BackThe Office of the Ombudsman is a public sector complaints institution which was created in 1999. As a young institution, awareness creation lies at the heart of its efforts in making the ombudsman institution a vibrant, responsive and an indispensable institution in terms of promoting and providing administrative justice in The Gambia.
The Office of the Ombudsman sensitizes members of the public to the role and functions of the Office. Through these programmes people become aware of the existence of the Ombudsman, its services, where and how to access such services. Through these awareness creation programmes the Office of the Ombudsman seeks to rally the people around the ideals of ombudsmanship. It is on this score, that real success can be registered. Once this is attained, people will make use of the ombudsman’s service not because they know it exists, but because they trust in it. And people will work with the Office towards attaining its objectives, because they understand the need for it because and can identify with the cause. It is pleasing to note that the Office of the Ombudsman is on track and creates the needed awareness through a multi-faced approach: the use of radio, television, workshops, clinics with communities and public institutions.
The Office of the Ombudsman is cognizant of the limitless potential of the internet. Therefore its decision to create a website is to tap the benefits of the World Wide Web, to create awareness, make ombudsman services more accessible, and link with sister ombudsman institutions around the world in the sharing of information. The launching of the website took the form of a ceremony at The Kairaba Beach Hotel on 19 October 2015, which was immediately followed by a sensitization workshop. It was officially launched by the Minister of Information and Communication Infrastructure, Hon. Sheriff Bojang. More than fifty public institutions were invited ranging from the civil service, security, private sector, NGO and other public bodies. In addition, a good number of participants also came from the Office of the Ombudsman and six media houses were also invited, which gave it a wider coverage.
In his launching remarks, the minister welcomes the creation of the Office of the Ombudsman, which he said had always been needed in The Gambia because of the prevalence of maladministration from the colonial era to date. He attributed it to the imperfection of human systems making them prone to abuse and the tendency of human beings to misuse their powers. The minister hailed the President His Excellency Sheikh Professor Dr Alhaj Yayha A.J.J. Jammeh, for creating the Office of the Ombudsman. According to the minister, the president saw the need for greater accountability, transparency and probity hence the creation of the Office.
In her welcome remarks, the Ombudsman of the Gambia, Mrs Fatou Njie-Jallow recognized the public sector as a key service provider to the tax payer. She said that public officers were not only required to render public services to members of the public, but were obliged to do so while observing the principles of good administration and good conduct. Mrs. Njie-Jallow further stated that since the creation of the Office, it had been working relentless to live up to the reasons for its existence. Though a young institution, Mrs Njie-Jallow said the Office continued to ably shoulder its mandate, driven by a high sense of commitment to duty and innovation in terms of service delivery.
Mrs. Njie-Jallow stated that people had built explicit trust and confidence in the Ombudsman and had been lodging their complaints with the Office. She said that the Office continued to investigate and resolve complaints, while also making recommendations to institutions concerned in order to rectify the root causes of the problems to prevent their recurrence.
The Ombudsman expressed delight in the appreciable growth of the Office within a short space of time, noting that it has expanded both internally and externally through its decentralisation programme. Mrs Njie-Jallow revealed that the Office had already set up three regional offices, thereby bringing the services of the Office to the doorstep of rural people. She expressed optimism that more offices would be set up in the remaining regions. She indicated that the creation of the WEBSITE was aimed at creating more awareness as more people still remain unaware of the role and function of the Office.
Mrs. Njie-Jallow thanked the president and the government of The Gambia for the continuous support since the inception of the Office. She thanked the public institutions for cooperating with the Office over the years which, she noted resulted in the success registered by the Office and urged them to continue the cooperation. The Ombudsman encouraged all to make use of the online complaints service which, she indicated would save them time and energy.
During the sensitization workshop that followed the opening ceremony, papers were presented by the investigation’s director and the communications director. The workshop was highly interactive and very successful. Participants commended the Office for organizing the workshop as part of the launching. They equally applauded the Office for creating an informative website. Deputy Ombudsman, Mr. Ousman G.M. Nyang delivered the closing remarks.
Source: Office of the Ombudsman, The Gambia
