the working of their respective offices in providing more relief and assistance to the masses in redressal of their grievances.

Honourable Wafaqi Mohtasib planted a sapling as part of the ongoing “Tree Plantation” drive and visited the newly established library. Mr. Ajaz Ali Khan, Provincial Ombudsman Sindh gave a comprehensive presentation about working of Sindh Ombudsman Office, initiatives taken to reduce the backlog and future plans. The Honourable guest appreciated the efforts made by the Ombudsman Sindh particularly the international outreach, to provide relief to the common man, and to portray a positive image of Province of Sindh and Pakistan at the international level.

Mr. SUGAWARA Nozomu is the Director General of the Administrative Evaluation Bureau (AEB) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan.

The AEB provides the ombudsman function through its Administrative Inspection and Administrative Counseling Service. Around 120,000 complaints from citizen are received a year by the AEB and 5,000 administrative counselors who are commissioned volunteer citizens. AEB’s Administrative Counseling Service is reinforced its independence and neutrality by the Administrative Grievance Resolution Promotion Council, which is advisory committee of specialist from various fields.

Mr. Sugawara graduated from Department of Law, Tohoku University and joined the former Management and Coordination Agency, present MIC, in 1990.

He engaged in administrative counseling and administrative inspection from August 2008 to January 2010 and from July 2014 to July 2018 as a Director.

After duties of a deputy Director-General of the Digital Agency, he took up the role of Director-General of Administrative Evaluation Bureau, Ombudsman of Japan, in 07 July 2023.

The Chief Ombudsman of Thailand, Mr. Somsak Suwansujarit, as Asian Regional President of the IOI hosted the IOI Asian Regional Meeting 2023 on July 10th, 2023 at the Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao Bangkok, Thailand.

The annual meeting took place in the vibrant city of Bangkok, uniting Ombudsman institutions across the Asian region with a shared goal to fortify their role and significance. This prestigious gathering provided a unified platform for the participants to engage in a profound exchange of knowledge and experiences, fostering a spirit of cooperation and support the Venice Principles and the UN Resolution on Ombudsman institutions at both the organizational and regional levels.

At the meeting between the IOI President and Asian members, Mr. Chris Field, the IOI President who actively engaged as the IOI Representative, chaired the morning session. With his valuable delivery of the IOI essential matters, the members received an insightful presentation, wherein he highlighted the organization’s remarkable progress and continued endeavors.

In the afternoon session presided over by the IOI Asian Regional President, the representatives from 11 institutions discussed the results of the survey ‘Measuring needs for the IOI services among IOI Asian member institutions 2023’ developed by the IOI Asian Secretariat. The meeting’s focal point centered on crucial matters of capacity-building and collaborative initiatives, encompassing various areas such as staff internships, IOI’s cooperation with the United Nations on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the strategic allocation of regional subsidies for targeted objectives.

Following a productive and fruitful discussion, the IOI Asian Secretariat will submit the summary of members’ recommendations to the IOI Secretary-General to enhance service-related matters, aligning them precisely with the unique needs of the IOI Asian member institutions.

-ACRC “looks forward to the enhancement of business’ responsiveness to the strengthened ESG management and international anti-corruption standards”-

On June 21, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) held a policy advisory council meeting, which is comprised of experts from legal and business circles, with the aim of enhancing the responsiveness of businesses to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) management and international anti-corruption standards, such as Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

The latest meeting was the third in a series, following the meetings held in June and December 2022, respectively, involving 20 participants^*, including anti-corruption and ESG experts, experts from legal and business circles, and businesspeople, all of whom have participated in the development of the Integrity and Ethics Compliance Program (K-CP).

* (Legal circle) Commissioner from the Sentencing Commission, lawyer at Kim
& Chang, etc. (Economic organization) the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of Korean Industries, Korean Enterprises Federation,     Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, etc. (Business) LG Electronics and CJ ENM
(Anti-corruption) Transparency International-Korea, UNGC Network Korea, etc.

The recent policy advisory council meeting served as a platform to complement the checklist for voluntary compliance and compliance methods of the K-CP Guideline for Business, which is planned to be distributed in the future, by listening to a wide range of opinions from experts and businesspeople regarding the direction and major content of the Guideline.

K-CP Guideline for Business includes content that helps domestic companies to efficiently and voluntarily comply with regulations related to foreign anti-corruption and ESG. In particular, the checklist of the Guideline will enable anti-corruption regulations and guidelines of each diagnostic index to be easily understood.

The checklist has six categories^*, including the diagnostic index of public disclosure and improper solicitation. It is expected that businesses comply with international anti-corruption guidelines voluntarily and actively by utilizing the checklist.

* CP governance, policy and procedure, high risk sector/management of third party, CP culture, monitoring and measures, reporting and archiving

ACRC has committed to ensuring that Korean companies actively respond to the strengthened international anti-corruption standards. With regard to this, the Commission conducts a trial operation of the K-CP, provides training, and releases monthly publications called “ACRC Integrity and Ethical Management Briefs.”

※ International ESG disclosure standards, such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) of the European Union (EU), have been strengthened, and “anti-corruption” has become one of the four pillars of India-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), established in May 2022.

Furthermore, in June 2022, ACRC distributed the Integrity and Ethics Compliance Program Guideline for Public Sector, including state-owned companies, and has been supporting public institutions to voluntarily prevent and mitigate corruption risks in conjunction with the integrity efforts assessment index.

An ACRC insider said, “We anticipate that the K-CP Guideline for Business could ensure that Korean companies proactively respond to strengthened ESG management and international anti-corruption standards.”

