Ombudsman to get teeth
Tiny Mooki | Wednesday February 12, 2025 09:50
He said for years the public has been calling for full independence of OMB which has been seen as a toothless bulldog, since it was under the control of the Executive. The minister further explained that independence won't be constrained in an investigation, especially of the Executive itself. “In 2023, the office was given another mandate of investigating human rights violations across all sectors economic, making the call for its independence even more urgent,” he said. When welcoming the minister, the Ombudsman, Advocate Steven Tiroyakgosi decried the lack of resources which included monetary office and personnel. “The office cannot fully function if it is not adequately resourced. For many years, the response we have been getting when asking for money has been that there is no money,” he shared.
Tiroyakgosi said the Ombudsman needed to have more offices across the country to make it accessible to the rest of the population. “As it is, it's difficult for someone in Hukuntsi or Gaborone to go to Tsabong where we have another office as both places are too far. Similarly, someone in Kasane will find our offices in Maun and Francistown too far,' he bemoaned. Tiroyakgosi said it was important that the population in far flying areas of Botswana also had access to his office and asked the minister to consider facilitating the office better in that regard. Another issue that the Ombudsman said needed attention was that of incentivising his staff to prevent high staff living. He said his core staff although equally qualified as other lawyers within the same ministry which the OMB falls under was not paid and incentivised the same way. This led to his legal staff often leaving for other departments within the same ministry, Tiroyakgosi noted. In response, Ramaotwana said whilst currently the government is experienced budgetary constraints, they were committed to the facilitation of the Ombudsman. He promised that as soon as resources become available, they will ensure it became a reality.