CHEF de Cabinet for the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretariat Dr Tres Ann Kremer has emphasised the need for, and importance of, the Office of the Political Ombudsman (OPO), pointing out that what may be perceived as unclear roles is necessary for the effective function of the office and by extension the country’s decomocracy.

“Sometimes some of what is seen as loosely defined energies it’s sometimes some of these actions that go towards things that transcend inevitable muddy waters that come when there are strong contestations for power, and help to reestablish the status quo of stability as a society looks for consensus building and looks to advance democratic values and consolidate those,” Dr Kremer told the OPO’s 20th anniversary virtual international conference on Monday.

A senior democratic governance and political specialist, Dr Kremer said these constitutional constructs strengthen the concept that Government, Opposition and civil society all play an integral part of a functioning democracy, similar reasons for the existence of public account committees, the auditor general, and anti-corruption agencies, which ensure checks and balances in the governance process.Arguing that “peace is more than the absence of conflict”, she pointed out that there are multiple trigger points for disharmony and conflict in any society.She said stability and good governance can be perceived as relative from country to country as there is no perfect system of governance.

“All countries are in a situation where they are trying to achieve better systems of governance, and peace and sustainable development for citizens. It’s for reasons like these where we still have mechanisms and aspirational mechanisms such as the sustainable development goals, because there are things we want to attain, we want to ensure that the trajectory that we are moving towards is one of prosperity, and one that also has moral standing and stature and preserve good values,” she stated.

Dr Kremer said countries are grappling with how to ensure good governance and levels of stability while addressing issues preventing them from meeting those goals, such as high levels of white collar crime, population rise, poverty, crime and violence, and corruption.”In the last decade, some may argue as well, instability and modes of democracy are increasingly more fragile.

Fragility and instability, some argue, are possibly contagious and no respecter of borders. The response, particularly of developing states and those who want to preserve their upward trajectory in democracy, has been around how to ensure the constancy of such values, coupled with the way it ensures that the symbol of such democratic values are upheld,” she said, noting that these symbols include credible elections, peaceful transfer of power, and civil discourse.

She said these values are worth protecting, which is where institutions such as the Office of the Political Ombudsman would come in by supporting and reminding citizens of the aspiration of good governance. “Those values in our constitutions across the Caribbean are sacrosanct,” she remarked.

Dr Kremer, who is also the director of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Institute of Criminal Justice and Security, pointed out that the interventive and investigative power of the OPO is also critical, as it creates space for dialogue, averts conflict that reminds players of the rules of the game, and at the same time advances issues and space for reform and reconciliation. She said the office must be inclusive, impartial and have local ownership, and that because it is understood that the OPO will find itself in the crosshairs of the main power players on occasion, extensive widening of that inclusivity is important.