A Positive Ombudsman

The present composition of the Office of the Ombudsman is a far cry from the days when it was a mere shadow, a place for the betterment of a single individual with no interest in the public’s complaints or the nations journey in the attainment of democratic values.

Today, great changes and initiatives have been brought into this office, all because of the work of Justice Cowan who has brought in a new spirit of responsible leadership and a wish to bring in successes.

The fact that the Ombudsman had the foresight to look into the workings of other similar offices show there is a new beginning working in the minds of a new office untouched by the corruption of the past.

It had been the usual practice for government officials and other representatives of government going out, seeing development but on returning home, refusing to implement these great examples in the country.

“The rationale behind this tour is for us to have a first hand experience on how the Ombudsman’s offices in these countries effectively carry out their mandate-I mean their complaints handling procedures and investigations and public awareness programmes, amongst others.”

This humble eagerness to accept that we do not know how to run the office of the Ombudsman and to go in search of knowledge shows we have someone at the helm worth respecting and supporting. There is a need for other offices to emulate the Ombudsman.

The office of the Ombudsman having replicated these procedures is now able to give a fresh impetus to the issue of investigating wrongs committed against the citizenry.

Before the present move, the office has received within three months up to 96 cases. This shows the trust the people have in the new Ombudsman and the concern he has manifested for the downtrodden and the underprivileged.

Even journalists, denied the right to protest in front of State House, were received by the Ombudsman. Such patience and understanding, key characters for any ombudsman, clearly exist here.

But while the Ombudsman is working astutely in ensuring that the wrongs are righted and truth is given a priority, some negative minded individuals, still steeped in the days of corruption and biased undertakings at the detriment of the underprivileged and the wronged still continue to manifest their negative traits. This explains why some ministries, departments and government ministries continue to sabotage the workings of the Ombudsman by responding in a lethargic manner to enquiries.

These are the ones who have caused the office being tied down with seventy-seven cases yet to be investigated because of nefarious foot dragging.

As stated by Ombudsman Cowan, some institutions deliberately refuse to reply to any of our correspondence and others see us as an intruder in their domain.

There is therefore need for the government to empower the office of the Ombudsman to ensure that those who fail to adhere to its enquiries face punishment in whatever form seen as appropriate.

Sierra Leone is yet to become used to the idea of an ombudsman’s office, and therefore like any change, there are liable to be constraints and obstacles, especially where corruption is involved.

While praising the ombudsman, there is a need to extend congratulations for the Justice Sector Development Project, which sponsored the important tour and has been helpful in bringing sanity into a clearly chaotic system. Let us give praises where due.

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