Public entities must reply within 15 working days
The local government has established a new system standardising the practices for all public entities to handle and reply to opinions and complaints from members of the public.
According to the new system, which will take effect on October 5, the respective public entities must make their first, basic reply within two working days after receiving the enquirers’ opinions or complaints, after which they must, in general, conclude handling each case and come up with a final, complete reply within 15 working days after receiving the enquirers’ opinions or complaints, except when confronted with special circumstances.
The government is now setting up a single and simple platform for the public to raise opinions and complaints related to all public entities. The new public feedback platform will start operating on October 5, which members of the public can use via the Macao One Account app. The platform will be operated with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, making it more effective for public servants to handle enquirers’ opinions and complaints.
The new public feedback handling system will be regulated by a newly drawn-up administrative regulation, which was announced by Secretary for Administration and Justice Wong Sio Chak and Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau (SAFP) Director Leong Weng In during a press conference at Government Headquarters yesterday. Wong is also the spokesman for the government’s top advisory Executive Council.
Government-drafted administrative regulations, aka by-laws, do not require the legislature’s approval.
The government first indicated last year its plan to set up a single and simple platform for the public to raise opinions and complaints related to all government entities as the current public feedback systems run by different public entities, the government acknowledged at that time, did not function well in responding to opinions and complaints submitted by members of the public.
During yesterday’s press conference, Wong underlined the local government’s commitment to reforming its current system for handling public feedback, as part of its ongoing campaign to advance public administration reform while enhancing governance effectiveness and the efficiency of its public administration services provided to the public.
By establishing a more uniform, standardised, and efficient system for handling public feedback, Wong said, the government aims to strengthen communication and interaction with the public and promote the continuous optimisation of public services. Consequently, Wong said, the government has drawn up the new administrative regulation governing its system for handling public feedback.
“The administrative regulation will standardise the criteria for handling various types of feedback. It explicitly stipulates that an initial response to feedback must be provided within two working days, with the principle of concluding the case within 15 working days”, Wong said.
Wong said that according to the new administrative regulation, if the case’s particular situation makes it impossible for the respective public entity to complete handling the case and make a final, complete reply within 15 working days, the public entity must, in advance before the 15-working-day deadline, tell the resident that it will not be able to make the final reply within the required time frame, and provide the resident with information about its latest progress for the case.
Leong said that currently, in most cases where residents raise opinions and complaints to public entities, the latter are able to conclude handling the cases within 15 working days. However, in some special cases, such as those requiring an investigation and those with the need to request information from other public entities, the respective public entities cannot conclude handling the cases within 15 working days, she said.
Leong said that according to the new administrative regulation, if a public entity expects it to be unable to conclude handling a case within 15 working days, it must provide the enquirer with the reason and tell him or her the expected completion time.
Wong said that the government is setting up a knowledge base containing information on various government services provided by different public entities, and the knowledge base will be integrated with the future single feedback gathering platform. The knowledge base aims to enable the platform to respond to enquirers’ requests more quickly thanks to the applications of AI technologies.
Leong said that 16 public entities, which receive enquiries from members of the public more often than other entities, have been participating in the government’s training of the knowledge base with the assistance of AI technologies. The 16 public entities have so far provided 1,700 sets of questions and answers added to the knowledge base, covering most of the typical enquires concerning government services that enquirers normally make, she said.
Leong noted that the government will upgrade the Macao One Account app. Following the completion of the upgrading, the new single feedback gathering platform will start operating on October 5 – when the new administrative regulation takes effect.
Leong said that in most cases, enquirers can be expected to instantly obtain the answers of their requests thanks to the constant updating of the knowledge base. If the AI chatbots powered by the knowledge base still cannot address the enquiries, they will then be “seamlessly” directed to the human customer services, she said.
Leong said that the AI technologies can also instantly convert voice into text, making it more effective for public servants to handle enquirers’ opinions and complaints.
Secretary for Administration and Justice Wong Sio Chak (right) and Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau (SAFP) Director Leong Weng In address yesterday’s Executive Council press conference at Government Headquarters. – Photo: Tony Wong
