Public Service User Complaint (MO0010)

Strengthening the mechanisms for receiving, overseeing, and processing users’ complaints, observations and suggestions related to public services
From 30 June 2018 to 30 June 2020
Lead implementing agency/actor
Ministry of Administration Reform and Civil Service (MRAFP)
Commitment description
What is the public problem that the commitment will address
Service recipients are unable to locate easy, accessible channels to lodge their complaints, observations, and suggestions. The traditional methods remain relatively inaccessible and ill suited. Following up the King’s Speech delivered on 14 October 2016, and based on Decree No. 2.17.265, which sets out rules to receive, monitor and process users’ complaints, observations, and suggestions, Morocco launched a national, multi-channel platform in January 2018 enabling users to lodge, monitor and process processing their complaints, observations, and suggestions. This platform entered into effect within 61 public bodies. However, this project remains unfinished, the mechanism has not yet been fully adopted, and timeframe to respond to users’ queries leave room for improvement. A regular follow-up system and performance indicators must also be developed to measure the efforts made by the government to improve public service delivery.
What is the commitment?
The commitment shall: - Increase the number of government bodies that have adopted the mechanism to receive, monitor, and process users’ complaints, observations, and suggestions. - Enable the drafting and publication of periodical reports that highlight complaints, observations, and suggestions lodged by users, and the efforts made by the various government bodies to improve public service delivery based on data collected. This commitment also involves the implementation of a follow-up and assessment process: Technical support to new bodies joining the platform The training of new bodies joining the platform The preparation by each government body of an annual report on the complaints, observations, and suggestions received from users that specifically contains: - A classification of the complaints, observations, and suggestions according to the types of public services provided - A list of measures adopted or to be adopted by the government body to improve these public services. The preparation of a summary report by the Ministry of Administration Reform and Civil Service based on sectorspecified reports and the indicators created on http://www.chikaya.ma platform. The publication of sector-specified reports and the summary report after their approval. The performance indicators for this commitment are: Increasing the number of participating government bodies by 50%, that is, from 61 to 90 government bodies, Ensuring a 70% complaint response rate Ensuring the respect of a 70% legal response timeframe Ensure a response quality level with a 10% rate of renewed complaints.
How will the commitment contribute to solve the public problem?
This commitment seeks to strengthen the implementation of a new mechanism that helps create a uniform means of recourse for service recipients and make government-user relationship more fluid. It will facilitate lodging and monitoring complaints at any time an anywhere, and save time and effort. This mechanism will promote channels of interaction between government bodies and users, assess the government’s performance and improve the quality of its services
Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values?
This commitment is essential to restore public trust in government through the creation of complaint channels and an increase in public accountability. This mechanism seeks to create solid relations that are characterised by the commitment will also favour the principle of social justice and anti-corruption, and it will offer an opportunity to citizens to participate in the improvement of public services.
Additional information
The Ministry of Administration Reform and Civil Service will develop a guide for managing users’ complaints, observations, and suggestions. It is considered as a tool to support the relevant government bodies in handling these stuffs. The guide will specifically provide a sector-specified report model that seeks to render this type of report uniform. The project to prepare this guide is part of Programme 1 of the National anti-corruption Strategy; it is funded by the programme designed to support the implementation of this strategy, in partnership with the UNDP. Related commitment: Commitment 8
Milestone Activity with a verifiable deliverable
Technical support to the new bodies joining the platform
February 2018 December 2019
Training the new bodies joining the platform
February 2018 December 2019
Preparing a guide to manage users’ complaints, observations, and suggestions
June 2018 October 2018
Distributing the guide to manage users’ complaints, observations, and suggestions to the relevant government administrations
October 2018 December 2018
Preparing the annual sectorspecified reports
January 2019 March 2019
Consolidating the annual sector-specified reports and preparing the annual summary report
April 2019 June 2019
Submitting the summary report to the Head of Government
June 2019 June 2019
Publishing the summary and sector-specified reports
July 2019 December 2019
Contact point details
Contact point name (project manager)
Ms Ikram HIMMI
Position/ department
Head of Division of Simplification Procedures and Ethics Support, Ministry of Administration Reform and Civil Service
Email and telephone
i.himmi@mmsp.gov.ma / 002125 37 67 99 96
Other actors involved
Government bodies Public institutions and any other legal entity under public law All other public or private entity in charge of public service delivery
Non-governmental associations and organisations

Commitment 10: Public Service Complaint Mechanism

Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:

“The commitment shall:

• Increase the number of government bodies that have adopted the mechanism to receive, monitor, and process users’ complaints, observations, and suggestions.
• Enable the drafting and publication of periodical reports that highlight complaints, observations, and suggestions lodged by users, and the efforts made by the various government bodies to improve public service delivery based on data collected.

