BackThe Office of the ombudsman committed itself to engage senior secondary school students. This was to acquaint them with the Ombudsman as well as to answer questions on the role of the Ombudsman in national development.
Mrs. Eusalyn Lewis, Ombudsman of Antigua and Barbuda met with the students of the Antigua Girls' High School on March 2, 2011, students of the St. Joseph's Academy on March 3, 2011 and students of the Christ the King High School on March 15, 2011. She described the roles and functions of her Office, the powers given to the Ombudsman as mandated by Sec. 66 (10) of the Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda 1981, students learned about who can make a complaint. Some institutions of government are exempted from investigation by the Ombudsman. These were identified for the students' information.
Students of the Social Science classes at the Antigua Girls' High School were most curious to know what the requirements were of someone being selected as an Ombudsman. The Ombudsman explained that in most instances, the Ombudsman is selected on the premise of his or her legal background, or someone with a vast knowledge of the laws of his/her country. However, the Ombudsman of Antigua and Barbuda was selected based on her forty years of experience as a career Civil Servant. She further explained that the post of the Ombudsman requires someone with integrity, unbiased and who must be neutral in their investigations.
The following day, the Ombudsman met with Principal, Mr. Rudolph Davis and students of the St. Joseph's Academy School as she continued her information campaign throughout the schools. There was a large gathering of fourth and fifth forms students.
The Ombudsman highlighted the mission statement and its significance to faithfully serve with impartiality by investigating the complaints of those persons within our society who may have been aggrieved by a wrong done to them by a public officer, particularly those who feel they do not have a voice. Challenged about the term Ombudsman rather than woman or lady the Ombudsman explained that the word Ombudsman (OM'BOODZ-MAN) was not an English word, was generic and applied to both genders.
Commenting on the Ombudsman functions she described how the term was interpreted under different jurisdictions, for example, "a protector of citizens against abuse of powers", "the protector of Human Rights" even though the office does not have the mandate to carry out all human rights functions. The session was very interactive. The students were eager to learn more about the Ombudsman and quizzed the Ombudsman with questions such as (1) what are the selection processes for an Ombudsman; (2) are there any cases which the office would have closed and later had to reopen; (3) can the Ombudsman make recommendations to the court; (4) can anyone refuse the Ombudsman's decisions; (5) does the Ombudsman refer to a lawyer for opinion.
