On Tuesday July 15, 2013 the Ombudsman presented the Year Report 2013 in accordance with the law to the President of Parliament, Drs. Gracita Arrindell. In absence of the Prime Minister, a copy of the year report was also presented to the Vice Prime Minister, Mr. Dennis Richardson, and the acting Governor Mr. Groeneveld.
The Year report is titled “ Completion, Pending Finalizing the Punch List” outlines the activities of the Bureau in 2013 to bring the Ombudsman institution to ‘substantial completion”. The report contains an overview of the state of affairs, statistics on the complaints handled, the first case presented to the Constitutional Court, as well as a summary of activities including awareness and networking with the various stakeholders. A financial report and the next strategic steps to finalize the Punch List in 2014 precede a short list of appendix including financial statements for review by Parliament and the public. In 2013 the Ombudsman closed 108 complaints files of which 68 are files carried over from previous years. Fifty nine (59) reports were drafted, while 49 were closed after a simple intervention by the Ombudsman as Government quickly came to action after the Ombudsman reported the complaint and intervened to solve the complaints. The Ombudsman wrote twenty one (21) Final Reports, establishing improper behavior of the Government as a result of the investigations. Thirty eight (38) Notifications of Termination were sent out, informing the administrative body that the Ombudsman refrained from further investigation of the complaint due to compliance with the recommendations by the departments. Complaints and issues investigated by the Ombudsman vary from non-enforcement of policies to issues related to non-response to appeals and tax matters. A categorized overview of issues investigated is included in the Year Report. The Year Report 2013 is available for review by the public on the website of the Ombudsman: www.ombudsmansxm.com. A hard copy can be obtained for a small fee at the Bureau Ombudsman, situated in the Camille Richardson street 13. The Ombudsman awaits an invitation from the President of Parliament to discuss the report in a session of the Central Committee. The findings of the Ombudsman will also be discussed with the Council of Ministers.
