Ombudsman’s Office won’t Investigate PM John Briceño

The Office of the Ombudsman has responded to a letter written by Opposition Leader Shyne Barrow on May thirty-first, in which a request was made for an investigation of Prime Minister John Briceño in respect of Portico’s Definitive Agreement.  In the response, Ombudsman Gilbert Swaso stated that, “in his absolute discretion, he has determined that there is no reasonable cause to launch an investigation and cannot legally proceed any further with this subject matter”.  News Five spoke with the ombudsman earlier today.

Gilbert Swaso

(Ret’d) Major Gilbert Swaso, Ombudsman

“The Office of the Ombudsman specifically deals and abides by the stipulations of the act, Chapter Five of the Substantive Laws of Belize.  So I want to reiterate the fact that we have to stick with confidentiality, that is very, very important, and the fact that the office cannot jeopardize the confidence of the general public in any way or form because we have to remain open to take complaints from the general public.  Having said that, since the office was re-operationalized, up to this point, over eighty cases that we have received and each and every one of those cases are dealt with specifically using the stipulations of the law.  So as it is, that is how we are dealing with every case, dealing with the procedures stipulated by law and we are taking it, doing our due diligence as stipulated by the law.”

Isani Cayetano

“In a case where your office is being asked to investigate a matter and for whatever reason, perhaps after going through a thorough process of due diligence, you’ve decided that the office won’t proceed with the request as is, what happens thereafter?”

Gilbert Swaso

“We are obligated by the act that once the ombudsman has made his determination then it is incumbent, as stipulated by law, the act, for us to give a response to the complainant giving reasons as to why the investigation will not be conducted.”