Nearly three decades ago, the Musa administration made the Office of the Ombudsman a key part of Belize’s system of public accountability. The law had remained dormant for five years under the Esquivel administration, until the PUP took office in 1998 and appointed Paul Rodriguez as the country’s first ombudsman. Today, however, an office once considered a central pillar of good governance has been without a leader for almost a year. Former Prime Minister Said Musa says the prolonged vacancy weakens an important safeguard for ordinary citizens and, in his words, is nothing short of a shame.
Rt. Hon. Said Musa
Rt. Hon. Said Musa
“It is a damn shame to put it that way, because the Ombudsman is a very important arm of the nation. And it need not be progovernment or anything. In fact, it is independent of government. In fact, it is there to protect the people. In the other countries they call it defender of the people. So it is unfortunate that our own Ombudsman fell out with the administration. I cannot understand it to this day. I guess we have to move beyond that now.”
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