16 Mar 2017

The Ombudsman Act will be amended to expand the mandate of the Office of the Ombudsman to deal with issues of human rights, Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Eric Molale has said.

Presenting the budget proposals for Office of the Ombudsman before Parliament on Tuesday, Mr Molale said the Draft Bill was currently being drafted by the Attorney General’s Chambers.

He said a functional structure of the Office of the Ombudsman would also be produced as soon as the Amended Act is passed by Parliament.

Mr Molale said non-responsiveness by ministries and departments to Ombudsman enquiries had been the main challenges to the effectiveness of the Office since its establishment.

The minister said although there had been some improvements, the new Ombudsman Act would generally empower the Office to discharge its mandate.

Minister Molale said the Ombudsman remains concerned about the high volumes of complaints by public officers saying it was disturbing as the same officers are the ones expected to deliver service yet they are perpetually unhappy about the issues of their own welfare and conditions of service.

He said these generally revolve around poor or improper interpretation and application of Government Polices, Rules and Regulations such as Scheme of Service, Public Service Directives and non-response to employee queries.
Public awareness about the Office of the Ombudsman remains a challenge, as many people still do not have sufficient information about the services the office offers.

The minister said the Office of the Ombudsman has identified public education as an area that requires greater focus and resources.

He said during the 2016/17 financial year, the office continued with its public education drive covering six school visits, an open mall campaign, two full Council meetings, two joint anti-corruption and best administration practice workshops with Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC), and eight appearances at exhibitions, fairs and commemorations.

Meanwhile, the minister has requested P29 million as recurrent budget for 2017/18 financial year and P8 million for development budget.

The minister said ‘the development funds will be used to cover the pre-construction works and the actual construction of the Maun office.’ ENDS