The Ombudsman has a new office. For the past 5 years, he's been set up on Regent Street but now he's moved to Douglas Jones Street. An opening was held this morning for the new office, and the Prime Minister said the office is key to the function of democracy.
Hon. Said Musa, Prime Minister
“I see the Ombudsman as a key player in our undertaking to build a strong democratic culture in our society; a key player to make democracy work to improve the quality of life for all Belizeans. One of the central problems we Belizeans face at this time in this day is institutional weakness. The institution of the public service must be reformed if it is to truly serve the public. The institution of the justice system must be reformed if we are to maintain the confidence of the people in the rule of law where criminals get punished, wrongs are righted as Boots said, victims get redress, and justice is meted out swiftly and effectively. A strong democratic culture cannot achieve be achieved through good intentions alone, strong and effective institutions are essential for good governance. The office of the Ombudsman provides one of the critical checks and balances in the system.”
We also spoke to the Ombudsman and asked him if the new office will intimidate those who come to complain.
Jules Vasquez,
What would you like to say those people in the public who have to make complaints here and might hmmm get rich and switch...Mr. Paul change up on me. What would you say to invite them to continue to come?
Paul Rodriguez, Ombudsman
“I would Jules that this office is nicer than what we had but it is still pretty modest. Also I would like to say that our door will always be open to anybody who has a complaint rich or poor. While it does seem that faith or nature has ordained that the poor and the disabled are people who have more complaints and have more grievances we welcome them and we still want to let them feel welcome and still keep on coming. We are willing to hear your complaint and sometime it is only to express your grievance to another human being I think that helps a lot. But we of course must often go way beyond that and try to remove the cause of the grievance and the suffering.”
Jules Vasquez,
The Ombudsman is just one game one more part of the establishment which is meant to oppress people and there are no real solutions here just a place to vent your complaints and get it in a book because the Ombudsman’s annual report. How do you respond to people with that cynical view?
Paul Rodriguez,
“Well the answer is that this year we have resolved 669 cases. Resolved meaning that we got justice, redress for most of those people so that idea that feeling is not true. We do produce results. My land was taken away and next thing you know sold and next thing you know he gets money and gets another piece of land. That’s far from just listening to somebody but it is listening true but also getting results and getting redress for the person.”