New ombudsman ready to hit ground running

Newly-appointed Ombudsman Joseph Rajmanlal after taking the oath of office before Speaker of the House of Representative Bridgid Annisette-George in Parliament last Wednesday. - Photo courtesy Office of the Parliament
Newly-appointed Ombudsman Joseph Rajmanlal after taking the oath of office before Speaker of the House of Representative Bridgid Annisette-George in Parliament last Wednesday. - Photo courtesy Office of the Parliament

NEWLY-appointed Ombudsman Rajmanlal Joseph has hit the ground running.

Joseph was appointed on Wednesday by President Paula-Mae Weekes and took his oath before House Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George.

As Ombudsman, he is an officer of the Parliament and is responsible only to Parliament. His office is non-political.

He replaced former deputy chief magistrate Mark Wellington, who succeeded former solicitor general Lynette Stephenson, who was appointed in 2006. Retired judge Evans Rees was sworn in as this country's first ombudsman in 1977 and was replaced by retired justice of appeal George Edoo in 1991.

Rajmanlal will have to submit annual reports on the performance of his functions, including statistics of the complaints received and the results of his investigations.

With “no time to waste,” shortly after taking his oath, Joseph met with senior staff at the office, including the head of the legal department, who is on pre-retirement leave, but gladly gave up one day to meet with him to bring him up-to-date on the task ahead of him.

“I indicated to them I want a listing of all the old matters,” he said.

Joseph intends to deal with those personally, since, he says, “The public cannot and should not wait a lengthy period to get redress.

“I want to clear those off…Make sure the people get the type of responses they are due.”

“I have no time to waste. I have my agenda. I know my office...I am not grasping in the dark. I know what I have to do.”

He also met with senior investigators, telling them he wants to tighten up the process of investigations and outcome.

Since he is aware that government departments and state agencies “vacillate” in responding to inquiries – especially in cases where the fault was theirs – Joseph wants to set timelines to receive these responses.

And if these agencies do not respond in good time?

“We may have to invoke our powers under the Constitution to compel them to give evidence.”

“…What is strange is this: I know for a fact that the ombudsman, in the past, used his/her power to summon people. In recent times it has not been done.”

He says he could envisage government ministries and other public authorities “balking” at a summons.

“I am expecting a situation where people would be reluctant to give information. By tightening up our timelines to get information from these public authorities, we can deal with matters speedily.”

“…People have a right to expect an authority will give them a resolution with their complaint in a fair and expeditious manner.”

The principal function of the Ombudsman is to investigate complaints of administrative injustice in respect to decisions made or acts done or omitted, by a minister or department or authority of Government.

A citizen can make a complaint with a view to redressing the mistakes, delays, rigidity and carelessness of the government bureaucracy, the Office of the Parliament’s website said in an overview of the functions of an ombudsman.

However, the role of the Ombudsman is an advisory one and the consequence of any investigation he makes can only lead to recommendations, He can also submit reports to relevant people, authorities or to Parliament.

As well as moving to tackle the office’s outstanding caseload, Joseph has already identified deficiencies he would like to improve on at the department.

“There are certain vacancies that should be filled. I would like to see the number of investigators increase because as (complaints) roll in, I want for us to deal with them efficiently.

Attorney Rajmanlal Joseph takes the oath of office as this country's fifth ombudsman before House Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George at the Parliament building on Wednesday. - Photo courtesy Office of the Parliament

“If not, matters are going to sit without being attended to in the manner in which they come in.”

He is also hopeful his legal department would get the reinforcement it needs, starting with the head – an appointment which has to be made by the Judicial and Legal Service Commission.

Joseph believes to get ahead, he must first determine the needs of his office.

Apart from the constitutional authority, the physical office may not be conducive, at present, to his vision.

“The constitutional authority is there, but it is the infrastructure we don’t have.”

The main office is now at the Waterfront Centre in Port of Spain, with branch offices in San Fernando and Tobago. With pandemic restrictions in place, complaints are being taken online.

Joseph wants to create a dedicated room for people to give their “evidence” and hopes to get approvals to configure a space for this.

Given his ambitious plans, he was also asked about his budget, which comes from the Office of the Parliament.

“Let me pre-empt you here. I don’t want to discuss it yet,” he said in his interview with Sunday Newsday on Friday.

He said he wants to first formulate a rationale for the expenditure he would need for the department.

Does he think the public knows enough about the office and what it does?

“No, I don’t think so.”

Another of his mission is to raise the profile of the ombudsman and what the office does.

And, how important is the Office of the Ombudsman?

He said it was an office he had looked at from a public-administration perspective.

“It is not something that is new to me,” he said, explaining having examined the office and its functions while as a social sciences student at university.

“I knew shortfall of the office, but it has tremendous potential for ordinary folks who cannot afford to take authorities to court.”

Joseph has left his law practice of almost three decades to take up the post, and as someone who has practised both public and private law, he knows the power of a ruling by the courts.

“An ombudsman doesn’t have coercive power but if he/she uses their constitutional powers properly, ordinary citizens could get a resolution to their complaints.”

What are his views on the public service?

“There is no denying. It is a mess. You see this by the number of public law cases filed in court.

“What I want to telegraph to the public is what I intend to do. That is, tighten our processes. If we don’t get responses in a timely fashion, we do have an element of coercive power, and that is going to be exercised immediately.

“It is only when that authority is exercised, they (public authorities) become responsive. We don’t have the powers of a High Court judge, but we do have constitutional authority.”

It is this authority Joseph intends to use to “bring about some modicum of change.”

“I have no fantasy that I can revolutionise the public service. I strongly believe change needs to be slow and painful. You do not change over 50 years of a culture of indolence and irresponsibility in three years.”

Three years is the length of his tenure.

And his message to the aggrieved public?

“All I wish to let members of the public know is that they are going to find the office is going to be responsive to their valid complaints. And we are going to do our best to deal with their complaints efficiently and quickly as humanly possible.”

Joseph already has a track record of doing just that.

He was previously chairman of the Equal Opportunity Tribunal. When he knew his retirement was imminent, he took his six weeks’ vacation and worked through it to ensure all outstanding matters were dealt with and written decisions completed.

“I did not want to give an oral decision, knowing there was likely to be an appeal.”

He referred to the debacle involving the reappointment of a judge of the High Court to return for one day to deliver outstanding decisions.

“I was mindful that all my matters that went to full trial got decisions in writing. There were none outstanding when I demitted office. So that I have a philosophy of getting things done and ensuring people get justice they deserve."

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