This commitment also involves the implementation of a follow-up and assessment process:

• Technical support to new bodies joining the platform
• The training of new bodies joining the platform
• The preparation by each government body of an annual report on the complaints, observations, and suggestions received from users that specifically contains:
  • A classification of the complaints, observations, and suggestions according to the types of public services provided
  • A list of measures adopted or to be adopted by the government body to improve these public services.
• The preparation of a summary report by the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Administration Reforms based on sector specified reports and the indicators created on http://www.chikaya.ma platform.
• The publication of sector-specified reports and the summary report after their approval.

The performance indicators for this commitment are:

1. Increasing the number of participating government bodies by 50%, that is, from 61 to 90 government bodies,
2. Ensuring a 70% complaint response rate
3. Ensuring the respect of a 70% legal response timeframe
4. Ensure a response quality level with a 10% rate of renewed complaints”.

Milestones:

• Technical support to the new bodies joining the platform
• Training the new bodies joining the platform,
• Preparing a guide to manage users’ complaints, observations, and suggestions
• Distributing the guide to manage users’ complaints, observations, and suggestions to the relevant government administrations
• Preparing the annual sector specific reports.
• Consolidating the annual sector-specified reports and preparing the annual summary report,
• Submitting the summary report to the Head of Government
• Publishing the summary and sector-specific reports."

Start Date: 30 June 2018

End Date: 30 June 2020

Editorial Note: the commitment description provided above is an abridged version of the commitment text, please see the full action plan here: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/morocco-action-plan-2018-2020/

Context and objectives

Chikaya.ma is a national platform that was launched on 9 January 2018 to process user suggestions, complaints, and observations. Chikaya aims to provide a common online platform for the government to collect and respond to complaints related to public services. This portal was intended to make the government more accountable and aligned with the needs of citizens. This commitment complements Commitments 8 and 9 of this action plan.

Before the ‘Chikaya’ decree (No. 2-17-265 relating to the receipt and treatment of complaints and suggestions from the public), many citizen complaints had to be submitted as a written formal request, in person, to the local administration agency concerned. Some administrations offered online submission. [95] While there was a hotline for citizen inquiries (3737) as well as the public.ma website, procedures for submitting complaints were not clear. Each administration collected statistics on complaints and suggestions separately, making it impossible to have an overall picture of service delivery and government responsiveness. There was also the platform Fikra.ma (idea.ma in English), which allowed citizens to submit public policy ideas. However, the project 'fell through the cracks' and is considered inactive.

The National Numerical Plan of 2013 laid out the different strategies on how to use technology to increase the quality of service delivery and process suggestions or complaints. ^[96] This plan provided the framework for the Chikaya platform. Chikaya has increased channels for citizen input on government services. According to Badr Afif in 2019, the Interior Ministry delt with 7,000 complaints in the last year. The current response timeframe of Chikaya.ma is of 60 days, with an average of 15 days. ^[97]

However, the Chikaya platform has faced challenges since its launch. Long delays in response time meant that many complaints went unanswered. ^[98] Some CSOs interviewed found that the instructions on how to use the platform were not clear. For example, one interviewee mentioned that the access the government response was password protected. In other cases, Omal El Hyani, local Rabat council elected official, says that when he sent an urgent request in April, he only received a response three months later. ^[99] Sofia Rais comments that the number of cases taken by Chikaya are institutionally limited. Additionally, journalist and MSF stakeholder Mohammed El Aouni adds that Chikaya does not include local communes and localities, therefore its reach is limited, at best. ^[100] As of 9 January 2019, 232 administrations are supposed to be part of the portal, but at the time of writing this report, 143 administrations have joined.

