[Watch] Opposition presents motion to safeguard Ombudsman’s role

PN presents motion for debate on Ombudsman's AFM inquiry • Video Ray Attard

The Nationalist Party presented a formal motion to the Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia this afternoon for a debate on the home affairs ministry's refusal to furnish the Ombudsman with documents needed for an inquiry into army promotions.

The ministry is refusing to comply with the Ombudsman’s request for information as part of an investigation into various promotions within the Armed Forces, claiming that complaints by certain ranks should be made to the President of the Republic, and not to the parliamentary ombudsman.

“This situation, where government is denying access of information to a constitutional body such as the Ombudsman, is unprecedented,” Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi said. “Checks and balances are crucial for any country that deserves to call itself democratic.”

In comments to Malta Today, Azzopardi reiterated this stance. “This motion requests that the Prime Minister, as the head of government, orders the Home Affairs Ministry to fully collaborate with the Ombudsman,” he said. “It is very serious when you have a constitutional authority like the Ombudsman - which is there to safeguard the rights of the citizens - in a situation where the Ministry of Home Affairs is denying it access to information, which it needs in order to carry out an investigation.”

“The law even allows for the Ombudsman to take criminal steps against the permanent secretary of the Ministry for ignoring him, for refusing to answer questions, and for not producing the necessary information,” he said. “We say that we are a democratic and a European country but when it comes to the crunch, government denies such access to the ombudsman – who has an obligation to investigate – to see whether or not there was an injustice.”

On his part, Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia said that it was important to clarify the conflicting situation and interpret it accordingly. He expressed his hope that a "mature and responsible" solution could be sought from both sides of the House.

Yesterday the Speaker said that although the matter was of public interest, it was not an urgent one and that it would be the House Business Committee to set the date for the debate itself. This followed Opposition leader Simon Busuttil's request that the Speaker give a ruling on whether the debate ought to be held last Monday.