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my duty to protect the departments and officials from un- founded allegations of mal-administration and mal-practice as it was to seek rectification of faults committed by the Administration. I requested that every effort be made to expedite the handling of matters concerning complaints so as to ensure that the investigation of all complaints pro- ceeded with the minimum of delay. The response, to date, has been encouraging.
General Comments
an in-
The results for the year under review are rather more encouraging than those for the first seven months' period. The intake was relatively constant, but there was crease in the proportion of cases within my jurisdiction to those received, though the percentage of cases declined re- mained high.
No firm conclusions should be drawn at this early stage of the operation of the office. The institution of Ombudsman in Guyana, the first such to be established in the Western Hemisphere, is a developing one, one to be a'dapted to the needs of the country. There is no doubt, however, that the effectiveness of the office would be greatly enhanced by a greater readiness on the part of the community to avail itself of the inexpensive and easily available protective machinery the office of Ombudsman pro- vides to ensure both redress against governmental action and more efficient administration.
Ombudsman Act, 1967
The Ombudsman Bill (No. 14 of 1967) introduced to sup- plement the Constitutional provision was passed on the 30th August, 1967.
The following bodies were added to the Ombudsman's jurisdiction: -
The Central Board of Health
The Central Housing and Planning Authority
The Drainage and Irrigation Board
The Sea Defence Board.
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