Freetown — The office of the ombudsman is presently on image restoration and to change the perception of the public about the office.

"We are presently restructuring and doing things that will improve the perception of people about the office," ombudsman Justice Edmond Cowan told journalist on Tuesday in Freetown.

"We want impunity and biasness to stop," he added.

Cowan said for so long members of the public did not have trust in the office of the ombudsman, noting that these changes would build up their image in the eyes of the ordinary citizens.

He said some people think the office was an intruder due to ignorance and noted that the office was serving as the conscience of the state.

"We are not an intruder or meddlers but we help in improving good governance and transparency."

He said from the month of July to September the office has received 96 complaints, 86% from male while 16% is from female. Among the complaints, nonpayment of salaries and benefits was 50%, wrongful dismissal 14%, harassment 5%, biased and unfair treatment 17%.

The office has concluded about 15 complaints; out of these 14 were in favor of complainants while 1 was in favor of the institution complained about.

He said the slow pace of investigation was due to most ministries, department and agencies' deliberate refusal to reply to any of their correspondences while others see them as an intruder in their domain.

He said they have asked these institutions to nominate desk officers on contact for the ombudsman's office.

Meanwhile, the office has concluded a three-week study to South Africa, Malawi and Namibia sponsored by the justice sector development project to enhance a firsthand experience on how ombudsman's offices in these countries effective carry out their mandates.

Cowan said they were trying to have offices in the provinces for them to be decentralized; however, he noted that raising awareness about the ombudsman's office was among key priorities developed for the office to effectively carry out its mandate.