The Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc. (TIGI) in a press statement yesterday said that it welcomed the appointment of Justice Winston Moore as the Ombudsman saying that it has every confidence that Moore will discharge his responsibilities faithfully and in keeping with the requirements of the Constitution.
On December 18, 2013, Government informed the Opposition that it had selected Moore for the position of Ombudsman. While the Constitution says the Opposition is to be consulted on the post, it does not have to give its consent for the appointment to go ahead.
“The Transparency Institute Guyana Inc. (TIGI) welcomes the appointment of the Ombudsman, a position that has been vacant since Justice S. Y. Mohamed demitted office in 2005,” the statement said. It noted that the main responsibility of the Ombudsman is to investigate any action taken by a government department or other authority, or by the President, Ministers, officers or members of such a department or authority in relation to the exercise of the administrative functions of that department or authority.
“We have every confidence that Justice Winston Moore will discharge his responsibilities faithfully in keeping with the requirements of the Constitution, once he is provided with adequate resources,” the statement said.
“TIGI takes the opportunity to request that the Government takes similar measures in respect of the Public Service Appellate Tribunal (PSAT) which has not been in place since August 1995,” it said.
It added that an examination of the estimates of expenditure for 2013 would reveal that there are over 22,000 authorised positions that fall under the jurisdiction of the three Service Commissions in terms of appointment, discipline and removal. “With such a large number of public officials to deal with, it is inconceivable that some officers will not have grievances regarding the decisions of these bodies,” TIGI said.
It noted that it is mainly for this reason that Article 215A of the Constitution establishes the Public Service Appellate Tribunal to hear appeals “…in respect of any matter so specified, being a matter in respect of which the Public Service Commission, the Teaching Service Commission, and the Police Service Commission or the Commissioner of Police is empowered to make a decision…”
It said that in other words, a public servant, a teacher or a police officer has a right of appeal to the Tribunal against any decision by the relevant Service Commission if he/she feels that there has been unfair treatment.
“TIGI urges the Government to take urgent measures to reactivate the PSAT through the appointment of its members, consistent with the requirements of the Constitution, and to provide the Tribunal with adequate resources to discharge its responsibilities,” the TIGI statement said.
