Government ministries are required to formally report back to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) once complaints referred to them have been resolved.
This has been revealed in the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence report tabled in Parliament on Friday following its review of the OPM’s operations.
The report says the OPM serves as a central point for receiving public complaints lodged through walk-ins, emails, letters or raised directly with the Prime Minister during public engagements. Rather than resolving the matters itself, the OPM refers each complaint to the relevant line ministry for investigation and action.
According to the OPM, ministries must follow a structured two-step reporting process.
After investigating the complaint and taking corrective action, the responsible ministry is required to prepare a formal closure file containing a summary of its findings, details of the actions taken to resolve the issue and evidence of the resolution, such as signed inspection forms, receipts or official correspondence sent to the complainant.
The report says the ministry must then submit a formal Return Memorandum to the OPM to officially close the case and maintain administrative accountability.
The accountability process is managed through Permanent Secretaries, with the Permanent Secretary of the relevant ministry required to send the Return Memorandum or resolution report directly to the Permanent Secretary of the Office of the Prime Minister.
The final report must clearly explain how the complaint was resolved and confirm that the case has been formally closed by the ministry.
