Ombudsman running on the spot

Times of Malta highlighted the ombudsman’s frustration with the impasse on reports by his office on justified complaints that are ignored by the public administration. Since the only path he can follow in these situations is to report these issues to parliament, which also sidelines his work, this leads him to suggest that this frustrating deadlock can be resolved by the setting up of a parliamentary select committee to give direction to the government on failure by the executive to implement his recommendations and ensure they are acted upon.

I winced heavily as I saw this proposal and reached out to my collection of annual reports by his office.

Way back in his 2003 annual report, the ombudsman at the time, Joseph Sammut showed optimism regarding acceptance of his suggestion by the house of representatives on the fate of similar grievances. This envisaged the nomination of an MP by each parliamentary group to sift these cases with the ombudsman, examine his recommendations on each case and brief the house business committee on how these grievances should be handled. Sammut believed this approach would lead to an equitable and fair conclusion.

The office of the ombudsman. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

After a couple of uneventful meetings of this working party, Sammut referred to this process in his last full annual report for 2004 and, sadly, acknowledged: “With a heavy heart I must admit that this system has not so far functioned as desired.” He openly attributed this result to an insufficient degree of initiative and involvement in the review of his reports and insisted on a deeper commitment to this system if these arrangements were to serve their purpose.

Enter his successor, Joseph Said Pullicino in December 2005. Writing on the relationship between his office and parliament in his 2005 annual report, the new ombudsman expressed his reservations on the effectiveness of this method of review of unresolved justified grievances by the house business committee.

Admitting he was not really convinced that a similar system can function effectively in the Maltese parliament, he held that alternative means of collaboration between the two institutions should be identified. This would enable the full house to make an objective assessment of his recommendations and to insist that the administration will give due redress.

Five administrations and three ombudsmen later and after more than two decades, surely this is a case of an ombudsman institution that is running on the spot.

MICHAEL SANT – Lija