Ombudsman not happy probe reports not tabled

Chief Ombudsman Michael Dick says that it is demoralising that some of its investigative reports have not been tabled in Parliament.
Dick made the remarks when presenting to Parliament Speaker Job Pomat its investigation report concerning the granting of PNG citizenship to Indonesian businessman Joko Tjandra, alias Joe Chan.
“The report is intended to deter abuse of public powers by those in authority and to discourage wrongful conducts in public institutions,” Dick said.
He said the purpose of the report was to make relevant people and departments accountable for their wrongful conducts and informing the public of wrongful, corrupt conducts in Government
He said the commission could not enforce its recommendations in the reports but was expecting appropriate authorities and leaders implicated in the reports to take responsibility to implement the recommendations.
According to Dick, the Ombudsman Commission in exercising its discretion to publish this report under section 23 of the Organic Law on the Ombudsman Commission.
It also considers that publishing the reports is in the public interest because its findings and recommendations applied to a large number of government agencies. And that the matters investigated should be debated widely.
Dick said that it was a mandatory requirement of the Ombudsman Commission to investigate and present its reports to the Office of the Speaker.
He said it was also mandatory that the Office of the Speaker tabled the report in Parliament within eight days.
Pomat assured the Ombudsman Commission that the report would be tabled in Parliament.
The commissions’ investigative report into the decision by the Government office allocation committee to engage Central Lands Limited to build a 32-level Government complex in Waigani, Port Moresby, was also presented to Pomat.