Africa-Press – Angola. Angola’s Ombudsman, Florbela Araújo, stated this Tuesday in Lobito, Benguela, that the slowness of court proceedings is one of the main complaints from citizens.
Speaking on the sidelines of a lecture held to publicize the role of the institution, Araújo cited other situations such as cases related to pensioners or the unfairness of pension amounts, as well as land disputes.
According to the Ombudsman, the institution currently operates in only twelve of the country’s twenty-one provinces.
“This year, we plan to open in Cuanza Norte, Uíge, and Bié,” she said.
She provided statistics on the number of complaints received, stating that in 2021, the Ombudsman’s Office received over 4,200, in 2022, seven thousand, and in 2024, approximately two thousand complaints.
Florbela Araújo made a point of explaining to those present how easy it is to reach the Ombudsman’s Office, indicating more informal means such as WhatsApp, email, public hearings, and others.
“Our motto is: The citizen is our concern and our occupation,” she emphasized, requesting help in mass dissemination of the institution’s role.
She mentioned Article 18, which aims to publicize its role not only at the central level but also at the local level, as well as visiting prisons, nursing homes, daycare centers, and hospitals.
Its tasks also include presenting an annual report to the Presidents of the Republic and the National Assembly, requesting the rectification and accession of human rights laws, requesting the amendment of laws that may influence citizens’ benefits or rights, and requesting the unconstitutionality of rules at the Constitutional Court level.
The Ombudsman’s Office has existed in Angola since 1992, being enshrined in constitutional law, but it was only in 2005 that the first ombudsman, Paulo Tchipilica, was elected.
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