Ikram Himmi states that full implementation of the commitment will contribute to administrative reforms and improved public services for citizens. Additionally, the commitment includes a needs assessment tool to respond to citizen expectations, a sectoral annual report on how administrations have improved services, and a guide on how to respond to citizen input. Finally, reforms will be backed by a statistical threshold, bound by official decree and based on international standards, to provide timely responses to citizen complaints and feedback. [101]

This commitment is expected to have a moderate potential impact on the ability of citizens to engage with government for greater public service provision. If implemented as written, the commitment would contribute to solving the problem of the lack of digital channels through which citizens can directly file complaints and suggestions. This commitment aims to increase the Chikaya platform’s useability and strengthen the ability of citizens to submit public service complaints. This overhaul is also intended to improve the governments' responsiveness to citizen complaints, which will be forwarded to the appropriate administration for response.

This commitment relates to OGP values of access to information, civic participation and the use of technology and innovation for more transparency and accountability. It is a public forum in which citizens can voice their concerns and enables a moderate amount of interaction with governmental institutions, as well as the civic participation for the formulation of public policies. This commitment is verifiable, as it specifies a goal of 232 administrations using the platform, as well as minimum satisfaction and response rates.

According to Mohammed Laouni, this commitment is seen as a positive start to kicking off civic participation and being accountable. However, he contends that the portal does not include local communes and collectivities, therefore the impact would not be major. ^[102] Moreover, Sofia Rais notes that for this commitment, the number of cases that were taken and answered properly on Chikaya was low. ^[103]

Looking ahead, the government should prioritize a communication strategy to ensure citizens are aware of their rights in relation to public services and how to access redress mechanisms such as the complaints portal. The government should also continue to train public officials on their service delivery obligations, responsibilities to forward or respond to complaints, and the existence of the platform.

10. Public Service Complaint Mechanism

Substantial:

Chikaya.ma [110] is a national platform that was launched on 9 January 2018 to process user suggestions, complaints, and observations. Chikaya aims to provide a common online platform for the government to collect and respond to complaints related to public services. This portal was intended to make the government more accountable and aligned with the needs of citizens. This commitment complements Commitments 8 and 9 of this action plan. [111]

During the implementation, the Department of Administrative Reform of the Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Administrative Reform expanded the number of public bodies receiving complaints via Chikaya from 116 to 1,723 by December 2020, and to 1,730 by July 2021. [112] These include practically all ministries and high commissioners, all regions, provinces and local government, as well as more than 80 other public bodies. [113] The Department of Administrative Reform provided training for all public bodies [114] and, in partnership with UNDP, also published in the “Documents” section of Chikaya five guidance documents addressed at civil servants and citizens. [115] According to the government’s self-assessment, 47 annual sectoral reports on the complaints, comments, and proposals received, arranged by theme, were drafted in 2019, and 16 in 2020. [116] For 2018, all ministerial departments prepared their reports. The government does not detail the reasons for the discrepancy in the number of annual reports, nor whether all sectoral reports were drafted. The self-assessment also states that the Department of Administration Reform prepared two summary reports for 2018 and 2019, which it sent to the head of government. [117] None of the sectoral or summary reports had been published at the time of writing of this report. [118]

The self-assessment states that the complaint response rate was 70% in 2018, and 82% in 2019, whereas the average complaint response time was 36 days in 2018, and 29 days in 2019. [119] As of July 2021, the Chikaya platform reports that 69.43% of complaints have been processed since its launch in 2018, with an average response time of 44 days. [120] It states a positive feedback rate for the complaints handling of 54.7%. Ahmed Bernoussi, Secretary General of Transparency Morocco, [121] observed that Chikaya is a notable effort and a facilitation tool that is not provided for by the law. However, the website suffers from a lack of suitable digital infrastructure at the local level, which sometimes leads to a lack of response to complaints and citizen frustrations. Tellingly, the “stats” section of Chikaya also shows that despite the increase in participating public bodies, the number of complaints filed decreased from over 48,000 in July 2020, to fewer than 16,000 in May and June 2021, respectively, and to fewer than 11,000 just before the end July 2021. [122]