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By Abena RockcliffeA Partnership for National Unity (APNU) is calling for a fully staffed office of the Ombudsman to be reintroduced as opposed to the previous set up that existed.That call was made by APNU鈥檚 Dr. Rupert Roopnarine as he responded to a question about the Party鈥檚 interest in seeing a functioning Office of the Ombudsman.APNU鈥檚 Dr. Rupert RoopnarineAn Ombudsman is an official usually appointed by the government or by Parliament but with a significant degree of independence. One such official is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints of maladministration or violation of rights.The typical duties of an Ombudsman are to investigate complaints and attempt to resolve them. Ombudsmen sometimes also aim to identify systemic issues leading to poor service or breaches of people鈥檚 rights.While executives of some developed and developing countries across the world have designated several Ombudsmen, Guyana has remained without one for the last seven years.Guyana has been without an Ombudsman since the retirement of Justice Sheik Mohamed in 2005.This situation captured the attention of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament James Bond, who posed questions in relation to the non-appointment of an Ombudsman to the Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall in the National Assembly earlier this year.Last Friday, Dr. Roopnarine said that the Office of the Ombudsman is an extremely important Constitutional protection for citizens in Guyana. He highlighted that an Ombudsman is supposed to deal with faults in administration and stated 鈥渁s we know those are not going away, they are increasing; so we definitely are in need of an Ombudsman.鈥滷urther, Dr. Roopnarine asserted that it would be a waste of time to just appoint an Ombudsman and a secretary which was the case when Justice Mohamed was in that office.鈥淚t is not simply the appointment of an Ombudsman, but a real staffing to go with the office. He has to have more than a secretary鈥hich is all Justice Mohamed had. He has to have investigative capacity and so on. Without a fully staffed and empowered Office of the Ombudsman,NFL Jerseys Cheap, merely appointing an Ombudsman will do very little.鈥滱PNU Leader David Granger said that he has been advocating for the appointment of an Ombudsman as APNU sees the importance of it. Granger also pointed to the absence of a tribunal for workers. He said that APNU would like to see the activation of both.He also made mention of the plight of the Police Complaints Authority. According to Granger, that entity appeared before the Disciplined Forces Commission to complain about the financial limits and the lack of investigative capability.鈥淪o we would like to see these so-called independent or autonomous commissions working, as we feel like that would strengthen democracy,鈥� Granger stated.Meanwhile,NFL Jerseys From China, People Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Clement Rohee told the media that the Party is interested in having an Ombudsman soon.He said however,NFL Jerseys Cheap China, that even though it is in the interest of the PPP,Cheap Sports Jerseys, it is 鈥渕ore squarely鈥� the responsibility of the government to appoint appropriate candidates 鈥渨e have influence on the government, but the final call is with the government.鈥滱sked if the PPP is going to push for the speedy appointment of an Ombudsman, Rohee responded 鈥淲e don鈥檛 seek to push the government, which we are a part of,Marlon Humphrey Jersey, to do anything鈥e seek to influence the government.鈥滺e said that the PPP will be influencing the government on that matter 鈥渁mong other things.鈥漈he Office of the Ombudsman is stated as a human rights institution in Guyana.At the national level, most Ombudsmen have a wide mandate to deal with the entire Public Sector, and sometimes also elements of the Private Sector.An Ombudsman has the power to sanction if a citizen feels he or she has been treated unjustly by a high profile member of society, even a Minister. If the courts have a hold-up in trying the case, the Ombudsman can sanction,NBA Authentic Jerseys, after consideration, in accordance with the laws. |
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