A brighter future beckons, says Ombudsman Walters

A YEAR and a half after taking office, Namibia’s third permanent Ombudsman, John Walters, says he’s now gotten to grips with his responsibilities, and after a few setbacks is ready to make his presence felt in 2006.

The Ombudsman’s Office – as provided for in the Constitution, investigates any complaints of corruption, abuse of power, violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms, and any unfair or harsh treatment of Namibians by State officials. A glance at the Ombudsman’s annual report for 2004, released only recently, shows that the office resolve 925 complaints, down from 1 524 in 2003.In total, the office received only 1 033 complaints last year, 601 less than in 2003.”That’s not because there were fewer complaints, I assure you,” Walters says.”Its mostly because we didn’t have any regional complaints intake clinics.”These ‘clinics’ usually see the office of the Ombudsman travelling to the different regions, informing schools and communities about its duties, and having people report their complaints.”The 2005 report will show a much higher number of cases dealt with,” Walters says, as most of the speed bumps that led to the backlog have now been cleared.MORALE “Staff morale is a big thing,” he says.This low morale, he says, can be ascribed to a number of developments, including staff having gone through three Ombudsmen in as many years, and being evicted from their offices next to State House earlier this year to make way for former president Sam Nujoma.In order to get staff morale back up, Walters says he hopes the envisioned Ombudsman’s Award will become a reality in 2006, as it wasn’t financially possible this year.”The idea is for it to act as incentive for investigation, to boost morale,” he says.”We’re hoping to also create an award for the most co-operative institution,” he says, adding that, even though parastatals are required by law to reveal documentation needed in an investigation, it generally takes a while to get this done.The Khomas Region has rated highest in complaints for the past couple of years.Most of these are in connection with the Namibian Police, as well as the Ministries of Justice and Prisons.”Most cases we deal with are those of prisoners complaining about long delays in finalising their appeals, Police assaults, no investigations being carried out in some cases, and property loss during Police investigations,” he says.Walters stresses that letters from prisoners that are addressed to the Office of the Ombudsman may not be censored, and promised to look into cases where prisoners believe their complaints to have been tampered with.CELL WOES As far as Windhoek is concerned, Walters says over-crowding at the Police holding cells are without a doubt his biggest concern.”The Katutura Police station was built in the 1950s,” he says, adding that the number of trial-awaiting prisoners has increased considerably since then, and that this needs to be looked into.”There needs to be more holding cells away from the Police station.”Walters urges anyone with a complaint to address him, no matter how big or small the violation.”Don’t decide that your complaint is too small.Let us decide.And if it’s not for us to investigate, I’ll refer you to the right person,” he says.Although dealing with each issue individually and in total confidentiality, he says solving one complaint usually leads to solving a number of others at the same time.”One complaint often shows a deficit in the system,” he says, “and solving one problem can solve the same problem for a number of individuals.It also helps us to look at our own internal flaws, for example in training staff.”Next year will hopefully see the completion of two regional Ombudsman’s offices at Keetmanshoop and Oshakati, as well as a tour of all the regions, to give the public an opportunity to raise their complaints with the Ombudsman.”When I go home I love the feeling that I’ve been able to help someone,” he says.”Maybe it’s a small thing I achieved, but to that person it shows that we took him seriously.”A glance at the Ombudsman’s annual report for 2004, released only recently, shows that the office resolve 925 complaints, down from 1 524 in 2003.In total, the office received only 1 033 complaints last year, 601 less than in 2003.”That’s not because there were fewer complaints, I assure you,” Walters says.”Its mostly because we didn’t have any regional complaints intake clinics.”These ‘clinics’ usually see the office of the Ombudsman travelling to the different regions, informing schools and communities about its duties, and having people report their complaints.”The 2005 report will show a much higher number of cases dealt with,” Walters says, as most of the speed bumps that led to the backlog have now been cleared.MORALE “Staff morale is a big thing,” he says.This low morale, he says, can be ascribed to a number of developments, including staff having gone through three Ombudsmen in as many years, and being evicted from their offices next to State House earlier this year to make way for former president Sam Nujoma.In order to get staff morale back up, Walters says he hopes the envisioned Ombudsman’s Award will become a reality in 2006, as it wasn’t financially possible this year.”The idea is for it to act as incentive for investigation, to boost morale,” he says.”We’re hoping to also create an award for the most co-operative institution,” he says, adding that, even though parastatals are required by law to reveal documentation needed in an investigation, it generally takes a while to get this done.The Khomas Region has rated highest in complaints for the past couple of years.Most of these are in connection with the Namibian Police, as well as the Ministries of Justice and Prisons. “Most cases we deal with are those of prisoners complaining about long delays in finalising their appeals, Police assaults, no investigations being carried out in some cases, and property loss during Police investigations,” he says.Walters stresses that letters from prisoners that are addressed to the Office of the Ombudsman may not be censored, and promised to look into cases where prisoners believe their complaints to have been tampered with.CELL WOES As far as Windhoek is concerned, Walters says over-crowding at the Police holding cells are without a doubt his biggest concern.”The Katutura Police station was built in the 1950s,” he says, adding that the number of trial-awaiting prisoners has increased considerably since then, and that this needs to be looked into.”There needs to be more holding cells away from the Police station.”Walters urges anyone with a complaint to address him, no matter how big or small the violation.”Don’t decide that your complaint is too small.Let us decide.And if it’s not for us to investigate, I’ll refer you to the right person,” he says.Although dealing with each issue individually and in total confidentiality, he says solving one complaint usually leads to solving a number of others at the same time.”One complaint often shows a deficit in the system,” he says, “and solving one problem can solve the same problem for a number of individuals.It also helps us to look at our own internal flaws, for example in training staff.”Next year will hopefully see the completion of two regional Ombudsman’s offices at Keetmanshoop and Oshakati, as well as a tour of all the regions, to give the public an opportunity to raise their complaints with the Ombudsman.”When I go home I love the feeling that I’ve been able to help someone,” he says. “Maybe it’s a small thing I achieved, but to that person it shows that we took him seriously.”