The Ombudsman, Ms Winnie Chiu, today (13 July) announced at a press conference the completion of a direct investigation into the arrangements for Housing for Senior Citizens (“HSC”) and converted one-person (“C1P”) units by the Housing Department (“HD”), and made eight recommendations for improvement to HD.

In the 1980s, HD introduced HSC to provide hostel-type public rental housing (“PRH”) for elderly tenants aged 60 or above. According to the design of units, there are three types of HSC, namely Type 1 (“HS1”), Type 2 (“HS2”) and Type 3 (“HS3”).  C1P units were also provided in response to the society’s demand for one-person PRH units at that time.  In both types of units, tenants have to share such facilities as kitchen and/or bathroom.

The Office’s investigation revealed that these units with shared kitchen and bathroom facilities have become outdated and unpopular.  Despite multiple measures taken by the Hong Kong Housing Authority to improve their occupancy rates over nearly two decades, it has yet to recover all HS1 and C1P units which are no longer available for allocation.  As at the end of March 2023, around 60% of the partitioned rooms in these units were vacant.  Since HD has to wait for all the tenants to move out from a unit before converting it into an ordinary PRH flat, the vacancy periods of partitioned rooms are often long.  Around 80% of HS1 units and nearly 90% of C1P units had partitioned rooms left vacant for 10 years or longer, with only one person residing in most of these units (involving around 370 units).  Consequently, the progress of unit conversion is extremely slow, and the vacancy rates have remained high.

Meanwhile, the vacancy rates of HS2 and HS3 units, which are still available for allocation, were also high at around 15% and 10% respectively.  Although HD has included these units for general allocation as well as under the Express Flat Allocation Scheme (EFAS), more than 1,000 PRH applicants refused an offer involving HSC in each of the past five years.  In 2021/22, 97% of PRH applicants who had not joined EFAS but allocated HSC units rejected the offers, indicating that these units were highly unpopular.  Some of these applicants felt aggrieved that refusing the offer is counted as forfeiting one chance of flat allocation.  The persistently high percentage of refused offers was unsatisfactory.

Ms Chiu said, “If HD’s arrangements remain unchanged, the occupancy rates of HSC and C1P units will hardly improve significantly.  Given the problem of short-term shortage of public housing in Hong Kong, it is incumbent upon HD to review the effectiveness of existing arrangements, consider breakthrough measures and make corresponding adjustments.  While showing compassion and sympathy for the elderly tenants affected, HD should also ensure more effective deployment of relevant PRH resources to meet the excess demand for public housing.”

The Office’s recommendations for improvement to HD include:

• review whether HS2 and HS3 units should still be classified as ordinary PRH flats, and consider ceasing to allocate these units to general PRH applicants;
• consider tailoring a specific allocation scheme for HS2 and HS3, and drawing on the concept of transitional housing to allocate some of the vacant units of HS2 and HS3 as short-term accommodation for people with urgent housing needs;
• review the effectiveness of the existing measures, and consider in the long run the needs for changing the use of HS2 and HS3; and
• promote and introduce more transfer incentives, proactively lobby and encourage the elderly and non-elderly tenants of HS1 and C1P units to transfer.

 HD is actively considering the improvement recommendations made by the Office.

The full investigation report is available on the website of the Office of The Ombudsman at www.ombudsman.hk for public information.

• Wafaqi Mohtasib addresses international seminar on the role of Ombudsman in promoting fair administration, good governance and the rule of law (11 July 2023 Bangkok)
• Ombudsmanship has taken firm roots in Pakistan
• Ombudsman institutions are functioning in Pakistan with the full support of its citizenry and the government

Wafaqi Mohtasib(Federal Ombudsman) Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi addressed an international seminar on the role of the Asian Ombudsman as a mechanism for promoting fair administration, good governance and the rule of law on 11 July 2023 at Bangkok. The seminar was held as part of the Asian Regional Meeting 2023 hosted by the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) which is a global ombudsman body with over 200 members form across the globe. In his address to the seminar, Mr. Qureshi emphasized that the institution of Wafaqi Mohtasib was playing its due role in dispensation of administrative justice, thereby complimenting efforts of the supreme judiciary in providing justice to all citizens.

Mr. Qureshi added that the steps taken by the Wafaqi Mohtasib’s institution to check against the maladministration and administrative excesses of government agencies, in fact, contribute towards promoting good governance, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Highlighting the growth of the institution as an effective mechanism for speedy and inexpensive justice, Wafaqi Mohtasib Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi stated that it has perfected its complaints handling mechanism over the last 40 years.  The incidence of complaints has touched an all time high figure of 164,173 during 2022 and the disposal of 157,798 complaints has been unprecedented. During the first six months of the current year, it has received 90,660 complaints and disposed of 92,387 complaints including the backlog which is reflective of the public confidence in the institution.

Addressing the international seminar, Mr. Qureshi said that the ombudsmanship has taken firm roots in Pakistan. The ombudsman institutions are functioning in the country with the full support of its citizenry and the government.  He added that the Wafaqi Mohtasib’s institution meets all the given standards in terms of the Venice Principles (2019), the Paris Principles (1993) and the UN Resolution 77/224 of December 2022. Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi being the current President of the Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA),also chaired an informal meeting of the AOA members on the sidelines of the international seminar. He reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to the cause of ombudsmanship as a means to achieving the ultimate goals of good governance and the rule of law and assured the membership of an active role by AOA in strengthening cooperation within the ombudsman fraternity.