Ombudsman releases annual report
He’s tasked with championing the cause of citizens who feel that public officials have violated their rights, and today Ombudsman Paul Rodriguez released the annual summary of his work over the last twelve months. The report of the Ombudsman, which under law has been tabled in the National Assembly, gives a brief synopsis of the cases dealt with, including a series of letters from Rodriguez to various government officials querying alleged irregularities. The responses are also included, blocking out the names of complainants to ensure privacy. Rodriguez says that while there has been some cooperation, there were a number of instances where public officers made his work difficult to complete.
Paul Rodriguez, Ombudsman
“If you look at page fifteen you will see there a letter that I wrote to the Commissioner of Police on a traffic matter. The handling of the police Traffic Department I think is a very important department of the police and I’m afraid the professionalism and the care has not been dedicated to it as I think citizens should expect to come out of the police.”
“We make reference to Brenton Sabal who is a young man who died as a result of a gunshot wound in Dangriga. Up to this date, and this is almost two years after, no closure has been held in his case. No Coroner’s inquest to determine how he died, or who killed him. I think that matters like this, which are very painful to family, relatives especially, some closure ought to be given. If no blame is to be assigned, well then let that be said. If the investigation reveals that nobody is to be blame for the death of the person, then I think that should be said.”
“For one thing it ensures the public that the Ombudsman is doing his work. It is an opportunity for the citizens to see the kind of work that he does. It is an opportunity for parliament to make its input into the work of the Ombudsman to make sure that the various authorities under public administration do what they are supposed to do to make the work of the Ombudsman successful. If you look at, I think its page eighty-three you will see, it deals with open files. There are many cases that the Ombudsman has sought to bring to a resolution, which has not been done so because the authorities have not cooperated fully with the ombudsman.”
In his report, Rodriguez stated that he was able to successfully complete one hundred and thirty-seven cases, the majority of them dealing with the Police Department. The open files Rodriguez complained about number one hundred and seventy with the Police Department accounting for seventy-four. Copies of the report are available at the Office of the Ombudsman on Regent Street in Belize City.
