Africa-Press – Botswana. Botswana is scheduled to host the second international OMBUD Expo billed for Gaborone from July 29 to Aug. 2 at Gaborone International Convention Centre (GICC).
Themed: Trusted Institutions; Righting Injustices, Bolstering Quality Governance, the expo is expected to bring together over 500 ombudsman offices, human rights bodies, grievance handlers, integrity organisations and related oversight and governance institutions from more than 100 countries.
Briefing the media on Thursday, the Ombudsman, Adv. Stephen Tiroyakgosi, said the Expo would involve exhibition and showcasing of the work of different oversight, regulatory and governance institutions to expose critical performance factors and how they make a difference in governments and organizations.
The attending institutions, he said, would be joined by a wide range of service providers, professional bodies, and non-governmental organisations which support and facilitate them.
“Building on the exceptional success of the inaugural event and subsequent United Nations General Assembly Resolution 75/186 of December 2020, these institutions will participate in an exhibition and showcasing of their role, operation and performance impact,” he said.
He said no other forum, global or regional, provides such a rich assemblage of wide-ranging experiences in one ready location thus cited the expo as a treasure-house of ideas, lessons and best practices. “It will offer policy makers, practitioners and scholars a rare and unique opportunity to experience at first-hand the array of approaches on offer for tackling ever-pressing challenges of ensuring effective oversight and sustainable performance,” he said. Adv. Tiroyakgosi said exhibitors and participants would share lessons and experiences while networking with counterparts thereby developing and enriching their operational capabilities.
He added that it was worth noting that Batswana would benefit from hosting the expo not only in the hospitality sector but also through getting first hand access to services and education on the office of the Ombudsman.
“It is pleasing that Batswana seems to appreciate the services and the value additions brought about by the office of the Ombudsman,” he said. The value of the expo to Batswana is therefore to highlight to the nation, the need to understand the scope of the oversight agencies in the country.
Adv. Tiroyakgosi said one of the desired outcomes of the expo was to further educate and emphasise the important role of the oversight institutions in a democratic set up.
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