Ombudsman Anthony Mifsud has fired back at civil service chief Mario Cutajar, accusing the latter of unleashing a “direct frontal attack” on his office in a recent report.

The Ombudsman was referring to a report titled ‘Governance Action on the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s Annual Report 2020’, which was presented by Cutajar a few weeks back.

He took particular exception to the introduction of the report, which deals with good governance within the Ombudsman’s office.

In a letter sent to Speaker Anglu Farrugia, the Ombudsman said he was “disappointed” by Cutajar’s intro, “writing which I consider to be a direct frontal attack on this office, with allegations, half-truths and insinuations, both direct and indirect, which do no honour to the person writing them.”

The intro insinuated that the Ombudsman’s office is failing to observe good governance practices that ensure transparency and accountability; failed to cooperate with the public administration, thus causing unjustified delays; dismantled the system of Liaison Officers; employed persons of trust when they had no right to do so; failed to give the public administration the opportunity to react to the complaints that are investigated; failed to base its investigations and recommendations on facts; deliberately provide incorrect or deceitful information; and weaken the office through an absence of rules that ensure standards and good governance.

The Ombudsman said he was strongly rebutting these allegations and insinuations, which he considers to be an attempt to discredit and damage the institution.

“It is a shame that this is being done by the head of the civil service, who is dutybound to ensure that the constitutional institutions practice good governance.”

He said that, while the Ombudsman’s office accepts criticism when this is constructive, truthful and genuine. It acknowledges that there is always room for improvement, but it can never accept unjust criticism from those who fail to understand the role of the office.

He said Cutajar must understand that the Ombudsman’s office is not an extension of the public administration and does not fall under his scrutiny. The Ombudsman’s Office, the Auditor General and the Office of the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life are not tools for him to improve public administration according to his own vision. They are institutions, accountable to parliament, with the role of holding the public administration to account.

Worse still, the Principal Permanent Secretary’s comments are an attempt to muzzle the authority of the Ombudsman’s office, Mifsud said.