Ombudsman to subpoena government employees
The office of the Ombudsman has taken a decision to subpoena government officials to appear for cases concerning their ministries and departments.
The Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Ramaotwana Ramaotwana, says that following a long-standing concern that the Ministries and Departments' delays in addressing Ombudsman cases, the office has resorted to using the power of subpoena to compel attendance.
He said there is a deliberate intent to address all Heads of Department on principles of good public administration, best administrative practices and compliance with the Human rights norms and standards and to monitor their compliance.
“In line with the Human rights mandate, the office has commenced engagement with the Ministry of Child Welfare and Basic Education to assess the status of Human Rights education at the Basic education level, in accordance with the Ombudsman strategic plan for 2024-2029,” Ramaotwana said when presenting the budget estimates for financial year 2026/2027 for Office of the Ombudsman.
He said the Office of the Ombudsman continues to improve its case resolution rate, although the desired level has not been attained.
According to the minister contributing factors to non-attainment of the desired result include issues of non-response and or delayed response by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), and in many instances investigation of cases would be complete, but delayed or non-implementation of corrective action stalls closure of cases.
“The office currently has 38 legal investigators delivering on the core mandate. This poses a challenge of delivery as the mandate has expanded, not only in the area of investigation, but because in addition thereto, the Ombudsman is bestowed with other functions.
These functions include but are not limited to, educating the public on maladministration and human rights, advising government on ratification and implementation of human rights treaties and conventions, assisting government to monitor, address and report on human rights issues at national and international level”
He explained that the office of the Ombudsman is enjoined to collaborate with civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations, regional and international organisations in promoting human rights and research thereon.
Ramaotwana told Parliament that for the office to effectively discharge these additional statutory functions, it requires more manpower and financial resources. He revealed that for the year at issue there was no provision, in particular for public education. He said “effective investigations often require onsite inspections, particularly in complex cases or remote circumstances requiring specialised equipment. However, budgetary constraints have limited the ability to conduct these investigations effectively.”