LocationsUNDP Pakistan and Pakistan Customs launch Digital Dashboard and Online Complaint Portal to Promote Women and Youth Led Cross-border Commerce through Innovation
October 18, 2022
Karachi, 14th October 2022: In a development partnership, Pakistan Customs and UNDP Pakistan launched an Online Complaint Portal and Digital Dashboard in Karachi today to improve engagement between traders and regulators by simplifying procedures, and also promote women and youth led cross-border commerce through innovation.
In his keynote address, Mr. Wajid Ali, Director General Pakistan Customs, acknowledged UNDP’s role in partnering with Pakistan Customs for the successful implementation of the project. He highlighted the benefits that will accrue to the trader community as well as the officials of the Pakistan Customs because of the portal.
“Through technical assistance provided by UNDP, a live dashboard and an online complaint portal were successfully developed and deployed for the senior management of Pakistan Customs who are now able to view live updates related to customs clearances for informed decision making. More importantly this system will improve engagement between the traders and regulators, thus simplifying the procedures, improving predictability while also introducing an electronic grievance redressal mechanism for customs related complaints”, said Mr. Wajid Ali.
The UNDP delegation included UNDP Pakistan Assistant Resident Representative and Chief, Democratic Governance Unit, Mr. Kaiser Ishaque; UNDP Pakistan Assistant Resident Representative and Chief, Development Policy Unit, Ms. Ammara Durrani; and Francisco Santos-Jara Padron, Regional Advisor Livelihoods, Economic Recovery & Displacement at UNDP Asia-Pacific. Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, key officials of Pakistan Customs, and Yasmin Haider of New World Concepts also spoke at the inauguration.
“The Online Complaint Management System is a game changer that will empower domestic stakeholders and transform passive beneficiaries into active participants to improve trade, industry and services in the country,” said Mr. Kaiser Ishaque.
Ms. Ammara Durrani stated, “We acknowledge the efforts of the government in recognizing digital transformation of the public sector as a pre-requisite for economic and social development, especially as it relates to those at the margins of trade endeavours such as women, youth, and communities in border regions”. Ms. Durrani also stated that this emphasis on digital transformation is a key pillar of UNDP’s country programme for 2023-2027.
Pakistan has consistently been making efforts to improve the business environment in the country. Since 2016, almost 300 reforms have been implemented to improve investment climate in the country. As a result, Pakistan improved 39 positions in the Ease of Doing Business ranking in the last two years and was placed at the 108th position. The National Single Window - one of the government's key reform programmes - is a complex undertaking and will require continued commitment and support from concerned government departments and development partners to succeed.
One of the most significant attributes of the new system is that it was developed in close consultation with relevant stakeholders, including the trader community, women and youth traders, the representatives of the Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, officials of Pakistan Customs, in addition to leveraging international best practices. A series of consultation seminars were organized at all stages of the project, including planning, development and pre-launch. This has ensured that the system will serve not only as a tool for the redressal of public grievances, but will also provide a platform for citizen feedback to the department.
For additional information, please contact Tabindah Anwar at tabindah.anwar@undp.org or +92 (51) 835 5650
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