Ombudsman draft Bill realisation vital Dyakugha
Ombudsman Basilius Dyakugha said it is vital for the proposed revamped Ombudsman Bill before Cabinet to materialise, as it will enable the entity to financially execute its duties effectively and independently as compared to the status quo.
Speaking during its 2021/2022 annual report media briefing in Windhoek this week, Dyakugha said although the ombudsman is a key partner in assisting the Cabinet in the implementation of good governance, enhancing rule of law and democracy, currently its independent operations are limited under the Ministry of Justice.
The chief human rights administrator stressed that currently, the budget of the ombudsman is under the justice ministry, causing many delays, including the release of the annual report, which was submitted on 06 October 2022 to the speaker of the National Assembly as opposed to March 2022.
“As an independent body, we will not have delays in submitting the report. The current delay is because of the printing procurement process of the ministry. Currently, we are surviving on the budget of the Ministry of Justice, however, having our own budget vote in parliament will [enable us to] meet our own needs,” he said.
According to the report, a total of 2 880 complaints were recorded for the year under review, ranging from maladministration, especially against human resource practitioners and local authority employees to human rights violations such as access to healthcare and protracted court cases.
The report indicated that the ombudsman acted on 1 175 cases, representing 49%, while 687 cases requested for information and advice, and 561 did not fall under its mandate.
Dyakugha, however, implored Namibians to trust and make use of the entity, as it looks only at the facts, the legal position of the matter and mediation, compared to the courts’ legal system, which looks at the legal aspects of matters.