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Ruth Lupanga (far left), civic education officer at the Office of the Ombudsman, dances with patrons at a public rally
The Office of the Ombudsman has in the past week been to eight Area Development Committees (ADCs) in Nkhata Bay district with Mobile Accountability Clinics. The Office has been conducting meetings with about 40 members of each ADC and later held public rallies, raising awareness about the functions of the office and how local communities can utilize its services.
Deputy Director for Civic Education, Felix Masekesa, said the ADCs have been targeted intentionally, describing them as strategic structures between the District Council and Village Development Committees (VDCs).
“We are here to create demand for the Office of the Ombudsman Services, in addition to partnering the local structures to correct the administrative wrongs in public offices. We hope that with the approach we will be dealing with inordinate injustices that local suffer at the hands of public officers,” he said. He added that the Mobile Accountability Clinics also aim at bringing the Office of the Ombudsman closer to the people such that they do not suffer in silence.
During the clinics he said a team of investigators and legal officers receive complaints from the locals in which investigations are instituted on the spot. “This is a comprehensive approach to complaint handling, investigators collect complaints from people which are investigated right away, follow-ups are made and the complainants are given feedback almost immediately,” Masekesa explained.
Lead investigator in one of the teams, William Chalulu, said the regular complaints being received from Nkhata Bay communities are against Police Officers, Personnel in Public Health Facilities and Schools among others.
“Among the many dissatisfactions, people in Nkhata Bay are not particularly happy with the continued violation of traffic violations by motorists, with police traffic officers leaving the culprits scot free. And have repeatedly called for the Ombudsman’s intervention,” Chalulu confirmed.
He then said the complaint is receiving the necessary attention from the Office of the Ombudsman just like the many other complaints being raised during the clinics. Some of the ADCs that have been reached so far are Mankhambira, Kabunduli, Fukamalaza, Fukamapiri and Tukombo among others. Seven more will be reached during the second week of the activity which started on October 20, 2024.
The Mobile Accountability Clinics are being conducted with financial supports from Embassies of Iceland and the Republic of Norway through the UNDP.
Source: Office of the Ombudsman of Malawi
