Reverend Dr Nigel Taylor will on Wednesday become the island’s next Ombudsman.
He will be installed as the fifth person to hold the position when he takes the oath of office before President Dame Sandra Mason at State House.
Dr Taylor, whose appointment was announced in the House of Assembly on Tuesday, said his elevation to the post is an opportunity for him to serve in another capacity.
“I would have served in scouting, in the church, I have sat on national committees, I have sat on regional committees. So this is an opportunity for an individual to be involved in the landscape and the climate of the country,” Taylor, who has served as President of the Barbados Evangelical Association (BEA) for many years, told Barbados TODAY in an interview.
The former Chief Commissioner of the Barbados Boy Scouts Association added: “Here is a situation where people need to be aware that there is [someone] in Barbados free from political practice and is able to assist them in the various areas where they have their own challenges as it relates to the Government and any statutory board or anything relating to Government.”
The official website of the Office of the Ombudsman said the post was established to provide a safeguard against maladministration and to protect the rights and interests of the Barbadian people.
“The Ombudsman has the power to investigate any kind of conduct, whether it was done to the person or whether it was omitted by any person who, working in that office, did not exercise proper administrative function. This includes any government agency, statutory board, or government minister. So it’s an opportunity for the people of Barbados to share any complaint and have them investigated and have the correct procedures put in place for them,” added Taylor who succeeds Valton Bend.
The legislation which provides the framework within which the Ombudsman operates was enacted in 1981; however, the first holder of the office, the late Sir Frank Blackman, was not installed until 1987.
After his retirement in 1993, Carlton Browne was appointed Ombudsman. He died in office in 1996. Carl Ince was the third person appointed to the position from 1998 to 2002.
Benn became Ombudsman in November 2007.
The office has handled over 4 000 complaints and has a “very high” complaint resolution rate since its inception, according to the website.
(EJ)
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