Vergil Narokobi posted in Paitim Garamut fb (a former legal council to the Ombudsman Commission) The Ombudsman Commission has two main functions. The supervision and enforcement of the Leadership Code (LC) and Administrative Complaints (AC). Leaders who breach the LC are said to have committed misconduct in office. This is the process that has been engaged by the OC in relation to the UBS loan deal. Any leader found guilty is liable for dismissal from office (maximum penalty). If there is a case against them, they will be referred to the Public Prosecutor to consider prosecution before a Leadership Tribunal. But I would also like to see the OC undertake an investigation of the UBS loan under its AC functions. This process relates to conduct of governmental bodies. In this process where a governmental body is found to have committed wrong conduct, the OC recommends to the head of the governmental body concerned to take corrective measures to remedy the wrong conduct. The nature of this power is such that the OC only recommends ie it is not binding like a court order. Furthermore, if the OC feels that the public will benefit from its findings, it can table the report in Parliament and the public will have access to the report. This is because we are dealing with large sums of money and there is a view that the loan did not require the approval of Parliament. The investigation by the OC should review all the relevant laws regulating government acquisition of loans, including the Constitution (s 209) and the Public Finance (Management) Act 1995. The OC will then recommend the correct process the government should follow in the future if it wishes to apply for a loan. One of the reasons I am suggesting this is that all public moneys are subject to review by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and further all governmental bodies submit their accounts to the Auditor General (AG) to be audited annually. I wonder whether the UBS loan is subject to the jurisdiction of the PAC and the AG? For this reason an investigation by the OC under the AC function will help our leaders in the future follow the correct procedures when raising and spending public money so that moneys are spent for their intended purpose (according to the annual budget) and it is accounted for when the PAC and the AG do their routine checks. Just some thoughts for you all to consider and comment so that we become better custodians of public money.
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 09:32:14 +0000
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