The Commission is today joining the world in celebrating the Ombudsman Day 2021 on observed every Thursday 14 October. In 2018, the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution declared the second Thursday of October as Ombuds Day in recognition of a profession that has existed for centuries yet remains relatively unknown and underutilised.
The theme of this year’s Ombuds Day is: “Ombuds: exploring options to resolve conflict together” and coincides with the Conflict Resolution Month and Mediation Week. The primary goal of the Ombuds Day is to improve public awareness of ombuds, educate the public about the role of ombuds, explain the wide variety of services that ombuds provide, encourage greater use of ombuds programmes and services and highlight the value ombuds bring to the institutions and constituents they serve.
In Kenya, the establishment of the Commission on Administrative Justice (Office of the Ombudsman) in 2011 was borne out of the need to address poor service delivery in the public sector occasioned by endemic institutional and systemic failures, and poor work ethic. In particular, service delivery in public institutions was characterised by undue delays, abuse of power, discourtesy, inefficiency, corruption, ineptitude, manifest injustice and misbehaviour, among others. The office is also mandated to enforce the implementation of the access to information law.
Additionally, promotion of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods for resolution of complaints relating to public administration is one of the key functions of the Commission. ADR mechanisms offer an effective and efficient way of resolving public complaints. Alternative methods of resolving complaints have become increasingly preferable owing to backlogs in the courts that continue to escalate.
Since its establishment in November 2011, the Commission has received more than 600,000 complaints against public entities with a resolution rate of 83 per cent. The ombudsman is an important mechanism for the realisation of good governance. It assures good governance by providing a platform for public participation in governance and realisation of civil liberties. The redress of grievances and systemic audits by the ombudsman democratises the administrative system thereby engendering fairness, transparency, and accountability in public administration.
