Ombudsman gets international role

Ombudsman Grace Malera has been elected as one of the four directors of International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) for the African region following an electronic vote the institute’s general secretariat conducted.

The newly-elected regional directors are expected to take office in May 2024.

“The regional directors will only take office at their inaugural meeting in the Hague [in the Netherlands] in May 2024. Until then, the current directors and the regional president remain in office,” reads a letter addressed to IOI members.

Reacting to her election, Malera said Malawi has been given a platform for her office to, among others, strategically contribute to shaping the agenda and participate in the discourse on administrative justice issues, good governance and responsive public service delivery by governments.

She said: “We are profoundly grateful of the confidence the entire IOI community has placed in the Malawi Ombudsman Office by entrusting us with this greater responsibility. We pledge to execute diligently and competently along with the entire Board and the whole IOI membership.”

The development comes a few weeks after the Office of the Ombudsman of Malawi did not contest for seat at the African Ombudsman and Mediators Association (Aoma) General Assembly in Kigali-Rwanda since they failed to  attend.

Aoma’s guidelines provide that contesting officers have to be physically present at the assembly if they are to be voted into any office of interest.

Malera and her delegation failed to travel following the recent international travel ban that President Lazarus Chakwera imposed on all public officers as one of the austerity measures.