World Bank launches PITB’s Citizen Feedback Model in Albania: Dr. Umar Saif

_{Lahore: “The World Bank team brought this innovative program to Albania from Punjab, Pakistan, where it was first initiated. More than seven million citizens have been contacted and around a million responded over the last three years.” It was cited in a Blog posted by the Senior Specialist of the WB Ms. Jana Kunicova on the official website of the Bank. She further writes “Today, the Prime Minister (of Albania) is keen on expanding this innovation into more services.”}

_{The innovation accredited  globally was launched in February 2012 by the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) to identifyand minimize corruption in certain lucrative departments of the Punjab Government in February 2012.  The main dash board is housed at the PITB’s headquarters at Arfa Software Technology Park Lahore.}

_{Marking it as a pride for the Punjab Government, the Chairman PITB Dr. Umar Saif said “once we tried to follow developed countries’ innovations but it is enthusiastic to see that a European country is following our work. Obviously the credit goes to the Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, the main driving force behind such innovations who has a clear vision to provide the common public with the benefits of technology and bring down government-citizen interface”.}

_{Dr, Saif said that initially started in the provincial departments of Revenue, Health, Police, Food, Rescue, Flood Relief and LDA, the CFM has made more than 9.5 million transactions, contacted 7.6 million citizens out of whom more than 1.56 million complained and more than 8000 officials were proceeded against departmentally. He said the system would be extended to the other main departments in future.}

  _{“The data collected in main dash board is also appealing strongly to the decision makers, researchers, students and the international development organizations” he added.  Dr. Saif said that it was quite similar to Punjab experience that an inspired citizen of Albania who got treatment from Durrës hospital remarked “I have been in the hospital before, but this time you could feel the change. No one asked for bribe”.}

_{While in Punjab a citizen responds to the CM’s robot call as “Janab Patwari ne ham se fard k 9000 rupy liye han Khadme Punjab hamain insaf dilwain. shukria”. Without the CFM, to have the public feedback so proactively was a dream, he concluded.}