7 News Belize

Lady Ombudsman Cynthia Pitts Assumes Office
posted (January 6, 2009)

Belize has been without an ombudsman since February 13th of 2008 when Paul Rodriquez resigned on his 70th birthday. Well finally there is a new Ombudsman – well we should say Lady Ombudsman. As we’ve reported, she is attorney at law and retired public servant Cynthia Pitts. She was sworn in yesterday and today was her first official day at work. She is Belize’s second ombudsman and she takes over an office that never really found itself. But Pitts hopes to change all that. She has read law, she has 32 years of public service experience, and she has the power of a Supreme Court Judge to boot. Keith Swift sat down with the Lady Ombudsman for her first television interview.

Cynthia Pitts, Ombudsman
“My job is that if I have reasonable cause to believe that wrongdoing or corruption is happening in any authority, and I am using the words that are used in the law, and the definition of the authority starts with a Ministry, a government department, the Police Force, the City Council, or any body, any statutory body or any corporation that the government has more than 50% interests. If there is wrongdoing or corruption then as the Ombudsman I should investigate what is happening. Also the public has the right to approach the Ombudsman if they think that they have been discriminated against in anyway in any of the authorities by any member of the authorities or an officer of the authority.

The investigation entails finding out firstly if it is the truth; I see a lot of that. I know I will be faced with a lot of complaints. The first is if it is the truth so you deal with the supervisors or the head of the offices to get their side of the story and then because you have the power of a Judge as the Act says, the final analysis as to who you believe is left to you.”

Keith Swift,
What satisfaction can people expect to get from your office?

Cynthia Pitts,
“Well the Act provides for compensation, the Act also provides that the Ombudsman office can retain legal assistance to a limited extent.”

Keith Swift,
What do you think will be the major difference between your style and Paul Rodriquez’s style?

Cynthia Pitts,
“Definitely this wide hands on which in my short time here, I have been speaking to the staff, and I understood that people came if they had deaths in the family and they came here. What I have as my vision is education, educating the public so they understand what is the role of the Ombudsman is so that they can use the office more. That may entail that government might have to expand the resources that are allotted to this office because at the moment it is only three of us. I also think that the Ombudsman should make herself available, that means traveling the country. I think the Ombudsman should have like a day in each week when I will be San Ignacio maybe one day for the week or two days if necessary and Corozal and you make yourself available and at the same time you, you can use the opportunity for educating.

I think that after 32 years of working in the government service and giving service, the whole attitude is when someone walks through that door, your purpose is to help them. It isn’t to look at the money or pay, it is to see that that person leaves feeling satisfied that they are being help and after working so long for thirty odd years I think it is a part of you.”

As Pitts indicated, her staff includes only 2 other employees – a secretary and her assistant. That is the Ombudsboy Lionel Castillo. After months on suspension he is back on the job but his future hasn’t been decided. Rodriquez served three terms of Ombudsman and told us that he resigned on February 13th of last year because that was mandatory retirement. Cynthia Pitts is 59 and her contract is for three years.

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