Parliamentary Ombudsman Joseph Zammit McKeon gave an enlightening interview to The Malta Independent on Sunday which allowed readers to understand the intricacies of his all-important role.
Most noteworthy was how the former judge sees the position that he has been entrusted with by both sides of Parliament. While many have said that the Office of the Ombudsman should have more powers in order to ensure that the government abides by its recommendations, Zammit McKeon thinks otherwise.
"I don't believe in executive power. I don't believe I should give orders to the executive; that is the job of the courts. My job is to recommend," and due to the weight of the Ombudsman's recommendations, the authorities feel a "dutiful" pressure to implement them, he said.
Zammit McKeon said that the Office of the Ombudsman's role is to listen to everyone, "even if they are not in the right". He added: "Not everyone who comes to us has to be in the right, but we will still listen." But he had a warning to give: "whoever comes in an attempt to vindicate themselves through the Ombudsman is sorely mistaken."
He said that following an investigation, the Ombudsman or his commissioners make recommendations with a "strong moral authority", which have the final word on the matter.
Indeed, the Office of the Ombudsman routinely handles complaints about the government or public service and, in some instances, may issue one or more recommendations on how the matter can be handled and what may need to change.
That is the crux of what Zammit McKeon means when he says: “My job is to recommend.”
Throughout the interview, Zammit McKeon spoke a lot about morality: the moral duty of his office and the moral obligation of the government to listen and to make life easier for the average citizen.
And that latter factor is what the Ombudsman’s work ultimately hinges upon: the government’s willingness to rise up to its moral obligation and actually listen.
14 and 15 sustained recommendations were not implemented by the public administration in 2023 and 2024, respectively, and had to be tabled in Parliament. The 2025 Ombudsplan recommended the setting up of a Select Committee of the House to tackle any tabled reports and enforce implementations, should recommendations have remained unimplemented.
Zammit McKeon described it quite simply: using parliamentary power to make the institutions "do their jobs.”
The number of complaints that the Ombudsman’s office handles is increasing, particularly off the back of a PR campaign since Zammit McKeon’s appointment.
The key to redress is in how pro-active the government is willing to be, and how willing it is to fulfil its obligation to listen.
Bringing down the number of recommendations that have been unimplemented would be a good start, but setting up a Parliamentary Committee to get to the bottom of measures which for some reason are not implemented would be a good step in the right direction too.
As things stand, unfortunately, there is no organ that ensures that the Ombudsman’s recommendations are implemented. Parliament is the cradle of this country’s democracy and the centre of power, so it makes sense that if there’s an institution which has to ensure that the government listens, it is that.