Surabaya DPRD Supports Sub-district and Village Heads Having Public Complaint Hotlines

Surabaya (ANTARA) - Deputy Speaker of the Surabaya City Council Bahtiyar Rifai has backed a policy by Surabaya Mayor Eri Cahyadi requiring subdistrict heads (camat), village chiefs (lurah) and regional apparatus organisations (OPD) to operate direct public complaint hotlines.

Speaking in Surabaya on Sunday, Bahtiyar said the policy could accelerate public services while strengthening coordination between government at the village, subdistrict and OPD levels.

“This is a good step. The Mayor of Surabaya has set an example by creating his own public complaint channel. I believe it should not only be village chiefs and subdistrict heads, but all OPDs should also have a hotline,” he said.

According to him, the existence of hotlines will make it easier for residents to lodge complaints while speeding up the handling of various public service problems.

He gave the example of reports about waste issues, which could be forwarded by the village office to the Environmental Agency (DLH) or the relevant agencies so they can be handled more quickly.

Bahtiyar also proposed that the hotlines at the village, subdistrict and OPD levels be integrated with the hotline belonging to the Mayor of Surabaya, so the regional head can monitor how quickly officials respond.

“This hotline should ideally be connected to Mayor Eri Cahyadi, so he can monitor which subdistrict heads or village chiefs respond quickly and which have yet to respond,” he said.

According to him, every public complaint should be followed up promptly, either by the village office or through coordination with the relevant OPD in accordance with their authority.