Lack of promptness, fairness top list of complaints

The largest number of justified complaints in the Ombudsman's total caseload last year concerned the lack of promptness in the handling and processing of citizens' affairs by the public service.

Presenting a copy of the eighth annual report of the Office of the Ombudsman to Anton Tabone, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ombudsman Joe Sammut said 59 of the justified complaints processed by his office regarded the delay in replying to correspondence or issuing entitlements that belong to citizens.

"Another area where public bodies failed was lack of fairness, with grievances involving rigid application of rules with negative effects on citizens. These are the biggest sins of the public service," Mr Sammut said.

Providing an overview of the performance of the office in 2003, the annual report states that 723 complaints were handled by the Ombudsman's office, 595 of which were concluded by the end of the year.

As a result of the Ombudsman's direct intervention, 77 cases were upheld and 78 were solved by informal action. Another 142 cases were found to be unjustified after the conclusion of a full-scale investigation.

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority attracted most written new complaints last year with 55 cases, or 9.2 per cent, of the incoming caseload.

Speaking to journalists, Mr Sammut emphasised that the office's role was not only to establish whether there has been an injustice in a particular case but to increase the level of service offered by the public service.

"The aim is to raise the standards in Malta and to reach the most efficient level of service offered in other European Union countries," he said, adding that citizens have a fundamental right to good administration.

He said that though words like transparency, accountability and impartiality were often thrown about when defining the role of the public service, the terms needed to be practically defined.

He said the culture of redress was still lacking in Malta. He explained that according to this principle, whoever suffers an injustice should be put in the same position s/he would have been had that injustice never occurred.

"In many cases people receive backdated money from the government. In this case the redress should not only include the backdated sum but should also account for the loss of purchasing power and even moral compensation."

Asked if he saw any progress in the way members of Parliament reacted to the reports and the remarks by the Ombudsman, Mr Sammut said there were positive signs when compared to previous years. He said he also had clear indicators that government departments and public agencies were aware of the Ombudsman and his role.

Mr Sammut said Parliament had nominated two MPs, Mario Galea (PN) and Adrian Vassallo (MLP), to examine the recommendations proposed by the Ombudsman and to brief the House Business Committee on the way in which outstanding cases could be handled.

The annual report also covers the visit to Malta by European Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros, who laid out the rights of Maltese citizens as citizens of the European Union and pointed out the role of the European Ombudsman. It also draws attention to the Maltese public administration to its newly arising obligations.

Nine years since the Ombudsman's office was set up in 1995, the public has a lot of trust in the institution, while most government departments admitted that a watchdog like the Ombudsman helped them achieve better levels of service and good practice, according to a survey.

Mr Sammut said that many Maltese had written to the European Ombudsman, even before accession, to complain about local issues.

"People in Malta have sought the European Ombudsman with complaints on local issues. But the European Ombudsman can only be consulted on alleged injustices concerning European institutions and not on local issues," said Mr Sammut.

As in other years, the annual report gives a detailed account of a number of cases that were investigated last year, the aim being to provide an insight into some of the main shortcomings of the public administration. The main causes of justified complaints that were given coverage were the irregularities in the award of appointments and promotions in the public service, lack of transparency in administrative actions and even the exploitation of physical planning rules by developers.