The Cabinet’s Research, Development and Evaluation Commission yesterday proposed 26 measures to improve government efficiency.
One suggestion was to reply to complaints filed by the public with the government within one month of receiving them, commission Deputy Minister Sung Yu-hsieh (宋餘俠) said.
Replies must contain a substantial explanation of the issue involved and must not be a routine answer, Sung said.
The commission began drafting the proposals after Taiwan last month received its lowest “government effectiveness” score since 1998 in the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators.
In the report, Taiwan remained in the second tier of countries in terms of government effectiveness, putting its performance between the 75th and 90th percentiles of all countries.
Its ranking fell to 22 from 17 the year before.
Sung presented the proposal at a press conference at the Government Information Office.
Another measure in the proposal was to establish an inspection system that would encourage public servants to take the initiative in identifying problems and promptly writing review reports with possible solutions.
Meanwhile, Sung said the commission had set up a task force to investigate any irregularities involving officials in a recent spate of restaurants found to have excess arsenic levels in their frying oil.
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