In Jamaica and several other CARICOM nations, the role of the Ombudsman is to conduct investigations into complaints relating to party political issues and to perform other functions in accordance with the provisions of various acts. In Guyana, however, the Ombudsman serves as a watchdog, guarding against abuse or the violation of citizens’ rights by public officials and their departments and authorities. The Ombudsman is the public advocate for members of the public against injustices caused by maladministration. These services are free. The establishment of an Ombudsman was enshrined in the Constitution of Guyana from the time of its Independence in 1966. Guyana was the first country in the western hemisphere and the second Commonwealth state to enshrine the position of Ombudsman in its Constitution. Article 192 (1) of Guyana’s
Constitution holds that the Ombudsman “…may investigate any action taken by any department of Government or by any other authority to which this article applies, or by the President, Ministers, officers or members of such a department or authority, being action taken in exercise of the administrative functions of that department or authority.”
The decision to establish an Ombudsman in Guyana had its genesis in the Report of the British Guiana Commission of Inquiry, constituted by the International Commission of Jurists in October 1965. During that era, the Premier of British Guiana, Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, had invited the International Commission of Jurists to send a team to undertake an appraisal of racial imbalances in the country’s public services in 1965, in the aftermath of the bloody ‘disturbances’ of 1964.
The ‘Report’ of the Commission of Inquiry noted, inter alia, that: ‘Since there will be cases of alleged discrimination where it will not be practicable to invoke the Constitution in the courts as a means of redress, it would be desirable to have a simple, swift and inexpensive procedure for investigating such cases.’
As such, that report said that the government at that time recognized the need to investigate maladministration, which included racial discrimination, and supported the concept of an Ombudsman which is vested with Constitutional authority.
Retired Justice, Winston Patterson, currently serves as the country’s Ombudsman. Justice Patterson replaced the late retired Justice Winston Moore, who served as Ombudsman to Guyana from January 2014 until his death in September 2016.