On the 10th of April 2019, the Office of the Ombudsman completed a Leadership Code Awareness with the newly appointed Director Generals for 13 Government Ministries of the Republic of Vanuatu.
The Vanuatu Office of the Ombudsman has built expertise to conduct prison inspections through a learning exchange with the New Zealand Office of the Ombudsman. The workshop was funded by the Government of Australia and New Zealand Office of the Ombudsman with technical assistance provided by the United Nation’s Development Programme (UNDP).
Ombudsman recommends a review of the Vanuatu Mobile Force Fire Services to include a Fire Service legislation to cater for the safety of the fire men and sufficient funds to carry out its activities.
The Acting Ombudsman of the Republic of Vanuatu led a small delegation of 3 people to attend the 30th Australasian Pacific Ombudsman Region Conference in Auckland New Zealand from the 28th of November 2018 to the 29th of November 2019.
Between 11-15 June 2018, 18 officers from across Vanuatu Government integrity agencies participated in Strengthening Skills in administrative investigations - Advanced investigations training. The participants represented the Office of the Vanuatu Ombudsman, Public Service Commission (Compliance Unit), Vanuatu Police Force (Professional Standards Unit), Financial Intelligence Unit, Land Ombudsman and the National Integrity and Anti-Corruption Committee.
Vanuatu has one of the best Ombudsman schemes and Leadership code, says Chief Ombudsman of New Zealand, Peter Boshier.
In his visit to Vanuatu, Boshier said that the Vanuatu Ombudsman office is a very powerful institution and in terms of Vanuatu’s governance and Government.
New Zealand’s Chief Ombudsman and Director of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI), Judge Peter Boshier is in Vanuatu. Judge Boshier arrived at the Bauerfield airport yesterday afternoon, where he was welcomed by Vanuatu’s acting Ombudsman, Alain Wai Molgos.
On 14 March 2018, the Head of State signed an instrument of appointment appointing Mr Alain Wai Molgos as the Acting Ombudsman of the Republic of Vanuatu.
This development came about 3 months after Mr Kalkot Mataskelekele’s term came to an end on 18 December 2017. Staff members welcomed the appointment and are happy that an Acting Ombudsman is at last appointed.
The Head of State, President Bauldwin Lonsdale, has called on the Government to strengthen the Office of the Ombudsman of Vanuatu to give it adequate powers to implement the Leadership Code Act. He says that since the establishment of the Office of the Ombudsman the country has benefited immensely from information and exposures of the “corrupt practices of our leaders.”
